Local News Monday 22nd November

Monday, 22 November 2021 07:16

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has come out against plans to turn a former care home into a place for the homeless people in Yeovil. People have voted in an unofficial poll for Somerset’s new unitary council to be based in Wells. A man found hiding in the porch of a house in Yeovil has been jailed and the cost of dealing with farm fires in the South West rose by just over a third last year.

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has come out against plans to turn a former care home into a place for the homeless people in Yeovil. Bournemouth Churches Housing Association want to shut their homeless shelter in Newton Road in Yeovil town centre and move the facility to the former care home on Hendford Hill. More than 200 people in the Hendford Hill areas are trying to stop the move. Marcus Fysh says the proposed location on Hendford Hill is ‘wholly unsuitable’. South Somerset District Council are due to make a decision on the plans early in the New Year.

A planning inquiry into building 200 new homes in Castle Cary has been unexpectedly halted. Wyke Farms and Andrew Hopkins are contesting South Somerset District Council’s decision to refuse permission for the development off Station Road. Due to technical difficulties the inquiry was halted after just one session and won’t resume until late March next year.

People have voted in an unofficial poll for Somerset’s new unitary council to be based in Wells. The County Council and four district councils are being replaced by a new single Council to be called Somerset Council that will come into force in April 2023. In the vote on social media, a majority of local residents opted for Wells as the place to base the new authority, however, a spokesperson said they have no plans to build an HQ for the new Council in Wells or anywhere else for that matter and that decisions about using existing council owned buildings would be taken at a later date.

A man found hiding in the porch of a house in Yeovil has been jailed. Taunton Crown Court was told that police found Liam Raybould hiding in a house on Glenville Road after a member of the public reported suspicious activity. Nothing had been stolen but Raybould of West Hendford was arrested and charged with dwelling burglary.

The cost of dealing with farm fires in the South West rose by just over a third last year. Insurers NFU Mutual say they paid out £8 million pounds to farmers for damage caused by fire in 2020 with electrical faults the cause of most farm fires.

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It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more