Local News Tuesday 19th July

Tuesday, 19 July 2022 06:00

An amber weather alert for extreme temperatures is in place across Somerset again today. A Yeovil man has been jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to multiple offences. Plans have been submitted to build one-hundred-and-twenty new homes on the outskirts of Keinton Mandeville. Up to seventeen so-called local community networks could be established across Somerset as part of the new Somerset unitary council. An empty church building in Yeovil is to be converted into flats...and more.

An amber weather alert for extreme temperatures is in place across Somerset again today. Road gritters are being used to treat roads with reports of tarmac surfaces melting in the record temperatures. Speed restrictions are in place again across the rail network. Some services have been cancelled as temperatures rise above what train lines are designed to cope with. The RSPCA is reminding dog owners not to take their pets out for walks in the heat.

A Yeovil man has been jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to multiple offences including sexual offences against children. 63-year-old Michael Sellings, of Horsey Lane pleaded guilty to 12 offences, which took place between November 2016 and June 2021.

Plans have been submitted to build one-hundred-and-twenty new homes on the outskirts of Keinton Mandeville. Land for the development has been earmarked south of the B315 between Keinton Mandeville and Somerton. The sites comprise three fields, ending near the village hall and the Lakeview housing development.

Up to seventeen so-called local community networks could be established across Somerset as part of the new Somerset unitary council. It’s believed the LCN’s will include representatives of parish and town councils, police and fire service, community groups, and perhaps members of the public. A pilot LCN for South East Somerset is currently running.

An empty church building in Yeovil is to be converted into flats. The former Elim Church on Larkhill Road will be turned into four living spaces after South Somerset District Council granted planning permission and a change of use on the building.

Repair or reuse old items instead of replacing them. That's the message from Somerset Waste Partnership as it hosts a series of events across Somerset as part of Reuse Week. It says people should try to think about reusing items before putting them in recycling bins.

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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.