Thursday 18th July

Thursday, 18 July 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Plans have been submitted to build 650 new houses in Wincanton. Farmers in Somerset have criticised Avon and Somerset Police for re-deploying four officers from the rural crime team. Glastonbury and Somerton MP, Sarah Dyke, has written to the new Transport Secretary asking for a meeting about restoring a rail link between Langport and Somerton...and more.

Plans have been submitted to build 650 new houses in Wincanton. Land alongside the A371 at West Hill has been earmarked for the scheme, which includes a new primary school, care home and commercial units. To prevent the appearance of urban sprawl, the site has been arranged into four 'quarters' separated by green corridors - Hook Valley to the west, Furze Hill to the north, West Hill to the northeast, and Brook to the southeast.

A planning inspector has rejected an application to build 120 new homes in Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet. West Estates Development Ltd lodged an appeal after twice being refused permission to build the homes on the former Greencore factory site on Prestleigh Road. In his report, the Inspector says the scheme failed to respect the distinctive character of Evercreech, and would put the local services under greater pressure.

Farmers in Somerset have criticised Avon and Somerset Police for re-deploying four officers from the rural crime team. Police say the move is temporary and the offers are needed to meet demand elsewhere in the force area. But farmers say due to theft, hare coursing and illegal raves, demand for police support in rural areas is higher than ever.

Glastonbury and Somerton MP, Sarah Dyke, has written to the new Transport Secretary asking for a meeting about restoring a rail link between Langport and Somerton. The two towns were originally served by trains on the Taunton to Castle Cary line but their stations were closed in the 1960s. Sarah Dyke says a rail link would be economically beneficial to the local area, and the new Labour government should give it careful consideration.

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard is holding a Summer Fayre on Saturday. The charity, which provides a home to more than 300 animals, has run into financial problems with the event vital to its future.

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.