Local News Thursday 29th September

    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. 

    More from News

    • Thursday 28th March

      The waiting room and public toilets at Yeovil bus station that have fallen victim to Somerset Council spending cuts, will shut for good this weekend. A banking hub will not be provided in Ilminster when the town's last bank closes later this year. A rugby player who punched an opponent during a game in Sherborne has been ordered to pay his victim £4,000 in compensation...and more.

    • Wednesday 27th March

      Twenty-mile-an-hour speed zones are being introduced in fifteen areas across Somerset, including on roads in Chard and Ilchester. Plans to build fifty new houses at Broadway near Ilminster have been scrapped. Two people have appeared at Yeovil Magistrates Court charged with multiple drug offences...and more.

    • Tuesday 26th March

      More than two hundred and fifty new homes are to be built on the northern edge of Yeovil following a successful appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The Shindig Music Festival, held on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster, has announced that this year's event will be their last. A hip replacement procedure at Yeovil Hospital, that can be done without patients needing an overnight hospital stay, has won a top award...and more.

    • Monday 25th March

      Twenty-five new electric buses will soon start running on Somerset’s roads thanks to a £14.7 million Government investment in public transport. A record number of houses were sold in Chard last year making it one of the most popular towns in Somerset to live in. Yeovil's Marlie Packer won her 100th cap with the England Women’s Rugby team playing Italy in a Six Nations game yesterday...and more.

    • Friday 22nd March

      A by-election for a seat on Yeovil Town Council has been won by the Yeovil Independents. Owners of empty properties in Somerset will be paying double in council tax from April. A Somerset man is celebrating after finding England’s largest ever nugget of gold, said to be worth £30,000, using a metal detector...and more.

    • Thursday 21st March

      A four-year-long, one-million-pound regeneration project in Chard, to improve the look of the town centre is nearing completion. Bus users have criticised a decision to cut a bus route between Wells and Yeovil. Yeovil is one of only three towns in Somerset to win a place in the finals of the national Britain in Bloom competition...and more

    • Wednesday 20th March

      Eighty-one motorists were caught using a mobile phone at the wheel during a two-week crackdown carried out by Avon and Somerset Police. People in Crewkerne are being asked to report incidents of fly tipping to the Town Council. A nurse at Yeovil Hospital will be raising money for the Roald Dahl Marvellous Children’s Charity when she competes in this year’s London Marathon...and more.

    • Tuesday 19th March

      Visit Somerset says the number of people visiting Somerset's tourist attraction is on the increase, despite a downturn in visitor numbers at UK tourist attractions. A new doctors’ surgery could soon open in Bruton as part of a new housing scheme. A campaign’s been launched in Bradford Abbas for the village to be given back a post box... and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 10°C | Low: 6°C

    • Chard

      Light rain

      High: 9°C | Low: 5°C

    • Crewkerne

      Light rain

      High: 9°C | Low: 5°C

    • Somerton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 10°C | Low: 6°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 10°C | Low: 6°C

    Recently Played