A half-a-billion pound budget has been agreed upon for the new Somerset Council. Caravan site owners in Somerset say this summer looks like being one of their busiest ever. Call handlers are being recruited to run the NHS 111 service in Somerset. A national clothing brand has opened a new warehouse and printing facility near Ilminster...and more.
A half-a-billion pound budget has been agreed upon for the new Somerset Council that replaces the county and four district councils on the first of April. The budget represents a near 5% rise in council tax - a typical Band D household in Somerset will pay £78 a year more in council tax. Around £17 million of the Council's budget will go towards the £29 million cost of upgrading the Octagon theatre in Yeovil.
Caravan site owners in Somerset say this summer looks like being one of their busiest ever for bookings. A survey of Caravan and Motorhome Club members suggests more people are booking caravan holidays and booking longer stays.
Call handlers are being recruited to work for the new provider of the NHS 111 service in Somerset. The contract to run the 111 helpline in Somerset has been won by HUC who currently operate the 111 service in the East of England. The company is seeking to employ several dozen new call handlers as well as clinicians, to support its service offer in Somerset.
A national clothing brand has opened a new warehouse and printing facility near Ilminster. Jolly Elephant, who claim their business is grounded in sustainability, has relocated to the Ilton Business Park.
Yeovil College Principal Mark Bolton has joined the Board of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership. The role of the LEP is to support ways to improve the region’s economy and create new jobs.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more
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