Local News Thursday 23rd June

Thursday, 23 June 2022 06:00

Somerset County Council is warning that some primary schools in rural areas may have to close due to a fall in the county’s birth rate. South Somerset District Council is to spend a further £1.3m on top of the £1.6m already allocated to make its leisure centres ‘greener’. Work is about to start on repairs to Langport's historic Hanging Chapel. Local businesses have an opportunity to promote their products and services at a new event to be held in Yeovil next month...and more.

Somerset County Council is warning that some primary schools in rural areas may have to close due to a fall in the county’s birth rate. The council predicts there will be 476 fewer primary-age pupils in Somerset by 2026, a drop of 8.6 per cent compared to the number of primary-age pupils at present. In financial terms, the council would receive £16.2m less funding from the Department for Education to run primary schools.

South Somerset District Council is to spend a further £1.3m on top of the £1.6m already allocated to make its leisure centres ‘greener’. The money will be invested in decarbonizing Wincanton Sports Centre in Wincanton, and both Goldenstones Leisure Centre and Westlands Sports and Leisure Centre in Yeovil. Each of the buildings will be fitted with solar panels and air source heat pumps, which the council estimates will save around 435 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Work is about to start on repairs to Langport's historic Hanging Chapel. The grade one listed structure was damaged back in April when a lorry tried to squeeze through it narrow archway.

Local businesses have an opportunity to promote their products and services at a new event to be held in Yeovil next month. The Yeovil Business Fair is the first event of its kind to be organized by the Yeovil Chamber of Commerce. It takes place at the Yeovil Innovation Centre on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th of July.

A father and daughter have set up a fishing group in Somerton to entice older people to be more active. Becky and Steve Bostock are offering retired people the chance to be involved in coarse fishing sessions at a local lake, as a way of overcoming isolation. Becky, who works for Age UK Somerset, says angling is good for older people’s mental and physical health, as well as being a great social activity.

More from News

Thursday 2nd April

The joint master of a hunt in Somerset has criticised the decision to hold a public consultation on banning trail hunting. Images of two men police want to speak to in connection with an arson attack on a barber’s shop in Wincanton have been released. The company that runs four leisure centres in the Mendip area has gone into administration... and more
Wednesday 1st April

No money has been committed to major new road projects in Somerset. A road linking Chard and Clayhanger has been closed after it collapsed due to badgers burrowing under the surface. The Bishop of Bath and Wells is on day-2 of his pilgrimage across Somerset to mark the holy week of Easter... and more
Tuesday 31st March

Somerset Council says it doesn’t have the money to install solar panels on the roof of the Octagon Theatre. Three men have been charged in connection with an investigation into a hunt in Somerset. Changes have been announced to the times of waste collections in Somerset over the Easter holidays... and more
Monday 30th March

Avon and Somerset Police say its armed officers attended 2,700 incidents in Somerset last year. Plans have been submitted to build 40 new homes in Curry Rivel. South Western Ambulance is offering free CPR and defibrillator training to help improve cardiac arrest survival rates...and more
Friday 27 March

There's been a big improvement in ambulance response times in Somerset. Three local people have been charged with offences linked to the theft and supply of prescription-only drugs. A fragment of a jawbone found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge appears to show that humans kept dogs as pets as far back as 5,000 years ago... and more
Thursday 26th March

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.
Wednesday 25th March

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more
Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more