Local News Monday 9th January

Monday, 9 January 2023 06:00

South Somerset District Council is insisting that plans to regenerate Yeovil town centre will attract more shoppers. Plans have been submitted to change an empty office building in Yeovil town centre for residential use. The owner of a group of pharmacies in Somerset says they can't be expected to treat all the patients that are referred to them by GPs. People in Somerset are being urged to recycle their Christmas trees...and more.

South Somerset District Council is insisting that plans to regenerate Yeovil town centre will attract more shoppers. The Council has increased spending on smartening up the town centre by two million pounds, taking the budget for the Yeovil Refresh Project, which is already four million pounds over budget and two years behind schedule, to more than twenty-four million pounds. Business owners say they want the Council to adopt a change of approach and introduce incentives to attract new retailers into the town centre.

Plans have been submitted to change an empty office building in Yeovil town centre for residential use. The owners of the property in Market Street, opposite the Pall Tavern pub, want to convert it into flats and a two-bed house.

The owner of a group of pharmacies in Somerset says they can't be expected to treat all the patients that are referred to them by GPs. Under a new scheme, family doctors can direct people to chemists for a fee. Dr Tim Norbury, says it’s putting pharmacy staff under too much pressure.

People in Somerset are being urged to recycle their Christmas trees. Managing Director of the Somerset Waste Partnership Mickey Green says if people have a garden waste subscription with SWP, their tree will be taken away at no charge.

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Domestic Appliances shop at Old Town in Chard into a general convenience store. If approved, the new store would sell a range of goods including, food, publications and alcohol.

Community groups in Somerset are being invited to apply to the Thatcher’s Cider Apple Tree Project. As in previous years, the cider maker is giving away five-hundred trees to local community and voluntary groups to plant around the County.

The Dean of Wells, the Very Reverand Doctor John Davies is retiring. He started his tenure at Wells Cathedral in 2016. The Dean’s final service will be the Feast of Candlemas on the 2nd of February.

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Thursday 25th April

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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