Friday 20th December

Friday, 20 December 2024 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is pursuing a less ambitious plan for redeveloping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he hasn’t given up on trying to keep open the town’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space in the Triangle in Lower Middle Street will open for public use early in the New Year...and more

Somerset Council is pursuing a less ambitious plan for redeveloping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. The scheme, which will involve spending fifteen million pounds on enhanced audience facilities, compared to the twenty-nine million originally planned, has been submitted to the Department of Culuture, Media and Sport for sign-off. Yeovil Town Council, who plan to take over running the Octogan when the improvements are completed, have agreed in principle to contribute three and a half million pounds towards the upgrade.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he hasn’t given up on trying to keep open the town’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has backed NHS Somerset’s decision to downgrade the unit, with people in Yeovil who suffer a stroke being taken by ambulance to either Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton or the County Hospital in Dorchester. Mr Dance says the Health Secretary is wrong not to intervene because a lot of the information he based his decision on is now out of date.

Somerset Council is getting more money from the government, but warning that it's not enough to keep up with rising costs. The Local Government Settlement grant was announced earlier this week, with three billion of the seventy billion package ring-fenced for adult social care.

Households in Somerset, supplied by Wessex Water will pay around one hundred pounds more on their water bills over the next five years. This follows Wessex Water’s decision to increase its charges by 21 per cent, which it claims is one of the lowest increases of all water companies in England.

Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space in the Triangle in Lower Middle Street will open for public use early in the New Year. The amphitheatre-style entertainment area has seating for around 100 and includes a big outdoor TV screen.

More from News

Thursday 30th October

Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more
Wednesday 29th October

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.
Tuesday 28th October

Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more
Monday 27th October

The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more
Friday 24th October

New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Thursday 23rd October

Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 22nd October

A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .
Tuesday 21st October

Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more