Local News Friday 22nd July

    Around forty new jobs could be created at Leonardo in Yeovil. Test flights for so-called air taxis are set to take place in the South West by 2024. Somerset Wildlife Trust has criticised the government for delaying the introduction of new laws to protect Beavers and South Somerset District Council made an income of £2.8 million pounds from two battery storage sites.

    Around forty new jobs could be created at Leonardo in Yeovil following a sixty million pound contract awarded by the government. It’s to deliver a new type of drone, capable of taking off and landing vertically, for the Royal Navy. Leonardo says the bulk of the work on the Rotary Wing Un-crewed Air System Technology Programme, will take place at its factory on Lysander Road in Yeovil.

    Test flights for so-called air taxis are set to take place in the South West by 2024. Unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show, they would take off and land vertically like a helicopter, carrying up to four passengers and travelling at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour. 

    Somerset Wildlife Trust has criticised the government for delaying the introduction of new laws to protect Beavers. The Trust claims research has shown that Beavers help with flood management and improve water quality. The Trust is urging the government to get on with giving Beavers greater protection because of the good they do.

    South Somerset District Council made an income of £2.8 million pounds from two battery storage sites that it owns in the last financial year April 2021 to March 2022. The Council invested £43.5 in creating the sites - one of which is on the outskirts of Taunton and the other near Fareham in Hampshire. The sites store surplus electricity and sell it back to the National Grid at peak times.

    More from News

    • Thursday 1st May

      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.

    • Wednesday 30th April

      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.

    • Tuesday 29th April

      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.

    • Monday 28th April

      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.

    • Friday 25th April

      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

    •  Thursday 24th April

      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.

    • Wednesday 23rd April

      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.

    • Tuesday 22nd April

      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.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

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      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

    • Chard

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      High: 25°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

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      High: 25°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

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      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

    • Wincanton

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      High: 27°C | Low: 11°C

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