Local News Monday 23rd January

Monday, 23 January 2023 06:00

South Somerset District Council is being accused of not having a long-term strategy to fill empty shops in Yeovil town centre. Double yellow lines are to be introduced on A371 outside Castle Cary railway station to stop train users from parking at the roadside. It's been confirmed that the Shindig Festival will be held on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster up to 2025. Wincanton Tennis Club has stepped in to help with the war effort in Ukraine...and more.

South Somerset District Council is being accused of not having a long-term strategy to fill empty shops in Yeovil town centre. Councillor Tareth Casey, an Independent member of Yeovil Town Council, says the district council should be offering retailers better incentives to come to Yeovil to invest in opening new shops. He claims the £24 million pounds being spent by the council on pavement improvements and an entertainment area as part of the Yeovil Refresh Project is not enough of an incentive to attract the investment needed to bring Yeovil’s High Street back to life again.

Double yellow lines are to be introduced on A371 outside Castle Cary railway station to stop train users from parking at the roadside. It follows complaints about vehicles being left all day parked half on the pavement and half on the road, forcing pedestrians to walk onto the road to get past the parked vehicles.

It's been confirmed that the Shindig Festival will be held on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster up to 2025. The festival was originally held near Bruton before relocating to Dillington last year. This year’s event is set to run from the 26th to the 28th of May

A recruitment campaign has been launched by Somerset County Council, the NHS, and Registered Care Providers Association to encourage more people to work in social care in Somerset. One-in-ten jobs in social care are currently vacant.

Wincanton Tennis Club has stepped in to help with the war effort in Ukraine. The Club has sent some old worn-out tennis nets to Ukraine for turning into camouflage nets to protect Ukrainian forces against the Russians.

A meeting’s being held tonight of the Planning Committee of Yeovil Town. Items for discussion include locating a digital advertising screen in Middle Street. The meeting, which is open to the public, takes place at the Town House in South Street and starts at 7 pm.

More from News

Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more