The A359 through Marston Magna is closed from today and will stay closed for the next two weeks for work to be carried out to stop the road from flooding. Farmers in the Ilminster are are being urged not to grow maize in a bid to help stop the town from flooding. Plans have been submitted to turn a former health centre in Wincanton into a business hub. A Chard woman has been banned from driving for two and a half years for failing to provide a breath sample for analysis when stopped by police...and more.
The A359 through Marston Magna is closed from today and will stay closed for the next two weeks for work to be carried out to stop the road from flooding. Drivers travelling towards Marston Magna wanting to get onto the A303 at Sparkford are being diverted along a 17-mile route via Yeovil, joining the A303 at Ilchester.
Farmers in the Ilminster area are being urged not to grow maize in a bid to help stop the town from flooding. The recommendation is contained in a report on the major flood event in Ilminster and the nearby village of Sea in October last year. Farmers are being asked to review their growing methods and to replace growing maize with crops that are more benign also to check that gullies are kept clear.
Plans have been submitted to turn a former health centre in Wincanton into a business hub. They include converting the building on Carrington Way into offices and meeting rooms. South Somerset District Council is due to make a decision on the application before the end of the year.
A Chard woman has been banned from driving for two and a half years for failing to provide a breath sample for analysis when stopped by police. Appearing before local magistrates, Supryn Czeslaw, of Coronation Street in Chard, pleaded guilty to the charge and was also told to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 in costs.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union at Yeovil Magistrates Court are due to go on strike at the end of the week. Sixty-eight courts in England and Wales will be affected when legal advisers and court associates walkout for nine-days beginning on Saturday. The action is in protest at the introduction of a new case management system.
Passengers on GWR who run trains through Castle Cary station are to be paid compensation if their train is delayed by more than 15 minutes. Passengers who bought their tickets online from GWR will be sent an email inviting them to make a claim.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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