Local News Thursday 14th October

Thursday, 14 October 2021 06:00

It’s been announced that Chard's new public swimming pool will open on Monday, November 8th. Businesses in Martock are being advised by police to properly secure their vehicles when parking them outside overnight. The organisation seeking to convert a former care home on Hendford Hill in Yeovil into a homeless shelter has hit back over claims the facility will create anti-social behavior in the area. National Highways have published their latest designs for dualling the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton...and more.

It’s been announced that Chard's new public swimming pool will open on Monday, November 8th. The five-lane pool, part of Chard’s new leisure centre, also includes a beginners' pool, soft play area, gym and café. Costing 16-million pounds to build, the leisure centre is part of the Chard Regeneration project, with funding provided by the government and South Somerset District Council.

Businesses in Martock are being advised by police to properly secure their vehicles when parking them outside overnight. It follows a spate of thefts in which the fuel tanks of vehicles left overnight at Martock Business Park have been syphoned.

The organisation seeking to convert a former care home on Hendford Hill in Yeovil into a homeless shelter have hit back over claims the facility will create anti-social behaviour in the area. A Hendford Hill residents group is trying to block plans for a change of use on the former Acacia House residential home. Bournemouth Churches Housing Association, who are behind the scheme, say it will shut its Newton Road shelter in Yeovil town centre and transfer clients to Hendford Hill if the change of use is approved. They say the shelter will be more secure, have a higher standard of accommodation than the unit in Newton Road and have more internal and external communal spaces, set back from the roadside. South Somerset District Council is due to make a decision on the change of use application before the end of the year.

National Highways have published their latest designs for dualling the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton. People are invited to go online to comment on the plans before National Highways submit a formal application to the government next year.

Churches in Somerset have been in demand for providing campers with a place to sleep – the so-called craze of ‘Champing’. The Churches Conservation Trust says ‘Champing’ has grown in popularity due to restrictions on travelling abroad and people looking for a different kind of holidays experience in this country.

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