Local News Friday 16th September

Friday, 16 September 2022 06:00

A Chard man has appeared in court for possessing a bladed object. Police have found a body in their search for a missing Yeovil woman. Most foodbanks in Somerset will be closed on Monday for the Queen's funeral. Funding’s being made available in Somerset to provide people with learning disabilities with more opportunities to take part in social activities. The go-ahead has been given to build a new energy storage facility next to a Somerset beauty spot...and more.

A Chard man has appeared in court for possessing a bladed object. Taunton Crown Court was told that Sonny Fox, aged 19, waved a machete during a row in the car park at the Sainsbury’s store in Chard. Fox pleaded guilty to the offence and was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence with probation.

Police have found a body in their search for a missing Yeovil woman. The body was discovered at Bowleaze Cove in Dorset early yesterday. Police say no formal identification has yet been made, but next of kin have been informed and are currently being supported.

Most foodbanks in Somerset will be closed on Monday for the Queen's funeral. They say they always close on bank holidays and that agencies and supermarkets who they rely on for supplies will also be closed. Also, due to the period of official mourning for Queen Elizabeth, Super Saturday that was meant to take place in Yeovil town centre tomorrow won’t now take place. Yeovil Town Council says a new date to hold Super Saturday will be announced shortly.

Funding’s being made available in Somerset to provide people with learning disabilities with more opportunities to take part in social activities. According to the organisation 'Discovery’, only 30 per cent of people with learning disabilities in Somerset feel they are able to choose where and when they go out. The organisation’s now making grants available to fund projects to help make community spaces and services more accessible for people with autism and other learning disabilities.

The go-ahead has been given to build a new energy storage facility next to a Somerset beauty spot. Despite concerns that it would damage the character of the nearby landscape, councillors approved plans for the battery storage facility at King’s Farm at Shearston, near Bridgwater. Applicants, Conrad Energy Developments intend to store excess power at the site, to sell back to the National Grid at peak times.

A major photographic exhibition has opened at Barrington Court near Ilminster. The International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition is on at the National Trust property until October 17th. Categories include Abstract Views, Breathing Spaces, Trees, Wildlife in the Garden and the World of Fungi.

The search is on to find a new Town Crier for Yeovil. Applicants must be aged 18 and over, and have the desire and loud enough voice to fit the job.

More from News

Thursday 25th April

The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more
Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more
Tuesday 16th April

A new operator has been found to run a Chard care home that has been at risk of closure. A licence has been granted to run a new music festival in West Dorset. People have until midnight tonight to register for a vote in the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset...and more.