Local News Thursday 25th May

Thursday, 25 May 2023 07:00

By Steve Haigh

Bridgwater is expected to be confirmed as the site to build a major new factory, making batteries for electric vehicles. Permission has been granted to convert the former village shop in Bradford Abbas into a home. A local man who set himself the task of climbing Mount Snowden, Scafell Pike, and Ben Nevis for charity, has completed the challenge in just twelve days...and more.

Bridgwater is expected to be confirmed as the site to build a significant new factory, making batteries for electric vehicles, creating nine thousand local jobs. The so-called Gigafactory will be located at the Gravity Business Park; a 635-acre "smart campus" currently under construction next to the M5 at Puriton. The Head of the Indian company, Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, is due to meet with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak next week to draft an agreement to build the Gigafactory in Bridgwater. It’s believed the government has offered Tata a subsidy of five-hundred-million pounds to build the plant in Somerset rather than in Spain.

Councillors have rejected plans for two new housing developments in South Somerset. Plans to build forty-nine homes in Horton near Ilminster, and sixty-seven homes close to Wadham School in Crewkerne, were turned down at a meeting of the South Planning Committee of Somerset Council. This, despite planning officers recommending the applications should be approved. A decision on a planning application to build ninety-five homes in the village of Tatworth, near Chard, was deferred.

Permission has been granted to turn the former village shop and post office in Bradford Abbas into a home. After the shop closed, The Old Post Office House in Church Road was used for tearoom and hairdressing business, but each closed due to a lack of trade.

A man from Barrington, who set himself the task of climbing Mount Snowden, Scafell Pike, and Ben Nevis for charity, has completed the challenge in just twelve days. Dean Lewis, who works in the ambulance service, was raising money for mental health charities.

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Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more