Local News Thursday 16th June

Thursday, 16 June 2022 06:00

Egg producers in Somerset are calling for more recognition of the financial difficulties facing the sector. An online petition has been launched to protect Langport’s historic Hanging Chapel from further damage. The post of Chief Executive at the new Somerset unitary council will be advertised with a salary of up to £200,000. Taxi drivers in South Somerset have applied for an increase in the fares they charge. Taxis drivers in South Somerset have applied for an increase in the fares they charge...and more.

Egg producers in Somerset are calling for more recognition of the financial difficulties facing the sector. Producers say they’re considering shutting down due to rising energy costs and the price of hen feed. The British Free Range Egg Producers Association is warning of shortages unless supermarkets pay producers more than the cost of production.

An online petition has been launched to protect Langport’s historic Hanging Chapel from further damage. The Grade-1 listed structure has been hit several times in the past few months by vehicles that are too high or too wide to pass through its archway. Locals describe the hanging chapel, which dates back to the 13th centenary, as a ‘jewel in the crown’ and want high-sided and heavy vehicles banned from using it.

Photo: A lorry wedged in The Hanging Chapel, Langport, in 2020

The post of Chief Executive at the new Somerset unitary council will be advertised with a salary of up to £200,000. Councillors met yesterday to agree on the pay package, rejecting a recommendation the post should be advertised at £230,000 a year. The Chief Executive of the new Somerset Council will be responsible for running all local council services when the new 'one council' comes into existence next April.

Taxi drivers in South Somerset have applied for an increase in the fares they charge. The district council is being asked to put up rates by 17 percent. It would mean a typical two-mile ride costing £7.60 compared to £6.50 at present. The district council is under pressure to make a quick decision to prevent operators, who are facing higher fuel costs, from going out of business.

Police have renewed their appeal to find a missing Yeovil man. 40-year-old Matthew went missing two weeks ago after boarding a train at Pen Mill station. It's thought he travelled to Brokenhurst in the New Forest but hasn't been seen since, or contacted his family and friends. Here's a picture of Matthew, if you see him, please call 999.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.