Local News Tuesday 22nd February

Tuesday, 22 February 2022 06:00

Increases in labour and material prices have pushed up the cost of funding the regeneration of Yeovil town centre by a further £1.7 million pounds. Red Kites have been spotted in Somerset. Anyone who has taken part in Ilminster Carnival in the past is being asked to contact the organisers of this year’s Carnival and he date for holding this year’s Shindig Festival has been announced.

Increases in labour and material prices have pushed up the cost of funding the regeneration of Yeovil town centre by a further £1.7 million. It comes seven months after the South Somerset District Council voted to borrow a further £2.8 million to allow key parts of the scheme to begin, as planned. There are two separate budgets allocated for the Yeovil Refresh project, the capital budget (which covers new infrastructure such as roads and cycle lanes) and the revenue budget (which handles day-to-day project costs, including staff time and design work).
Under the proposals, the Yeovil Refresh capital budget will rise by £1,059,000 (funded through borrowing, bringing its new total to £21,838,000), while the revenue budget will rise by £606,000 to £1,994,000 (with the additional funding coming from the council's existing regeneration reserve). To finance the additional borrowing, the council will also increase its overall revenue budget by £44,000, bringing the total additional cost of the Yeovil Refresh programme to £1,709,000. The Yeovil Refresh project received around £9.75M from the government's future high street fund, which has to be spent in full by March 2024. In addition to the extra upfront funding, the council will also set aside £4,784,000 from its existing reserves, which will be used to replace any grant funding that has to be handed back to the government. Taking this new reserve into account, the council could end up spending an additional £6,493,000 on the Yeovil Refresh compared to its original budget.
The Yeovil Refresh funding proposals will come before the full council for final approval as part of its annual budget-setting meeting on February 28.

Red Kites have been spotted in Somerset. The bird of prey was nearly extinct but has been part of a long-running reintroduction programme in the Midlands. It's thought some of the birds have moved to Somerset for the farmland and hedgerows.

Anyone who has taken part in Ilminster Carnival in the past is being asked to contact the organisers of this year’s Carnival to help celebrate Ilminster Carnival’s 100th birthday. In particular, they’d like to hear from anyone who played the part of a king, queen, prince or princess. If you were part of the Ilminster Carnival in the past, please contact ilminstercarnivalcommittee@hotmail.co.uk they'd love to hear from you.

The date for holding this year’s Shindig Festival has been announced. The event, which hasn’t been held for 2-years due to Covid, will take place on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster from Thursday, May 26th to Sunday, May 29th. Organisers say the festival will be rammed with old favourites, plenty of new faces, and some very special collaborations

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.