Local News Monday 31st January

Monday, 31 January 2022 06:00

It’s reported that work has stopped on the major scheme to upgrade Westminster Street in Yeovil. A section of the A30 in South Somerset will close for three weeks next month for repairs to be carried out to a retaining wall. Plans have been approved for a food van to remain permanently located in the Cocklemoor public car park in Langport. Final plans have been submitted to build sixty-five new houses in Milborne Port. Chard bodybuilding champion, Chris Williams, has announced the staging of his first major bodybuilding event...and more.

It’s reported that work has stopped on the major scheme to upgrade Westminster Street in Yeovil. This follows financial losses at the Midas Group the company delivering the contract. In a statement, Midas said it had filed a court notice with the intention of appointing an administrator to take over the business. Work on the scheme to partially pedestrianize Westminster Street, as part of the multi-million-pound Yeovil Refresh project, started back in August with the pavement on one side of Westminster Street now remains dug up and cordoned off. Exeter-based, Midas, is one of the region’s largest employers, with more than four hundred people directly employed and supporting more than 10,000 jobs in supply chains. It’s reported that work on other Midas building projects across the South West has also ceased. A spokesman for Midas says they’re working with stakeholders to try to resolve the situation. South Somerset District Council, which runs the Yeovil Refresh project, has yet to comment.

A section of the A30 in South Somerset will close for three weeks next month for repairs to be carried out to a retaining wall. Somerset County Council says the wall at Haselbury Plucknett has become a serious road hazard. Work to repair it will begin on Monday, February 7th with traffic management in place for 13-weeks.

Plans have been approved for a food van to remain permanently located in the Cocklemoor public car park in Langport. South Somerset District Council’s Area North Committee voted by a majority of two to allow the food van to trade from a parking space at the western end of the car park despite objections from local shop owners who claimed it would take trade away from the High Street.

Final plans have been submitted to build sixty-five new houses in Milborne Port. Redcliffe Homes was granted outline permission in 2019 to build the homes, a convenience store and community hub at the corner of Station Road and Wheathill Lane and secured detailed approval in 2020. The developer has now put forward fresh plans for the store that will serve both the new homes and the South Somerset District Council is expected to decide on the application by late spring.

Chard bodybuilding champion, Chris Williams, has announced the staging of his first major bodybuilding event. Chris who holds, the British IBFA over 45’s title, will stage the World War Hulk event at Exeter Corn Exchange in September.

People in South Somerset are being asked to open their gardens to the public to raise money for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. It’s part of the charities Blossoming and Blooming campaign that for the past two years has been cancelled due to Covid.

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Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more