Local News Tuesday 16th May

Tuesday, 16 May 2023 07:00

By Steve Haigh

The new owner of Yeovil Town, Martin Hellier, says his purchase of the club includes the right to buy back Huish Park and the surrounding land from Somerset Council. A new five million pound operating theatre has opened at Yeovil Hospital. Plans have been submitted to convert the former village shop in East Coker into a house....and more.

The new owner of Yeovil Town, Martin Hellier, has been speaking about his plans to return The Glovers to winning ways. He’s confirmed that manager, Mark Cooper will remain in post with the task of getting Yeovil back into the National League. Mr Hellier also comfirmed that his purchase includes the right to buy back Huish Park and the surrounding land that is currently in the ownership of Somerset Council.

April saw another increase in business performance in the South West including here in Somerset. According to the NatWest Business Activity Index, the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors rose from 50.6 percent in March to 52.9 percent in April. It was the third successive monthly expansion in output since the start of the year.

Yeovil Hospital says a new five million pound operating theatre that opened this week is helping to reduce waiting times. The new facility is being used to perform procedures that include breast surgery and dermatology, where patients are allowed home on the same day they have their operations.

GWR, who run trains through Castle Cary and Bruton stations, are to ban E-scooters from their trains, amid concerns they pose a fire risk. Up until now, passengers have been allowed to take E-scooters onto trains, provided they are folded and put on the floor. The ban, that will take affect from Sunday May 21st follows incidents in which lithium batteries that power E-scooters overheated, leading to a risk of fire.

This week marks national ‘Water Saving Week’ with local supplier, Wessex Water, asking people to be sparing using water in the home and garden. Wessex Water says only if more people adopt water saving measures like using a water butt to collect rainwater can they be confident of keeping everyone fully supplied this summer.

Plans have been submitted for a change of use on the former village shop in East Coker. The owners want to combine the premises with their house – Hollyhock Cottage – which is next door. The village shop in East Coker, that at one time included a Post Office, closed in 2015.

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.