Local News Friday 12th May

Friday, 12 May 2023 11:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town Football Club say a deal has been agreed to sell the club. Communities across South Somerset are being told to prepare for more extreme weather events. Motorists are being advised that the westbound carriageway of the A30 at Babylon Hill will be closed to traffic on Wednesday May 24th. Work has been completed installing new play equipment in Upper Henson Park in Chard...and more.

Yeovil Town Football Club say a deal has been agreed to sell the club. In a statement on their website, Chairman, Scott Priestnall, says after a lot of hard work a buyer has been found to purchase the club and a deal has been agreed. The club aren’t saying who the new owner is but say further details will be announced later today. News of the sale of Yeovil Town follows months of uncertainty at Huish Park and fears that the club’s future was at risk.

Communities across South Somerset are being told they need to prepare for flooding and more extreme weather conditions due to climate change. Somerset Council is asking every town and village to draw up emergency plans for dealing with flooding following Tuesday’s major flooding event which damaged homes and businesses in Queen Camel, West Camel, North and South Cadbury, Bruton and Galhampton.

Work has been completed installing new play equipment in Upper Henson Park in Chard. The equipment is aimed primarily for use by children aged 8 to 13 and includes monkey bars and a climbing wall. The Mayor of Chard will officially open the new play area, near to Avishayes Community School, next Thursday, May 18th at 11 am.

Motorists are being advised that the westbound carriageway of the A30 between Yeovil and Sherborne at Babylon Hill will be closed to traffic on the evening of Wednesday May 24th. It’s to allow for Wessex Water to carry out work to a side road leading to the Compton Service Reservoir. The A30 at Babylon Hill westbound will be shut from 8 pm on Wednesday May 24th to 6 am on Thursday May 25th with diversions in operation.

Councillor Gary Shortland has been elected as the new Mayor of Chard. Councillor Shortland takes over from Councillor Jenny Kenton who resigned from the role without completing her 1-year term of office. Councillor Claire Brown was re-elected as the Deputy Mayor of Chard at a special meeting of Chard Town Council held earlier this week.

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Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more