Local News Tuesday 28th September

Tuesday, 28 September 2021 06:00

Covid booster jabs have started to be given to people in eligible groups in South Somerset. Plans have been published to transform the grass surface of the Leonardo airfield in Yeovil into a "hard surface". Pig farmers are warning that a shortage of workers is causing a surplus of animals in Somerset. Plans have been approved to introduce new visitor facilities at Sutton Bingham reservoir, on the outskirts of Yeovil...and more.

Covid booster jabs have started to be given to people in eligible groups in South Somerset. Those vaccinated twice more than six months ago in eligible groups will have received letters offering a booster. Vaccinations are being delivered through existing centres, including pharmacies and GP practices.

Plans have been published to transform the grass surface of the Leonardo airfield in Yeovil into a "hard surface". The airfield is the longest grass runway in the UK at 1,386 metres. It would be laid to tarmac under the scheme. South Somerset District Council is due to make a decision on the application before the end of the year.

Farmers in Somerset will be allowed to spread slurry this autumn but changes by the Environment Agency mean it could be further regulated next year. The Agency is worried about rivers becoming polluted after rainfall causing run-off. Farmers say they wouldn't spread slurry if poor weather is forecast. Chairman of the NFU in Somerset Tom Kimber says tightening the regulations will mean farmers having to build new slurry lagoons for which they will need financial help.

Pig farmers are warning that a shortage of workers is causing a surplus of animals in Somerset. The Industry is warning of a looming crisis that could lead to animals having to be culled on local farms.

Plans have been approved to introduce new visitor facilities at Sutton Bingham reservoir, on the outskirts of Yeovil. A new entrance gate will be installed, new cycling racks provided and improvements made to the car park on Sutton Hill at the north-western corner of the reservoir, a short distance from All Saints Church.

An Ilminster woman has held an event to raise funds for Brain Tumour research. Katie Wilkinson, who has an incurable brain tumour, organised a "walk of hope" in the town at the weekend with around 60 local people taking part.

A new food and craft event is set to start next month in Ilminster. The market with more than twenty stalls at Donyatt Village Hall will showcase small local businesses. The launch event will be held on Saturday, October 16th, starting at 9 am.

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.