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.

More from News

Friday 26 April

A man has been arrested in Castle Cary and charged with stalking, harassment and making threats to kill. The NHS in Somerset says its staff retention rate has improved over the past two years. A farmer in South Petherton is preparing to cycle 1,000 miles to raise money for charity...and more.
Thursday 25th April

The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more
Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more