Friday 17th November

Friday, 17 November 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is calling on the government to take urgent action to fix the funding crisis in social care. Business activity across the South West stabilised in October, according to a new report from NatWest. The go-ahead has been given to build 35 new homes at Broadway, near Ilminster...and more.

The Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans is calling on the government to take urgent action to fix the funding crisis in social care. He’s written to the Levelling-up Secretary, Michael Gove, saying the current funding formula for local government does not reflect the actual costs involved in providing essential public services, in particular, social care. Earlier this month, Somerset Council, who are facing a funding gap of £100m in the next financial year, declared a financial emergency and plan to make big spending cuts to help balance the books. In his letter to the government, Councillor Revans says the Council’s overspend is not because of poor controls, but the increased costs of delivering essential services.

Age UK says people in Somerset need to be better prepared for the new digital landline rollout. The UK phone network is going digital by 2025 with landline phones working via a broadband connection, instead of analogue.

The Environment Agency says it is working ‘around the clock’ to minimise the flood risk with more rain forecast over the weekend. The EA is working with Somerset Rivers Authority and Somerset Council to manage the situation, with extra pumps brought into use on the Somerset Levels.

Business activity across the South West stabilised in October, according to the latest Business Activity report from NatWest. The Bank says the trend breaks four months of regional decline and contrasts with a dip in economic performance across the UK as a whole. The Business Activity Index, which measures month-on-month change in output for manufacturing and the service sector, reported stability in October at 50.1 per cent, compared to 47.8 per cent in September.

The go-ahead has been given to build 35 new homes at Broadway, near Ilminster. The scheme, on the north-western edge of the village, is less than one mile from the proposed Ding Meadow development, where 28 new homes are planned behind the Bell Inn. The properties are expected to range from two to four bedrooms in size, with 12 being affordable and five as bungalows.

More from News

Monday 4th December

Campaigners have failed in their bid to stop the demolition of the former Nautilus Works in Yeovil. Avon and Somerset Police say three-and-a-half-thousand motorists were caught speeding during National Road Safety Week held last week. Chard Town Council has announced that a new block of stone with the message Welcome to Chard is to be placed at the entrance to the town...and more.
Friday 1st December

Police are warning of a spate of thefts of Ford cars in South Somerset. The government has turned down a bid for levelling-up funds to build a new train station to serve Somerton and Langport. Long-running roadworks on the Somerset-Devon border will continue over the Christmas holidays after a repair scheme was postponed...and more.
Thursday 30th November

Libraries, leisure centres, theatres and recycling centres could all face cuts as Somerset Council tries to save tens of millions of pounds. The people who run Shepton Mallet Prison say the building is closing as a visitor attraction. A licence has been granted to hold an eight-day long Christmas Festival at Yeovil Showground in December...and more
Wednesday 29th November

The head of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance says they’re busier now than they have ever been. Housing charities in Somerset say there's been a big rise in the number of people being evicted from private housing, through no fault of their own. A teenager from Ilton has been chosen as the St John Ambulance District Cadet of the Year...and more.
Tuesday 28th November

The future of Yeovil Hospital’s stroke unit could be decided at a meeting later this week. A new cycle route in Yeovil, promised for September, won’t now open until the end of December. Somerset Council has announced plans to turn an empty property in Chard into a children's home....and more.
Monday 27th November

Plans have been submitted to open a new traveller site near Curry Rivel. Wessex Water has started the latest phase of a five-year programme to clean up Somerset’s watercourses of phosphates. Ilminster’s annual Christmas Tree Festival at the Minster starts today. A man from Somerset is taking on the challenge of rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic...and more.
Friday 24th November

A Police operation has resulted in 160 knives being taken off the streets in the Avon and Somerset force area. Ofsted says pupil suspension rates in Somerset are alarmingly high. It’s a big night for Christmas light switch-on events in South Somerset with Christmas lights being turned on in Wincanton, Ilminster and Crewkerne...and more.
Thursday 23rd November

The South Western Ambulance Service is asking people to use its services responsibly as it prepares for a challenging winter. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which includes Yeovil Hospital, is contacting people after hospital records were inappropriately accessed. Chard Ladies Rugby team is taking on a new challenge, climbing to the top of the National Three Peaks for charity...and more.