Plans to regenerate Chard town centre have been scaled back due to a lack of cash. Wessex Water has told unvaccinated staff they will be paid less for isolating. Equipment at a play area in Bruton is to be replaced at a cost of £35,000. Royal Mail has apologized for delays delivering the mail in Somerset and Thatcher’s Cider in Somerset is giving away 250 apple trees.
Plans to regenerate Chard town centre have been scaled back due to a lack of cash. South Somerset District Council says the decision not to proceed with Phase Two of the Chard Regeneration Project follows a huge overspend building the town’s new public swimming pool and leisure centre. Plans to revamp Boden Mill and Holyrood Lace Mill have been put on hold due to the lack of available funds.
Wessex Water has told unvaccinated staff they will be paid less for isolating after being in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid. The decision means they'll be paid the minimum government sick pay of around £96 a week. The company says absences due to Covid have doubled over the last seven days.
Equipment at a play area in Bruton is to be replaced at a cost of £35,000. Bruton Town Council is making the money available to upgrade the Jubilee Park play area following concerns about safety.
Royal Mail has apologized for delays delivering the mail in Somerset. Staff absences due to Covid has led to mail being delivered several days late in some places.
Thatcher’s Cider in Somerset is giving away 250 apple trees. They’re being offered to community groups, schools, care homes, and sports clubs for planting this spring to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more