Local News Monday 7th June

Monday, 7 June 2021 07:15

More than three-hundred-and-sixty-thousand people in Somerset have now received their first Covid vaccine, according to new figures from NHS England. The result of a public poll on the shake-up of local government in Somerset is due to be announced today. Avon and Somerset Police are providing officers for the policing operation at the G7 summit in Cornwall later this week. South Somerset District Council has given a grant of £400,000 towards new emergency accommodation for homeless people in Yeovil...and more.

More than three-hundred-and-sixty-thousand people in Somerset have now received their first Covid vaccine, according to new figures from NHS England. They also say that in the latest age group to be given the jab, 30 to 34-year-olds, around a third of people have already been vaccinated.

The result of a public poll on the shake-up of local government in Somerset is due to be announced today. Polling closed on Friday on the plan to scrap Somerset’s existing five councils and replace them with one council to run all services in Somerset or two councils, one based on the eastern side of the county the other on the western side. The government says it won’t be influenced in making its decision by the outcome. The poll’s been funded by Somerset’s four district councils and described by Somerset County Council as a ‘waste of public money’.

Avon and Somerset Police are providing officers for the policing operation at the G7 summit in Cornwall later this week. It’s not been confirmed how many offers are being deployed but Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset, Mark Shelford, says helping at the G7 won’t affect policing levels in Somerset.

South Somerset District Council has given a grant of £400,000 towards new emergency accommodation for homeless people in Yeovil. The Pathways facility on Newton Road in Yeovil, which houses up to 30 people, is no longer considered fit for purpose. The new facility, on the outskirts of Yeovil, will have 39 en-suite rooms with kitchenettes, and communal space for group work and leisure activities.

Work starts this week on major repairs to the David Hall in South Petherton. The arts venue has been given grants totalling thirty-five thousand pounds to make the building safe, including blocking a leaking roof.

More from News

Thursday 25th April

The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more
Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more
Tuesday 16th April

A new operator has been found to run a Chard care home that has been at risk of closure. A licence has been granted to run a new music festival in West Dorset. People have until midnight tonight to register for a vote in the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset...and more.