Local News Tuesday 21st December

Tuesday, 21 December 2021 06:00

Extra police teams are patrolling roads in South Somerset as part of the Christmas crackdown on drink and drug driving. The NHS in Somerset is appealing for more volunteers to come forward to help run the vaccination centre at the Haynes Motor Museum in Sparkford. Police have carried out an eviction at a house in Chard. An empty building next to Chard’s new leisure centre is unlikely to be demolished now until the spring and Chard Museum has been given a grant of nearly £5,000 to run community engagement projects.

Extra police teams are patrolling roads in South Somerset as part of the Christmas crackdown on drink and drug driving. Since the start of December, police say 100 arrests for drink and drug driving offences have been made across the Avon and Somerset force area.

The NHS in Somerset is appealing for more volunteers to come forward to help run the vaccination centre at the Haynes Motor Museum in Sparkford. They’re asking for new volunteers to work one day each week. Meanwhile, drop-in Covid jabs are being offered in Yeovil & Shepton Mallet today. Anyone wanting a first, second or booster jab can just call in without an appointment at the offices of Mendip Council where the centre is located. It’s open until 10 pm. In Yeovil, walk-in covid vaccinations for anyone over 18 will be available at the Yeovil College reception building between the hours of 9 am and 11:45 am and another walk-in clinic will be open at Birchfield Church between 2 pm and 4:45 pm. On Wednesday the 22nd there will also be a walk-in clinic at Preston Academy between 10 am and 3:45 pm. If you are visiting any of the clinics please take your NHS number with you so that an efficient administration process can be assured.

Police have carried out an eviction at a house in Chard. The property in Coronation Street was cleared of its occupants after neighbours repeatedly complained about anti-social behaviour and drugs at the property.

An empty building next to Chard’s new leisure centre is unlikely to be demolished now until the spring. The structure had been meant to come down when the new leisure centre opened. Somerset District Council has blamed the delay on the planning process.

Chard Museum has been given a grant of nearly £5,000 to run community engagement projects. The money’s been awarded by the Gannett Foundation, which is the charitable arm of Newsquest, the company that publishers the Chard and Ilminster News and Somerset County Gazette.

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Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more