Residents in the Hendford Hill area of Yeovil have won their fight to stop a former care home from being converted into a homeless hostel. Another heat warning is in force in Somerset today with the Met Office forecasting extreme heat up to Saturday. A local man caught growing cannabis has been jailed for three years and seven months and National Highways is advising motorists in Somerset to check their tyres more often to avoid the risk of breaking down.
Residents in the Hendford Hill area of Yeovil have won their fight to stop a former care home from being converted into a homeless hostel.
Bournemouth Churches Housing Association had wanted to turn Acacia Lodge in Hendford Hill into a hostel for thirty-nine homeless people. At a meeting last night of South Somerset District Council’s Area South Committee, the plan was unanimously rejected. The meeting was attended by around 200 local objectors, many of whom spoke directly to the councillors claiming that a homeless hostel would increase the fear of crime in the Hendford Hill area.
Another heat warning is in force in Somerset today with the Met Office forecasting extreme heat up to Saturday. Despite the dry weather, water companies say they're not planning a hose-pipe ban in Somerset at the moment but concern is growing over the health of wildlife living in local canals and rivers. The Canal and River Trust in Somerset say local waterways have become stagnant.
A local man caught growing cannabis has been jailed for three years and seven months. Taunton Crown Court was told that Wesley Wells-Burr of Middle Street, North Perrott, near Crewkerne made more than half a million pounds dealing in cannabis that he grow at a property he owned in Chard.
National Highways is advising motorists in Somerset to check their tyres more often to avoid the risk of breaking down. So far this year 19,300 breakdowns have been recorded on roads in Somerset due to tyre problems.
A formal planning application has been made to carry out significant improvements to Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, costing £15 million. The Halifax Bank in King George Street in Yeovil could be converted into 17 flats. A new young people’s centre opens in Chard early in the New Year...and more.
NHS Somerset reports a strong uptake of flu jabs, but some eligible people for free vaccinations haven’t come forward. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303 in which a pedestrian was killed. A Crewkerne woman has gone viral on TikTok after being trapped inside a Lidl store in the town... and more.
Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Crewkerne Community Hospital is to lose half its inpatient beds. A review will be conducted of a project to make Bridgwater more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Chard Methodist Church is offering residents a free lunch on Christmas Day. Yeovil-based Screwfix is opening a new outlet in Minehead...and more.
Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
Wednesday 24th December
Tuesday 23rd December
Monday 22nd December
Thursday 18th December
Wednesday 17th December
Tuesday 14th December
Monday 15th December
