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.

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