Work has begun building an extension to the A & E department at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset County Council has approved its budget for the next financial year. Farmers in Somerset are being encouraged to speak about their mental health and Yeovil professional boxer Dean Dodge is making final preparations for the biggest fight of his career.
Work has begun building an extension to the A and E department at Yeovil Hospital. The development will double the capacity of the department's services, increasing the number of cubicles for assessment and treatment. The extension, costing just over one-million pounds, is due to be completed by the early summer.
Somerset County Council has approved its budget for the next financial year, including an almost 5% increase in its share of council tax. It will add £64 a year to the bill for an average Band D home. The budget also includes significant funding increases for adult social care and children’s services, both of which have subjected to additional pressure during the pandemic.
Farmers in Somerset are being encouraged to speak about their mental health. The Farm Safety Foundation has launched a new campaign, Mind Your head. It's as a new research project led by the universities of Reading, Sheffield and Exeter.
Yeovil professional boxer Dean Dodge is making final preparations for the biggest fight of his career. Dean is taking on Danny Carr, current holder of the South of England Super-featherweight title, at the University of Bolton Stadium tomorrow, Friday. The fight will only go ahead if Dean and his opponent test negative for Coronavirus. Dean, who fights under the name El Diablo, has been on a special diet and says that if he wins, he will dine out on a giant pizza.
Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
The Chief Executive of Somerset Council, Duncan Sharkey, has admitted to making mistakes in cutting jobs. Yeovil MP Adam Dance is supporting a Lib Dem initiative to introduce a new ‘Farm First’ training scheme. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has launched an appeal to help buy a second helicopter... and more.
A man has appeared in court in connection with an attack in Wincanton. A member of Somerset Council, jailed for 26 months for taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest, may not have to stand down as a councillor. NHS Somerset has announced that changes to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital will "go live" in the spring of next year...and more
Avon and Somerset Police say 62 drivers were arrested in the first week of the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign. A reindeer farm near Yeovil thinks it may have to close after being told it needs a Zoo licence. Father Christmas has made a special delivery of presents to Charlton Farm Children's Hospice in Somerset...and more
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset has criticised the government for axing the role. Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Ilminster in which a woman was seriously injured. Residents of Freedom Avenue in Yeovil are raising funds for charity with a big display of Christmas lights...and more.
Plans to build 150 new homes in Ilminster have been scrapped. A Somerset councillor has been jailed for 26 months. Marks & Spencer wants to build a new Food Store in Ilminster. Poundland has announced that it’s shutting its store in Middle Street in Yeovil...and more
Police are appealing for witnesses after an assault on a man in Chard. Lloyds Banking Group has announced a date for closing the Halifax in Yeovil. Train journeys on the Castle Cary to Taunton line will be disrupted next week due to engineering work. The mental health charity MIND in Somerset has produced a Christmas advent calendar... and more.
The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police says her force is doing all it can to reduce anti-social behaviour. Somerset Council has deferred a decision on introducing Sunday car parking charges. People living in deprived areas in Somerset are being fast-tracked for hospital treatment...and more