Tuesday 16th July

Tuesday, 16 July 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Members of Yeovil Town Council meet tonight to vote on taking over a host of local services that Somerset Council says it can no longer afford to provide. Yeovil’s e-scooter trial is being temporarily halted. A new cafe is soon to open for people who worked at the Morlands sheepskin factory in Glastonbury to share memories...and more.

Members of Yeovil Town Council meet tonight to vote on taking over a host of local services that Somerset Council says it can no longer afford to provide. If agreed, the Town Council will assume the management, staffing and funding responsibilities for Yeovil Recreation Centre and Café, Yeovil Country Park and Nine Springs Café, Westlands Entertainment Venue and South Somerset Heritage Collection. Meanwhile, Somerset Council is writing to the new Labour government asking for the financial problems in local government to be given priority. Council Leader, Bill Revans says the Lib Dem-controlled authority is selling assets and carrying out a staffing restructure to help cut costs. But Councillor Revans says what’s also needed is for the new government to formulate a new business model for local government, to protect vital services like adult social care and children’s services.

Yeovil’s e-scooter trial is being temporarily halted, with immediate effect. Operators, Zipp Mobility, says it’s due to an unexpected supplier issue. E-scooters will be removed in Yeovil while the service is suspended. The trial is not due to end until May 2026.

Shepton Mallet prison has been presented with a Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Award. The jail, which closed in 2013 and now operates as a tourist attraction was given a perfect 5.0 score in 3200 reviews on Tripadvisor.

A new cafe will launch later this year for people who worked at the Morlands sheepskin factory in Glastonbury to share memories. The café at the Redbrick building in Glastonbury will be held next to where the Morlands factory once operated.

Four owlets have been named in a public vote run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. They were born in an owl nesting box on the Blackdown Hills.

More from News

Friday 14th November

Yeovil Hospital has introduced a new system for handling patients at its A&E department aimed at cutting waiting times. It’s claimed that an Iron Age settlement preserved under Somerset's wetlands for 2,000 years is facing erosion due to climate change. Montacute Road in Tintinhull will be closed for five days next week for repairs to a gas main.
Thursday 13th November

Workers at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil are taking part in a second day of strike action in their dispute over pay. Lloyds Bank has closed its branch in Chard permanently. A week-long programme of tree planting will be held at Ham Hill later this month to mark National Tree Week...and more
Wednesday 12th November

Workers belonging to the Unite union at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil begin a two-day strike today. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, has been speaking in a parliamentary debate on improving dyslexia support in schools. South Western Ambulance Service is inviting applications for positions on its governing council...and more
Tuesday 11th November

Somerset residents are being urged to get a flu jab as cases of flu continue to rise. Seven horse saddles have been stolen in a break-in at a riding school in Queen Camel. Donations of children’s toys are needed for this year’s Chard Christmas Present Appeal...and more
Monday 10th November

It’s claimed Somerset Council has lost nearly £5 million selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. A car has been set on fire in a suspected arson attack in Shepton Mallet. A Crewkerne man says night-time noise from the town's Waitrose store is causing him and his family "sleep disturbance" ... and more.
Friday 7th November

A man from Yeovil has been jailed for eight years after being convicted of three counts of rape. Smoking rates in Somerset remain higher than in many other parts of the UK. Students at three schools in Yeovil have created a new shoe design for Clarks.
Thursday 6th November

The Supreme Court has ruled that building thousands of homes in Somerset has been "unlawfully held up". The Head of Holyrood Academy in Chard has described the building of a new primary school in the town as an ‘incredible opportunity’. A pub near Chard has been named one of the best in Britain by The Good Food Guide...and more
Wednesday 5th November

Members of the Unite union at Leonardo in Yeovil have called off a planned strike for today. South Western Railway says trains on the West of England Line will start running normally again at the end of the month. A memorial post box has been placed at the entrance to Crewkerne cemetery...and more.