Friday 21st March

Friday, 21 March 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Leonardo in Yeovil is developing a new type of self-flying helicopter. A report into the creation of Somerset Council has found the case for it to be 'weak' and marked by 'poor decision making'. The village of Montecute has been told that it may have one of the country's oldest working clocks...and more.

Leonardo is developing a new type of self-flying helicopter in Yeovil. The aircraft, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, will be used by the Royal Navy. Managing Director of Leonardo in Yeovil, Nigel Colman, says the future of the Yeovil factory is dependent, to a very large extent, on the success of the self-flying helicopter.

A report into the creation of Somerset Council has found the case for it was 'weak' and marked by 'poor decision making'. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance says the authority was put in a 'perilous financial position' when it started up in 2023. Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, has welcomed the report’s findings saying its recommendations will be acted upon.

Around 100 people in Chard have been left without an internet connection. It follows an incident in which a car collided with a green cabinet on Furnham Road, cutting off the internet in the area. Openreach has apologised and says it’s waiting for the National Grid to reconnect the cabinet to the mains electricity.

The village of Montecute has been told that it may have one of the country's oldest working clocks. Experts, working on restoring the clock at St Catherine’s Church have dated it to the 15th century.

Motorists are being advised that the A361 at Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels will be shut for ten days next month. This will allow Wessex Water to carry out the second part of a water main replacement project. The A361 will be shut in both directions at Burrowbridge from Monday, April 7th to Thursday, April 17th.

Sir Tim Rice, co-writer with Andrew Lloyd-Webber of famous tunes like ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ and ‘Any Dream Will Do’ is coming with his touring music show to Yeovil next month. Sir Tim will be at the Westland Entertainment venue on Tuesday, April 15th, with ‘My life in musicals - I know him so well’ featuring singers and musicians from London’s West End.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.