Somerset Community Council doubts that people living in rural areas of Somerset will be helped by the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. Plans have been submitted to convert a former church in Yeovil into flats. A specialist unit for secondary school-age children with autism in Mendip is to move from Frome to Glastonbury. Unions have criticised a decision to allow care staff in Somerset to carry on working even when they have Covid...and more.
Somerset Community Council doubts that people living in rural areas of Somerset will be helped by the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. Rishi Sunak announced yesterday he would raise the threshold for paying National Insurance, cut fuel duty by five pence per litre, and cut the basic rate of income tax, but Keeley Rudd, Chief Executive of Somerset Community Council, says for people in rural areas who rely heavily on using a car, the changes are unlikely to be much of a benefit.
Plans have been submitted to convert a former church in Yeovil into flats. The building on Larkhill Road was formerly used as a church and day nursery but has been empty for a number of years.
A specialist unit for secondary school-age children with autism in Mendip is to move from Frome to Glastonbury. Somerset county council has decided to move its Mendip autism base to the grounds of St Dunstan's School in Glastonbury, where building work will start shortly on part of the playing fields.
Unions have criticised a decision to allow care staff in Somerset to carry on working even when they have Covid. It follows concerns expressed by Somerset County Council that vulnerable residents in care homes would be put at more at risk of contracting other illnesses if staff were not allowed to work as normal.
A children’s pre-school in the village of Hinton St George has been provided with a new building. The building forms part of Hinton St George Primary School and has been paid for by donations and local fundraising.
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