Yeovil has been officially re-branded as the ‘Home of British Helicopters’. More spending cuts are on the way at Somerset Council. A shopkeeper in Bruton is questioning a ‘no entry’ sign. The four-time holder of the World’s Strongest Man title is in Chard this weekend...and more.
Yeovil has been officially re-branded as the ‘Home of British Helicopters’. The slogan will be seen on road signs leading into the town and on all promotional material about Yeovil. The campaign has been funded by Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.
More spending cuts are on the way at Somerset Council. The unitary authority took responsibility for providing all council services in Somerset in April following the closure of the County Council and four district councils – including South Somerset. They’ve already identified savings of forty-point-eight million pounds for next year but say further cuts are needed of up to fifty million to balance the books. Deputy Leader, Liz Leyshon says the financial benefits of combining the five former councils into the unitary council will take time to show through.
A shopkeeper in Bruton is questioning why a ‘no entry’ sign has been placed in the middle of the pavement on the High Street in Bruton. Shoppers say it’s difficult to navigate around the sign, especially for people in wheelchairs and those with prams. Simon, the local butcher on the High Street, has started a campaign to have the sign moved elsewhere.
A former World’s Strongest Man title holder is in Chard this weekend. Magnús Ver Magnússon is considered one of the greatest strongmen of all time having won the World’s Strongest Man competition four times, in 1991, 1994, 1995 and 1996. He’s visiting Chard to judge the British Disabled Strongman and Strongwoman Competition 2023 which is being held at Holyrood Academy this coming Saturday and Sunday.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.
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