Ambulance workers in Somerset are being asked if they want to take strike action over pay. A national greetings cards business is opening a new shop in Chard. A walnut crop that has taken twenty years to come to fruition has just been harvested in Somerset. One of the rarest animals in Britain, a grey long-eared bat, has been found at a Church in Somerset and an Ilminster-based florist has been nominated for the Best Florist of the Year Awards.
Ambulance workers in Somerset are being asked if they want to take strike action over pay. The GMB union is balloting its 15 thousand members, including at South Western Ambulance Trust, after rejecting a four percent wage rise.
A national greetings cards business is opening a new shop in Chard. The Card Factory which has over 1,000 stores across the UK and Ireland will open their new shop next month. Currently, they’re looking to fill a number of vacancies including that of store manager, assistant manager and sales assistant roles.
A walnut crop that has taken twenty years to come to fruition has just been harvested in Somerset. Founder of the clothing brand Mulberry turned farmer Roger Saul says the crop is the result of a decision to invest in planting walnut trees in the late 90s.
One of the rarest animals in Britain, a grey long-eared bat, has been found at a Church in Somerset. The discovery was made during work being carried out by National Bats in Churches Survey.
An Ilminster-based florist has been nominated for the Best Florist of the Year Awards. Caitlin Anning-Pile, who’s worked at Cottage Flowers for just two years, has been shortlisted for in the Under 30's category of the competition. The awards are given to young florists who have demonstrated great achievement in the early stages of their chosen careers.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.