Friday 22nd March

Friday, 22 March 2024 11:35

By Steve Haigh

A by-election for a seat on Yeovil Town Council has been won by the Yeovil Independents. Owners of empty properties in Somerset will be paying double in council tax from April. A Somerset man is celebrating after finding England’s largest ever nugget of gold, said to be worth £30,000, using a metal detector...and more.

A by-election held in the Westland ward in Yeovil for a seat on Yeovil Town Council has been won by Ruth White for the Yeovil Independents. She polled 482 votes, beating Justice Jimba for the Liberal Democrats on 335 votes into second place. Terry Ledlie for Labour came third with 123 votes. The result increases Yeovil Independents' representation on Yeovil Town Council to 3 members.

Owners of empty properties in Somerset will be paying double in council tax from April. It follows a decision by Somerset Council to charge double council tax on properties left empty for 12 months or more. The Council estimates the change will raise an extra £1.7 million every year in council tax revenues.

Plans to build 24 new homes in Martock have finally been approved, four years after they were first proposed. Stonewater Housing Association has won permission to build the properties on Foldhill Lane, opposite the La Fontana dementia nursing home. The application had been delayed by the phosphates issue, with the developer having to put in place additional mitigation measures. Construction is expected to start later this year.

A Somerset man is celebrating after finding England’s largest-ever nugget of gold using a metal detector. Richard Brocks nearly missed the search in Shropshire, turning up hours late and with dodgy equipment. His find, estimated to be worth £30,000, has now been put up for auction online.

Funding's been secured to expand a programme in Somerset helping women back into work after becoming parents. Set up four years ago, the Woman's Work Lab has supported over 300 mothers with up to 70 per cent returning to employment. Now three courses a year are being run locally.

Herne Hill Nature Reserve in Ilminster is to be provided with five new dog waste bins. Ilminster Town Council has been given funding for the bins through the Community Champion Fund run by Persimmon Homes South West. The Council says the bins should create a cleaner and safer environment for people visiting the reserve.

More from News

Thursday 28th August

A Marston Magna man who fell ill on holiday has died. A film of Yeovil’s fundraiser for famine relief is being screened tonight, forty years on. A South Somerset contestant has been ranked fifth place at the World’s Strongest Man (Natural) contest...and more.
Wednesday 27th August

Concerns are being raised over the maintenance of the River Cary, following reports of planned cutbacks. It could be an earlier harvest for Somerset cider growers this autumn after a warm summer. The Teals Farm Shop has revealed plans to broaden its services...and more.
Tuesday 26th August

An investigation is underway after a man was found seriously injured in the Queensway Place area of Yeovil . A man has been charged with murder following an incident in South Petherton. Yeovil Town FC have confirmed that Mark Cooper has been relieved of his duties... and more.
Friday 22nd August

Six hundred parking spaces could be lost in Yeovil town centre if plans to build new homes on public car parks go ahead. The Environment Agency is to stop maintaining some rivers and streams in Somerset to save money. People in Somerset are being warned about a scam involving fake communications from the tax authorities...and more
Thursday 21st August

Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, says families and hospital staff should be given more information about re-opening maternity services at Yeovil Hospital. Yeovil’s renal unit on the Lynx West Trading Estate has been told it must improve on safety. Organisers of a Live Aid concert held in Yeovil 40 years ago are trying to contact the bands that played at the event for a reunion...and more.
Wednesday 20th August

The NHS says twenty-six thousand people in the South West signed up to stop smoking in the past twelve months. A teenager from Yeovil has raised more than four thousand pounds for a new dialysis machine at Bristol Children's Hospital. Yeovil Town take on Brackley Town in a National League fixture this evening, kick off at Huish Park is 7.45...and more
Tuesday 19th August

Families struggling to pay for their children to have breakfast over the summer holidays are being offered free breakfast bags at a church in Chard. Police are appealing for information after a sentimental gold pocket watch was stolen in North Petherton. A Bridgwater man sets off today on a 200-mile cycle ride to Barnstaple and Exeter, raising money for Kidney Research UK...and more.
Monday 18th August

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack in Yeovil. Women in Street and Glastonbury are being encouraged to take part in a scheme to highlight unsafe areas to walk alone. A Nottinghamshire man, on a pub-crawl around Britain to help boost the pub trade, is currently visiting pubs in Somerset...and more.