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

Friday 24th April

Plans have been submitted to turn a property on Preston Road in Yeovil into a House in Multiple Occupation. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has been recalled to the England Red Roses starting line-up for tomorrow’s Women’s Six Nations game against Wales. Three sisters from Yeovil will be running the London Marathon this weekend in support of Guide Dogs UK... and more
Thursday 23rd April

Helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton have completed six weeks of sorties, protecting Cyprus from attacks by Iran. People in Somerset who use domestic heating oil are calling on the government to regulate the oil supply industry. Patients are being invited to register at a new NHS dentist in Crewkerne... and more
Wednesday 22nd April

Expectant mothers are using Yeovil Hospital once again to give birth following the reopening of the maternity unit. A Yeovil man has been jailed for four years for committing sexual offences against two young girls. Plans have been approved to convert a pub in Milborne Port into housing... and more
Tuesday 21st April

NHS Somerset has delayed closing the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. A former Avon and Somerset Police officer has been jailed for making indecent images of children. A Somerset man has been fined after pleading guilty to hunting a wild animal with dogs... and more
Monday 20th April

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage. Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three school choices. People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer... and more
Friday 17th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has backed calls for a cap on heating oil prices. Invitations are being sent out to those in Somerset eligible for the latest Covid vaccine. A pub near Chard has closed just four months after reopening... and more
Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more