Local News Thursday 29th September

Thursday, 29 September 2022 06:00

A report from the Rural Services Network has found that people living in Somerset are struggling more than people living in urban areas with the cost of living crisis. A Yeovil man has been jailed for eight months for dangerous driving. 4,000 people have now signed a petition calling for the scrapping of plans to transfer a mental health unit in Wells to Yeovil. There’s a chance to find out more about the running of Yeovil Hospital today and people in Chard are being asked to comment on plans to upgrade the play area in Henson Park.

A report from the Rural Services Network has found that people living in Somerset are struggling more than people living in urban areas with the cost of living crisis. It found that people with homes in the countryside have been impacted to a far greater extent by rising energy bills, transport costs, and lower wages. Graham Biggs, CEO of the Rural Services Network says the government needs to invest more heavily in rural areas.

A Yeovil man has been jailed for eight months for dangerous driving. Matthew Goodchild of Fosse Park Road was clocked travelling at 90 mph during a police chase that ended with his car crashing into a traffic bollard on Newton Road. Goodchild was further charged with driving while disqualified and without insurance, and banned from driving for 28 months.

4,000 people have now signed a petition calling for the scrapping of plans to transfer a mental health unit in Wells to Yeovil. It was proposed in 2020 that St Andrews Mental Health Ward in Wells should move to Summerlands site on Preston Road in Yeovil but a final decision has yet to be made. Objectors plan a protest in Frome today where members of the new Integrated Care Board for Somerset are meeting.

There’s a chance to find out more about the running of Yeovil Hospital today. The committee responsible for the management of Yeovil Hospital is holding its annual general meeting this afternoon. The AGM of Yeovil Hospital NHS Foundation Trust takes place at Monks Yard at Horton Cross near Ilminster starting at 3 pm and is open for the public to attend.

People in Chard are being asked to comment on plans to upgrade the play area in Henson Park. The plans include providing a basket swing, rock n' bowl, surf rider, stepping logs, and five-a-side football goals for children to play on. The survey can be found on the Chard Town Council website.

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Friday 13th June

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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.