A building in Yeovil that had been earmarked for use as a home for homeless people is to re-open as a care home. A project to protect the Ham Hill Country Park has been given 1.6 million pounds of funding from the National Lottery. Hospitality businesses in South Somerset are to get help with their running costs. We're being asked by the to think carefully before dialing 999 for an ambulance over the Christmas period...and more.
A building in Yeovil that had been earmarked for use as a home for homeless people is to re-open as a care home. Acacia Lodge on Hendford Hill will provide accommodation for people living with dementia when it re-opens early in the New Year under the name Chestnut Lodge.
A project to protect the Ham Hill Country Park has been given 1.6 million pounds of funding from the National Lottery. The money will help preserve the site's wildlife and archaeology and fund a new visitor centre and café.
Hospitality businesses in South Somerset are to get help with their running costs. The district council is launching a Hospitality Support Grant scheme in January in which grants of up to £5,000 will be given to pubs, restaurants, wine bars, cafes and nightclubs. Details of the scheme can be found on the South Somerset District Council website.
A pilot scheme in Somerset, aimed at changing the way police handle rape and sexual assault cases to improve outcomes, is to be rolled out nationally. ’Operation Bluestone’ works by the Police using experts and academics working with specialist teams as part of investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault.
We're being asked by the to think carefully before dialing 999 for an ambulance over the Christmas period. The request from the South Western Ambulance Service comes at a time of more planned strikes by health workers, with military members being brought in to help run the ambulance service.
There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.