Monday 15th July

Monday, 15 July 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Hospital says a new operating theatre, specialising in orthopaedic surgery, is on target to open by the end of the year. Somerset Council’s ruling executive meets today to decide on paying its waste contractor, Suez, an extra 47 million pounds. Six thousand children at thirty primary schools in Somerset have taken part in a musical promotion in support of Team GB at the Paris Olympics...and more.

Yeovil Hospital says a new operating theatre, specialising in orthopaedic surgery, is on target to open by the end of the year. The theatre is currently being built on the roof of an existing four-storey building and will bring the number of operating theatres to five at Yeovil Hospital.

Somerset Council’s ruling executive meets today to decide on paying its waste contractor, Suez, an extra 47 million pounds to keep emptying Somerset's bins. Suez says it’s making big losses operating its waste contract with Somerset Council and needs the extra 47 million pounds to stay afloat. A report to today’s meeting says paying Suez the 47 million pounds will cost Somerset Council less than bringing the waste collection service ‘in-house’ or re-tendering the contract.

Wessex Water says its customers in Somerset will see their bills reduce by around two percent, despite water prices nationally going up. Wessex Water says the average household bill will be £497. Meanwhile, South West Water customers in Somerset face paying 13 percent more for water, with the average household bill rising to £560.

A former Press Officer at Yeovil Town says he’s lucky to still be walking after developing a serious back problem. James Healey was given emergency surgery after a bundle of nerves became trapped at the bottom of his spine, a condition known as Cauda Equina Syndrome. As a thank you to the Bristol hospital that treated him, James is currently completing a 100 km fund raising walk.

Six thousand children at thirty primary schools in Somerset have taken part in a musical promotion in support of Team GB at the Paris Olympics. Their voices have been brought together on a Voices for Life project to record the sporting anthem ‘Let's Go’.

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Friday 27 March

There's been a big improvement in ambulance response times in Somerset. Three local people have been charged with offences linked to the theft and supply of prescription-only drugs. A fragment of a jawbone found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge appears to show that humans kept dogs as pets as far back as 5,000 years ago... and more
Thursday 26th March

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.
Wednesday 25th March

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more
Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more
Monday 23rd March

A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more
Friday 20th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more
Thursday 19th March

Farmers in Somerset say they're struggling after a doubling in the price of red diesel. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised Donald Trump over his comments about people with learning disabilities. A Somerset woman whose father was killed in a crash on the M5 is running the London Marathon to raise money for South West Ambulance...and more
Wednesday 18th March

The murder of a two-week-old baby by his father at Yeovil Hospital could not have been predicted, according to a new report. A road in Ilminster is to close to traffic for eleven days later this month. A new Post Office counter is to open in Somerton... and more