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.
There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.