Local News Tuesday 20th June

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

New technology is being used to help identify people in Somerset at risk of developing liver disease. Tributes are being paid to Somerset racehorse owner, Paul Barber, who has died at the age of 80. Plans have been submitted to convert an office block in Yeovil town centre into a house of multiple occupation...and more.

New technology is being used to help identify people in Somerset at risk of developing liver disease. The project involves analysing people’s historic blood results and, where signs of liver disease are spotted, offering them early treatment.

Tributes are being paid to Somerset racehorse owner, Paul Barber, who has died at the age of 80. His best-known horses, See More Business and Denman, enjoyed big race successes, including winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Paul Barber was also well known as a Somerset cheese maker.

Plans have been submitted to convert an office block in Yeovil town centre into a house of multiple occupation. If approved by Somerset Council, the former Porter Dodson offices on Church Path, next to St John’s Church, would be turned into a fifteen-bed unit.

Funding has been provided to plant a further twenty thousand new trees across Somerset as part of efforts to reduce flooding. The ‘Trees for Water’ project has been given sixty-thousand pounds in funding to plant trees across the county aimed at reducing surface water run-off in targeted areas.

The Big Wildlife Count is taking place in Somerset this week. People are being asked to look out for common species like goldfinch, dragonflies, spiders and butterflies and record their sightings online. The project is being run jointly by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and Somerset Environmental Records Centre.

The Head of the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard is walking a forty-six-mile walk today and tomorrow, raising funds for the charity. On his way over to Chard from the Ferne Estate in Wiltshire, Kevan Hodges will be passing through Henstridge, Milborne Port, West Coker, Haselbury Plucknet, Crewkerne, Roundham, and Cricket St Thomas.

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Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.