Local News Tuesday 15th August

Tuesday, 15 August 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has joined the fight to keep open Yeovil leather firm Pittards. Plans to build six new homes at Whitelackington have been turned down. A studio has opened in Ilminster, aimed at helping people to upcycle clothing and create new designs. A new way of offering spiritual guidance to older people is being trialled by the Diocese of Bath and Wells...and more.

The fight to save Yeovil leather manufacturer Pittards from closure is far from over according to Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh. The company that employs around 230 staff at its factory on Sherborne Road was put into the hands of administrators last week after failing to raise one-point-one million pounds in cash to keep it afloat. Marcus Fysh believes Pittards has a future and says he’s working with the administrators to explore options for keeping the business going.

Plans to build six new homes at Whitelackington near Ilminster have been turned down. Somerset Council gave highway safety concerns as one reason for rejecting the proposed development off Hanning Close.

A new studio has opened in Ilminster, aimed at helping people to upcycle clothing and create new designs. Sew What! launched last week after receiving cash from a start-up loan programme.

People in Chard are being asked for their views on a proposed new housing development on the town’s northern edge. If it goes ahead, sixty-seven homes would be built between the A358 Furnham Road and Chaffcombe Lane. The consultation is being led by Greenslade Taylor Hunt and can be accessed via their website.

A new way of offering spiritual guidance to older people is being trialled by the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It's setting up a team of so-called 'Anna Chaplains' specifically to help older people worried about what happens at the end of their lives.

The Duke of York pub in Shepton Beauchamp has been put up for sale with a price tag of five-hundred-and-fifty-thousand pounds. It has a main bar, a thirty-seater restaurant, four self-contained ensuite letting rooms and a skittle alley.

Yeovil Lions and Options have raised ten thousand pounds for the Yeovil Breast Cancer Unit Appeal with a charity event held at Lanes Hotel in West Coker. The donation has taken the total raised for the new unit so far to more than two-point-four million pounds.

More from News

Thursday 10th September

Work has begun building a new multi-million-pound David Lloyd leisure centre in Yeovil. NHS Somerset says a new system to handle emergency stroke care will lead to "better outcomes" for patients. Tickets for next year’s Glastonbury Festival will go on sale in October...and more
Wednesday 9th September

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to following an assault in Yeovil. Businesses in Taunton say they're worried that planned changes to parking rules could put people off visiting the town. The Red Arrows will take to the skies near the Somerset border in a one-off display later this week... and more
Tuesday 8th September

Police in Avon and Somerset say they’re dealing with a big increase in reports of cloned vehicle fraud. A new video system designed to speed up stroke care has been launched in Somerset. Pilgrims are walking through Somerset this week to mark eight hundred years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi... and more
Monday 7th September

Avon and Somerset Police are warning about a new scam involving criminals posing as police officers. Flu vaccinations are now available on the NHS ahead of the winter. Liverpool comedian John Bishop has cancelled his show in Taunton later this week after breaking his ankle... and more
Friday 4th September

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a vehicle near Shepton Mallet. New taxi charges come into force in Somerset later this month. The fire service is treating as accidental a blaze at a flat in Yeovil town centre... and more
Thursday 3rd September

Fifteen thousand people have signed a petition calling on Somerset Council to cancel plans for a huge data centre in Bridgwater. A nest of Asian hornets has been found in Somerset. More patients in Somerset are set to benefit from a hospital project aimed at restoring independence... and more
Wednesday 2nd September

Yeovil-based charity, School in a Bag, has started sending supplies to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the devastating floods. 6,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans for a new relief road in Chard. The Royal British Legion in Somerset is appealing for more volunteers to help run this year’s Poppy Appeal... and more
Tuesday 1st September

One person had to be cut free from a vehicle following a two-vehicle collision on the A30 near Chard. A Yeovil man has been jailed for 7-and-a-half years for supplying cocaine and cannabis. Two Somerset teenagers have become the youngest to swim the Bristol Channel... and more