Local News Thursday 25th November

Thursday, 25 November 2021 06:00

The CBI has given its backing to Yeovil-based Leonardo winning a major contract to build the AW 149 for the British government. Jobs advisors in Somerset are urging workers aged over 50 not to panic if they lost jobs during the pandemic. Yeovil Town Council has granted a ‘change of use’ on an empty shop in the town centre. Motorists are being warned of a road closure in Halstock. Somerset-based luxury brand Mulberry has posted a turnaround in profits from red to black...and more.

The CBI has given its backing to Yeovil-based Leonardo winning a major contract to build the AW 149 for the British government. The order, worth in the region of one-billion pounds and spread over 10-years, is to provide a replacement for the RAF’s ageing fleet of Pumas helicopters. The CBI declared its support for the Leonardo bid during its annual conference, held in Yeovil earlier this week.

Jobs advisors in Somerset are urging workers aged over 50 not to panic if they lost jobs during the pandemic. It’s claimed the pandemic's led to the biggest annual fall in employment for workers aged 50 and over since the 1980s.

Yeovil Town Council has granted a ‘change of use’ on an empty shop in the town centre. The shop in Princes Street, next to The Rising Sun Chinese takeaway, is due to re-open as a hot food takeaway under new owners before Christmas.

Motorists are being warned of a road closure in Halstock. Yeovil Road through Halstock will be shut for one day on Saturday, December 4th for cabling laying with diversions in operations.

Somerset-based luxury brand Mulberry has posted a turnaround in profits from red to black. Despite a global lockdown and fewer international visitors to the UK, Mulberry saw its sales rise by nearly a third in 2020.

Drivers in Chard are being told not to ignore ‘road closed’ signs in the town. Police say they’ve had several reports of vehicles going through road closures and are concerned about people working on road repairs getting injured. They’re asking drivers to always follow the diversions.

Two festive nativity events are planned in Chard next month with local people invited to take part. On Saturday, December 4th, there’ll be carol singing at Chard Beacon organised by Chard Churches Together. There’ll also be carol singing with a Nativity Tableau outside Chard Guildhall on Saturday, December 11th and again on Saturday, December 18th.

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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