Carnival clubs in South Somerset are celebrating. Work has started on demolishing the former GKN factory on the Leonardo Helicopter site. A public meeting to discuss the problems of flooding in Chard has been moved to a new date. Motorists are being warned of delays due to road works on a key route in Yeovil and a parish council in the Yeovil area is planning to scale back the prizes it gives in its annual Christmas Lights competition.
Carnival clubs in South Somerset are celebrating, after winning a planning battle to build a large shed to use for building carnival floats on the Dillington Estate, near Ilminster. The plans were opposed by several parish councils, who claimed that road access to the site where the shed will be built was inadequate to cope with wide Carnival floats. Despite the concerns, the plans were approved by a majority of one vote at a meeting of South Somerset District Council’s Area West Committee.
Work has started on demolishing the former GKN factory on the Leonardo Helicopter site in Yeovil at West Hendford. It’s to make way for a new £30 million logistics and distribution centre. Leonardo says all its Yeovil-based warehousing will transfer to the new facility when work on building it is completed in late 2023.
A public meeting to discuss the problems of flooding in Chard has been moved to a new date. The event was meant to take place in the Chard Guildhall next Monday but will now be held on Monday, February 28th, again at the Guildhall.
Motorists are being warned of delays due to road works on a key route in Yeovil that will last up to a month. Work is due to start on Monday resurfacing Combe Street Lane with the job not expected to be completed until Friday, February 25th. Somerset County Council says access for residents will be maintained but that delays can be expected with through traffic.
A parish council in the Yeovil area is planning to scale back the prizes it gives in its annual Christmas Lights competition, to discourage local residents from decorating the outsides of their houses with illuminated Christmas lighting. Members of Brympton Parish Council meet next week to discuss the move, which the Council says is aimed at reducing carbon emissions within the parish.
There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.