Local News Friday 4th March

Friday, 4 March 2022 06:00

Travelodge says it would like to build a new hotel in Yeovil. Bus operators in Somerset are to get a share of 150 million pounds of new government funding. The lifting of the ban on care staff, unvaccinated against Covid from working in care homes, has been welcomed. Rickshaws are being used as a novel form of public transport on the streets of Wells. The shop workers union USDAW has been speaking about the abuse that their members in Somerset have faced in the last twelve months...and more.

Travelodge says it would like to build a new hotel in Yeovil. The hotel chain has included Yeovil on a list of thirty-five places in the South West and Wales where it would like a presence. Travelodge is asking people to contact them if they know of any sites in Yeovil that would be suitable to turn into a hotel

Bus operators in Somerset are to get a share of 150 million pounds of new government funding. It's part of a wider grant scheme by the Department for Transport to help services recover from the effects of the pandemic. The grant scheme is expected to run until October this year.

The lifting of the ban on care staff, unvaccinated against Covid from working in care homes, has been welcomed by the Somerset-based Vice-Chair of the National Care Association, Joyce Pinfield. The government says it’s been possible to lift the ban because there’s now more natural immunity to Covid in the population but Joyce Pinfield says the care sector has paid a high price, with thousands of care workers leaving their jobs because of the ban.

Rickshaws are being used as a novel form of public transport on the streets of Wells. The Wells Community Network says the rickshaws are helping older people and those with mobility problems get around the city more easily.

The shop workers union USDAW has been speaking about the abuse that their members in Somerset have faced in the last twelve months. USDAW claims that 90% of their members experienced verbal abuse and 64% had threats made against them by customers.

Yeovil Town play away against Notts County tomorrow. Meanwhile, Yeovil Manager, Darren Sarll says he needs to bring in at least one new player to help improve his team, with a third of games in the National League this season still to be played.

More from News

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