Local News Friday 5th August

Friday, August 5th, 2022 6:00am

Plans to improve the look of Wyndham Street in Yeovil are to go ahead following a change of mind by members of South Somerset District Council. An investigation is being held into a fire near Ilminster in which two campervans were destroyed. Rising costs and staffing challenges are affecting small businesses in Somerset, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. Police are asking people in South Somerset to look out for a convicted drug offender...and more.

Plans to improve the look of Wyndham Street in Yeovil are to go ahead following a change of mind by members of South Somerset District Council. The Council voted in June to abandon smartening up the pavement and changing the road layout in Wyndham Street at a cost of £770,000. Now, it’s been decided to spend £891,000 of council reserves to carry out the work. Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Council’s Executive, it was also decided to scale back on other aspects of the Yeovil Refresh programme to ensure improvements in Westminster Street, Lower Middle Street and The Borough are completed within the deadline of 2024 set by the government for payment of a £9.75 million grant from the High Steet Improvement Fund.

An investigation is being held into a fire near Ilminster in which two campervans were destroyed. The blaze at Sea near Ilminster broke out late on Wednesday night. A barn, in which the vehicles were parked, was also destroyed. The fire service says at the moment the cause of the blaze is ‘undetermined’.

Rising costs and staffing challenges are affecting small businesses in Somerset, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. In a new report, the Federation says business confidence is at its lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

Police are asking people in South Somerset to look out for a convicted drug offender. Merseyside Police have issued an appeal through Avon and Somerset Police to find Ellis Bala, who has connections with South Somerset and who is wanted on a recall to prison for breach of his license conditions. Bala, who’s 30, is described as Albanian, 6ft 1in tall, of heavy build, with dark brown shaved hair and brown eyes. If you can help the police, please call the non-emergency number 101

Turkey producers in Somerset are warning that prices could rise this year because they're facing increasing production costs. Local turkey farmer, Colin Reasons, says a labour shortage is also adding to problems.

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Local News Friday August 12

With Somerset on amber alert for extreme heat today, South West Ambulance is asking people to only dial 999 in an absolute emergency. The main A30 road through Sherborne is still closed following a gas leak that shut the road yesterday. Extra funding is being given to pay for improvements at Yeovil Crematorium. More volunteers are wanted to help young people in care in Somerset and Work is yet to start building a new McDonald’s off the Southfields roundabout on the A303.
Local News Thursday 11th August

Residents in the Hendford Hill area of Yeovil have won their fight to stop a former care home from being converted into a homeless hostel. Another heat warning is in force in Somerset today with the Met Office forecasting extreme heat up to Saturday. A local man caught growing cannabis has been jailed for three years and seven months and National Highways is advising motorists in Somerset to check their tyres more often to avoid the risk of breaking down.
Local News Wednesday 10th August

Controversial plans to convert a former care home in Yeovil into a homeless hostel are due to be decided at a meeting tonight. A new report claims the freight industry in the southwest created over 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2019. Misterton Church of England First School is to re-open as an education centre for vulnerable children. A local motorist has been given a suspended prison sentence for drink driving and with the hot dry weather set to continue, more calls have been made to permanently ban disposable barbeques.
Local News Tuesday 9th August

New figures have shown that bus passenger numbers in Somerset are thirty percent below what they were before the pandemic. New research has shown that it has become almost impossible to register as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset. A Somerset man has been explaining why he’s decided to return to Ukraine. A fully accessible forest school has been launched near Langport and more.
Local News Monday 8th August

Plans to improve the appearance of Wincanton have been put on hold following a change of mind at South Somerset District Council. A campaign has been launched to have the gates to Yeovil Town’s original ground at Pen Mill preserved. Volunteers are needed to help with the rollout of the Covid19 booster programme in Somerset. The site of a former garage on the A30 Yeovil to Sherborne dual carriageway has been put up for sale with development potential...and more.
Local News Thursday 4th August

A Yeovil woman has been given a nine-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to possessing materials for making an explosive. Police are appealing for help in finding a wanted Yeovil man. A Somerset cancer charity is behind a new film that stresses the importance of checking for early symptoms of the disease. Eight lock-up garages in Yeovil have been sold at auction for £58,500 and Pupils at Holyrood Academy in Chard have signed their names onto a steel frame being used in the construction of a new extension to the school.
Local News Wednesday 3rd August

The new CEO of Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil says the business is in good health. Wessex Water says it had no plans to introduce a hosepipe despite the above-average dry spell. The cost of rural crime in Somerset has fallen by 22% in the space of twelve months, that's according to NFU Mutual. An ancient oak tree has been cut down to make way for a new slip road off the A303 at Sparkford despite a protest to keep it standing and a new Lord Lieutenant has been appointed to represent Somerset.
Local News Tuesday 2nd August

NHS Somerset is urging people who haven't had any or all of their Covid-19 vaccinations to do so. A report on delivering a new relief road in Chard won't be made public now until the late autumn. King Alfred's Tower at Stourhead is to reopen for its 250th anniversary. A labyrinth shaped like a giant snail has been cut into the grass of a hay meadow near Langport and Compton House Cricket Club, who play at Compton Park near Sherborne have been given planning permission to build a new pavilion.