Local News Thursday 17th June

    It’s thought the government will announce a decision on the future of local government in Somerset by the end of July. A cheese producer in South Somerset is blaming Brexit for not being able to recruit new staff. A road in South Somerset closed four months ago after a landslide and could remain off-limits until the autumn. Lasagne could be replaced with lentils on school dinner menus in Somerset if a former primary school teacher gets her way.  

    It’s thought the government will announce a decision on the future of local government in Somerset by the end of July. All interested parties are agreed that local councils in Somerset have to change. The County Council want one council to run all services, the four district councils want a two council solution, one council based on the eastern side of Somerset the other on the western side. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, is due to make an announcement before the summer Parliamentary recess on July 22.

    A cheese producer in South Somerset is blaming Brexit for not being able to recruit new staff. Norseland, in Ilchester, says many workers left the business to return to their home countries when the UK formally exited the EU at the start of the year. The company is looking to fill vacancies on 40-hour-a-week contracts and part-time vacancies on 20-hour-a-week contracts.

    A road in South Somerset closed four months ago after a landslide and could remain off-limits until the autumn. Chinnock Hollow, between East Chinnock and Odcombe, was blocked by a landslip back in February. Somerset County Council say "due to the complexities of the situation" the road is likely to stay shut for several more months

    Lasagne could be replaced with lentils on school dinner menus in Somerset if a former primary school teacher gets her way.  Catherine Cannon has launched a campaign to have more plant-based meals served in schools. She wants the change made in school menus to help with climate change and because non-meat meals are cheaper to produce.

    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.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 10°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 20°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 20°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 11°C

    • Wincanton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 23°C | Low: 10°C