Local News Monday 6th February

    A former senior employee at South Somerset District Council, dismissed from her post for gross misconduct, has dropped a legal challenge against the Council. Work has started improving electricity supplies to homes in Sherborne. Wincanton racecourse has dropped its formal dress code for all future race meetings. There's been a rise in the number of young people reporting concerns about violent or controlling relationships in Somerset.....and more.

    A former senior employee at South Somerset District Council who was dismissed from her post for gross misconduct has dropped a legal challenge against the Council. Clare Pestell, formerly a Director of Commercial and Income Generation, left SSDC in late 2021 following an independent investigation that concluded she had breached the council's code of conduct by not declaring using council staff and resources at her private business. Ms Pestell denied the allegations and had been due to appear at an employment tribunal against the council in Exeter later this week.

    Wincanton racecourse has dropped its formal dress code for all future meetings. The course is one of fifteen venues run by the Jockey Club to no longer insist that those attending meetings should wear certain types of clothing. 

    Work has started on improving electricity supplies to homes in Sherborne. Scottish and Southern Electricity is investing one-point-seven-million pounds in upgrading the Sherborne Primary Substation by replacing vital components including transformers, switchgear and circuit breakers. It says the upgrade will increase the strength of power supplies to ten thousand customers.

    There's been a rise in the number of young people reporting concerns about violent or controlling relationships in Somerset. The Somerset Integrated Domestic Abuse Service Helpline took 300 calls between April last year and January of this year – over the same period in 2021 the number of calls was 128. 

    Yeovil Town missed out taking all three points against Maidstone United at Huish Park at the weekend after conceding a late equaliser to the visitors. The game ended a 2-all draw.

    More from News

    • 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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 11°C | Low: 8°C

    • Chard

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 11°C | Low: 8°C

    • Crewkerne

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 11°C | Low: 8°C

    • Somerton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 12°C | Low: 9°C

    • Wincanton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 11°C | Low: 8°C

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