House building in South Somerset reached record levels at the start of 2021. Local manufacturing businesses are struggling to fill low-skilled vacancies following the loss of EU workers. A Yeovil man has been jailed for handling goods. The ambulance service for Somerset says last week was its busiest week on record. Research by Sport England shows that people in South Somerset have been put off going outside for exercise because of Covid...and more
House building in South Somerset reached record levels at the start of 2021. Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that between January and March construction was completed on 230 new homes in South Somerset, the highest number for the quarter since records began in 2005.
Local manufacturing businesses are struggling to fill low-skilled vacancies following the loss of EU workers. Somerset Chamber of Commerce says nearly 70 percent of manufacturers are having difficulty recruiting new staff.
A Yeovil man has been jailed for handling goods. Jamie Staite, of Grass Royal in Yeovil, received a 16 months sentence following a hearing at Taunton Crown Court. The case centered around an incident in February this year when equipment and two vehicles were stolen from a construction site at Evercreech.
The ambulance service for Somerset says last week was its busiest week on record. South Western Ambulance Service responded to more than 22,000 incidents up to last Friday. It's asking people to only call 999 if someone is seriously injured or ill and there is a risk to life.
Research by Sport England shows that people in South Somerset have been put off going outside for exercise because of Covid. Over a fifth of people in Somerset are active for less than half an hour a week. To try and tackle the problem, a new project's starting called 'Get Outside in Somerset' and it's targeting people aged between 55 and 75.
A farm enterprise near Crewkerne has won a top award for its work. Coombe Farm Organic at Roundham was voted number one for producing the best organic food boxes at the Soil Association Awards.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.
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