Local News Tuesday 20th September

Tuesday, 20 September 2022 06:00

Work to smarten up Yeovil town centre is set to last for at least another eighteen months. A Yeovil business is asking for planning consent to extend its warehouse. A new visitor centre and café could be built at Ham Hill Country Park. An empty shop in Yeovil town centre could be turned into a Christian centre under plans outlined by a local preacher. We're being asked to keep an eye out for wading birds arriving in Somerset...and more.

Work to smarten up Yeovil town centre is set to last for at least another eighteen months. Pedestrian areas in Westminster Street, Wine Street, The Borough, and the Triangle in Lower Middle Street, are being upgraded as part of the Yeovil Refresh Project. The work is already more than a year late and shop and business owners in the town have spoken of their frustration at the delay. Anyone with concerns is asked to contact South Somerset District Council or South West Highways, the contractors doing most of the work.

A Yeovil business is asking for planning consent to extend its warehouse. Hillcroft Surgery Supplies, which employs thirty people, want to double the size of its existing warehouse on the Pen Mill Trading Estate.

A new visitor centre and café could be built at Ham Hill Country Park. It’s part of a wider large-scale project to improve the whole of the site with upgraded footpaths and car parks, repairs to stone walls and a new "gateway entrance feature" to welcome visitors. South Somerset District Council has made a bid to the National Lottery for a grant of £2.3 million to pay for the work.

An empty shop in Yeovil town centre could be turned into a Christian centre under plans outlined by a local preacher. Dominic Muir, who can often be heard in the town preaching Christian values is looking to turn the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop in Middle Street into a place of prayer and enlightenment.

We're being asked to keep an eye out for wading birds arriving in Somerset. The RSPB says every year at this time scores of wading birds descend on local waterways and they would like people to report any sightings.

A Somerset songwriter is to have one of his songs included in an upcoming Christmas film. Marty Davies' song ‘Santa Needs New Boots’ will feature in ‘Christmas at The Holly Day Inn’ which is due for release in December. The film’s described as a family-friendly, romantic comedy and was filmed mostly in Somerset. The cast includes Anita Dobson, best known from East Enders, and former Doctor Who, Colin Baker.

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Friday 12th June

It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more