Local News Friday 21st October

Friday, 21 October 2022 06:00

People in Somerset are being offered extra help to keep warm this winter. Councillors have been told that a private developer is being lined up to take-over ownership of Boden Mill in Chard. A shoplifter has been jailed for stealing from supermarkets in Yeovil. Work has re-started building a new seventy-four-bed care home in Wincanton. A new report says it may be another two years before work starts building the planned Chard Eastern Relief Road...and more.

People in Somerset are being offered extra help to keep warm this winter. County Councillors have voted through a 700 thousand pound package including providing warm places where people can meet like libraries and schools, help with food banks and more mental health support.

Councillors have been told that a private developer is being lined up to take-over ownership of Boden Mill in Chard. South Somerset District Council had planned to upgrade the Grade II listed building as part of the Chard regeneration scheme but was forced to scrap the plan due to a lack of funding. The district council says it’s in discussions with a private developer about taking over the site.

A shoplifter has been jailed for stealing from supermarkets in Yeovil. Billy Chapman, of no fixed address, received a one-year prison sentence at Yeovil Magistrates Court. The court was told that on four occasions during September and October, Chapman had stolen cleaning products and alcohol from two stores in Yeovil.

Work has re-started building a new seventy-four-bed care home in Wincanton. Work stopped in February building the Cornerstone Healthcare Care Home following construction firm Midas going into administration. The Markey Group successfully tendered to take over the project. Once completed, the care home will create up to 140 new jobs in Wincanton.

A new report says it may be another two years before works starts building the planned Chard Eastern Relief Road. The need for the road was first highlighted in the Chard Local Plan seven years ago but despite new housing developments in Chard work on the road has yet to start. The relief road that will stretch from the A358 Tatworth Road to the A30 Crewkerne Road, taking pressure off the existing ‘Convent Link’ junction.

Next year's Taunton Marathon and Half Marathon have been cancelled. Organisers say they’ve been struggling to attract enough runners to cover their costs and that the event is no longer viable.

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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