Local News Friday 30th June

Friday, 30 June 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Avon and Somerset Police have spent one-point-three-million-pounds on the planned changes to Yeovil Police station even before a new brick has been laid. Plans to build ninety-seven new homes in South Chard have been turned down. After a series of delays and a contractor going bust, work to improve Westminster Street in Yeovil town centre has now finished...and more.

Avon and Somerset Police have spent one-point-three-million- pounds on the planned changes to Yeovil Police station even before a new brick has been laid. Figures show the bulk of the money, eight-hundred-and-ninety-six thousand pounds, has been spent on consultants, architects and other professional fees. A further three-hundred-and-thirty-three thousand pounds has been spent renting temporary accommodation for the police to operate from while Yeovil Police Station remains closed.

Changes have been finalised to Somerset’s parliamentary boundaries. The area covered by Somerset County Council is divided into five constituencies and then there's North East Somerset which takes in Radstock and Midsomer Norton. The current six constituencies will become eight, to try and even out the number of voters in each area.

Plans to build ninety-seven new homes in South Chard have been rejected by councillors. The proposal to develop land in Perry Street was turned down because of concerns about road safety and over-development.

Avon and Somerset Police are to put more resources into policing the countryside. It comes as the National Farmers Union reports that higher inflation has led to an increase in rural thefts with the value of stolen farm equipment doubling in the last year.

West Country-based wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker says she's 'as hungry as ever for success' as she prepares for her thirteenth Wimbledon appearance. The paralympic silver medallist has been given a wildcard at this year’s championships and will compete in both the singles and doubles events.

After a series of delays and a contractor going bust, work to improve Westminster Street in Yeovil has now finished. Somerset Council says the installation of wider natural stone paving and street planters has refreshed the look and feel of Westminster Street in the town centre.

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Friday 22nd August

Six hundred parking spaces could be lost in Yeovil town centre if plans to build new homes on public car parks go ahead. The Environment Agency is to stop maintaining some rivers and streams in Somerset to save money. People in Somerset are being warned about a scam involving fake communications from the tax authorities...and more
Thursday 21st August

Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, says families and hospital staff should be given more information about re-opening maternity services at Yeovil Hospital. Yeovil’s renal unit on the Lynx West Trading Estate has been told it must improve on safety. Organisers of a Live Aid concert held in Yeovil 40 years ago are trying to contact the bands that played at the event for a reunion...and more.
Wednesday 20th August

The NHS says twenty-six thousand people in the South West signed up to stop smoking in the past twelve months. A teenager from Yeovil has raised more than four thousand pounds for a new dialysis machine at Bristol Children's Hospital. Yeovil Town take on Brackley Town in a National League fixture this evening, kick off at Huish Park is 7.45...and more
Tuesday 19th August

Families struggling to pay for their children to have breakfast over the summer holidays are being offered free breakfast bags at a church in Chard. Police are appealing for information after a sentimental gold pocket watch was stolen in North Petherton. A Bridgwater man sets off today on a 200-mile cycle ride to Barnstaple and Exeter, raising money for Kidney Research UK...and more.
Monday 18th August

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack in Yeovil. Women in Street and Glastonbury are being encouraged to take part in a scheme to highlight unsafe areas to walk alone. A Nottinghamshire man, on a pub-crawl around Britain to help boost the pub trade, is currently visiting pubs in Somerset...and more.
Friday 15th August

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day. An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town. A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library...and more.
Thursday 14th August

Yeovil residents are being asked whether they would pay for part of the Octagon Theatre refurbishment. Spending on buses in Somerset is the lowest per head in the region, according to the county's bus partnership. A Yeovil fraudster has been jailed for almost three years...and more.
Wednesday 13th August

A coroner has raised concerns after the death of a newborn baby at Yeovil District Hospital. Revised plans for the construction of up to 360 homes in Ilminster will be put forward in the autumn. Somerset’s Local Community Networks are marking the start of their third year in the county...and more.