Local News Thursday 27th May

Thursday, 27 May 2021 06:00

South Somerset District Council has confirmed that it still wants to buy Huish Park. Help is being stepped up in Chard for people about to lose their jobs with the shutdown of the Oscar Mayer factory. A woman in her 20’s has been attacked in a so-called hate crime incident in Yeovil. It happened in the early hours of Monday. Police have been dealing with a spate of catalytic converter thefts in Castle Cary, Sparkford, North Cadbury and Bruton...and more.

South Somerset District Council has confirmed that it still wants to buy Huish Park, the home of Yeovil Town Football Club. Their announcement comes after a six-month moratorium period that allowed other parties to bid for the stadium. However, no competing bid has been made. South Somerset District Council will not own or be a shareholder of the football club. Instead, Yeovil Town FC will be a tenant of the council in the same way as other companies who are commercial tenants of the council.

Help is being stepped up in Chard for people about to lose their jobs with the shutdown of the Oscar Mayer factory. The site, which produces supermarket ready-meals, will close in three months' time with 800 people losing their jobs. Now, a project called ‘Fresh Start Chard’ has been launched to provide support to those affected by the closure

A woman in her 20’s has been attacked in a so-called hate crime incident in Yeovil. It happened in the early hours of Monday. The woman was walking towards the Pen Mill trading estate when three men shouted homophobic abuse at her. They chased her into Vale Road where she was assaulted and lost consciousness. When she came round she called a friend who alerted police before being taken to hospital. Police are asking anyone with information to call the non-emergency number 101.

Police have been dealing with a spate of catalytic converter thefts in Castle Cary, Sparkford, North Cadbury and Bruton. They say seven vehicles were targeted between 10 pm on Sunday (22-05) and lunchtime on Monday. Anyone with information that would help the police is asked to call the non-emergency number 101. If you discover your catalytic converter has been stolen, you should not drive your car but contact your insurance provider to arrange a repair.

Tributes have been paid to the sportswriter, David Foot, who has died aged 92. Born in East Coker, he was well known for his cricket reporting and was a keen follower of Somerset county cricket club. Known as Footie, he was also a prolific novelist and published author.

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Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.