Local News Monday 5th September

Monday, 5 September 2022 06:00

People aged 50 and over in Somerset are eligible to have a fourth Covid booster jab from today. Langport’s historic Hanging Chapel reopens to traffic today. Plans have been submitted to build a two-classroom extension at Westfield Academy in Yeovil. A nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been shortlisted for a national award. A new online dating service for people with learning disabilities has been launched in Somerset. Plans have been submitted to create a centre for motoring excellence next to Haynes Motor Museum...and more.

People aged 50 and over in Somerset are eligible to have a fourth Covid booster jab from today. Vaccinations are available in Yeovil at The Old Post Office in King George St, in Crewkerne at Crewkerne Pharmacy and in Ilminster at Minster Pharmacy. Bookings can be made online through the Covid National Booking Service or by calling 119.

Langport’s historic Hanging Chapel reopens to traffic today. The monument had to be closed back in April after it was struck by a lorry. Phil Edge from ‘Landmark Langport’, the organization responsible for the Hanging Chapel, says the important thing now is to make sure the structure avoids any further damage.

Plans have been submitted to build a two-classroom extension at Westfield Academy in Yeovil. The new modular building will be positioned within the school grounds, next to the sports hall, and will provide classroom accommodation for children with special needs. South Somerset District Council is due to make a decision on the application before Christmas.

A nurse at Yeovil Hospital has been shortlisted for a national award. Débora Horta, a ward manager and senior sister in the Special Care Baby Unit at Yeovil Hospital, is on the shortlist for Nurse Leader of the Year in the Nursing Times’ awards. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 26th October.

A new online dating service for people with learning disabilities has been launched in Somerset. The 'Loveable' website offers people with learning disabilities the chance to meet up for regular chats and is aimed at tackling social isolation.

Plans have been submitted to create a centre for motoring excellence next to Haynes Motor Museum. Located at the Dairy House Yard business park on the A359 Cary Road at Sparkford the re-modelled site will include office and storage space to support the activities of the museum. South Somerset District Council is expected to make a decision on the plans before Christmas.

A booklet has gone on sale marking 100 years of Ilminster Carnival. The publication features hundreds of photographs from the carnival’s long history. The booklet is available to buy from Ilminster Library, the offices of estate agents Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Ilminster Hair and Beauty, and Ilminster Arts Centre. This year’s Ilminster Carnival takes place on Saturday, October 1st at 7.15 pm. The children’s procession takes place on Saturday, September 24th at 1.45 pm.

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Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.