Local News Thursday 5th January

Thursday, 5 January 2023 06:00

A delay has been announced to the plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton. South Somerset District Council has given the go-ahead for thirty low-cost homes to be built in South Petherton. A five-year plan is being drawn up for the future of the arts scene in Somerset. The New Year has got off to a good start for Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil with the company winning a multi-million-pound order with Canada to upgrade search and rescue helicopters...and more.

A delay has been announced to the plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton. National Highways says it’s to allow more time to assess the environmental impact of widening the road. National Highways had been due to apply for a Development Consent Order on the project before Christmas but now says this won’t happen until later in the year.

South Somerset District Council has given the go-ahead for thirty low-cost homes to be built in South Petherton. The development of one-bed flats and two and three-bed houses will be sited on land at Flax Court. SSDC is also being asked to give planning consent to build 40 homes on Silver Street and 18 homes on Lampreys Lane in South Petherton.

A five-year plan is being drawn up for the future of the arts scene in Somerset. Local councils are working on the project, aimed at better promotion of the arts as well as creating new job opportunities in the arts.

The New Year has got off to a good start for Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil with the company winning a multi-million-pound order with Canada to upgrade search and rescue helicopters. The contract, worth £608 million pounds, will see the systems of sixteen Canadian AW101 Cormorants up-graded, extending the life expectancy of the aircraft by further 20 years.

Plans have been submitted to convert the rear part of Chard's former HSBC bank building into a residential dwelling. HSBC closed its Chard branch three years ago and, currently, the building stands unoccupied.

Crewkerne Town Council says it may have to permanently close the public toilets in Falkland Square in the town following repeated acts of anti-social behavior. Police are asking anyone who witnesses the toilets being misused to inform the Town Council or call the police non-emergency number 101.

More from News

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.