Local News Thursday 22nd July

Thursday, 22 July 2021 06:56

Somerset is to be run by ONE council with a single county-wide unitary authority being the government’s preferred option for the future of local government in Somerset. Visit Somerset says the so-called "pingdemic" is causing chaos for the tourism sector. The County Council is bidding to win millions of pounds in extra funding to improve bus services in Somerset. Plans have been submitted for an equestrian centre with horse gallops in Crewkerne...and more.

Somerset is to be run by ONE council with a single county-wide unitary authority being the government’s preferred option for the future of local government in Somerset. In a written statement, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, rejected a rival suggestion from the county's four district councils to set up two separate councils - one in charge of the east of the county, the other covering the western half. It’s expected that elections for the new council will be held next year with the new unitary authority coming into being in April 2023.

Visit Somerset says the so-called "pingdemic" is causing chaos for the tourism sector. Holidaymakers are having to cancel their stays due to being pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app - which is also impacting businesses who have staff off work self-isolating. The government says from the 16th of August people who have been fully vaccinated will not have to self-isolate if they're pinged. But John Turner from Visit Somerset thinks that's too late in the holiday season.

The County Council is bidding to win millions of pounds in extra funding to improve bus services in Somerset. The government is making £3 billion available to support a new National Bus Strategy that local councils can apply for a share of. Somerset County Council is now drawing up a blueprint for future bus service provision in the county for submitting to the government.

Plans have been submitted for an equestrian centre with horse gallops in Crewkerne. If approved by South Somerset District Council, the centre would be built at Peckmoor Farm, Henley Cross in Crewkerne.

Chard has been chosen again to host the annual British Disabled Strongman championships. Gary Clarke, who founded the competition in 2015, will stage the event at Holyrood Academy on Sunday, September 5th.

As South Somerset remains under an amber alert for extreme heat this morning, the NHS is advising that elderly people drink extra water and young people get themselves fully protected against sunburn.

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Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more
Tuesday 16th April

A new operator has been found to run a Chard care home that has been at risk of closure. A licence has been granted to run a new music festival in West Dorset. People have until midnight tonight to register for a vote in the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset...and more.
Monday 15th April

Four people have been arrested as part of an investigation into the illegal supply of prescription-only drugs in Yeovil. A Yeovil man has appeared in court in connection with two burglaries in Langport. A well-known farm and restaurant business in South Petherton has been put up for sale. New figures have shown a further decline in the number of House Sparrows in Somerset...and more.