Local News Friday 11th June

Friday, 10 June 2022 06:00

Plans to improve the appearance of Yeovil town centre are to be scaled back due to rising costs. Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning following a house fire caused by sunlight. Work to restore the fabric of the historic School House, part of Chard School, in Chard, is nearing completion and Crewkerne boxer, Moken Mills has been crowned New England Boxing National Schools Champion 2022.

Plans to improve the appearance of Yeovil town centre are to be scaled back due to rising costs. South Somerset District Council is aiming to regenerate the town centre through the Yeovil Refresh programme, which combines improvements to public areas, with better transport links and supports private development on brownfield sites. However, the council has now announced that planned works in Wyndham Street have had to be put on hold due to a shortage of cash. The council has budgeted a little over £10.3m to deliver improvements to the public realm in Yeovil town centre - with much of this coming from a £9.75m grant from the government's future high streets fund. Additional funding of £1.7million was agreed upon by the council in February as a result of rising labour and materials costs - which have drastically increased in recent months as a result of Brexit, the Ukraine war and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning following a house fire caused by sunlight. The property suffered extensive damage after sunlight was refracted off a mirror, setting light to soft furnishings. The fire service says it was a rare event but that homeowners need to be alert to the dangers of exposed glass surfaces reflecting the heat of the sun onto combustible materials.

Work to restore the fabric of the historic School House, part of Chard School, in Chard, is nearing completion. The School House on Fore Street built-in 1583 is one of the oldest buildings in the town and has been renovated with a grant from the Chard High Street Heritage Action Zone. High Street heritage action zone project manager, Anna Matthews says they’re looking forward to working with other building owners in Chard to repair and improve premises through the grant scheme.

Crewkerne boxer, Moken Mills, has been crowned New England Boxing National Schools Champion 2022 making him the best in the Country at his age and weight. The junior boxer defeated his opponent by a unanimous decision in the final of the competition. Moken, who trains at Crewkerne Boxing Club has now gone eight fights without defeat. This latest win makes him the best young boxer in England at his age and weight.

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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.