Local News Tuesday 2nd May

Tuesday, 2 May 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Several local schools are facing disruption today again as teachers stage another strike. Somerset Council has published a timetable of works for the next round of new traffic lights in Yeovil. Work building a new Enterprise Centre in Chard is close to being completed. A well-known café in Langport has announced that it's shutting...and more.

Several local schools are facing disruption today as teachers stage another strike. Members of the National Education Union are taking action in support of their long-running dispute over pay. The schools in our area affected are: Buckler’s Mead School in Yeovil, Huish Episcopi Academy in Langport, Ashlands Primary School in Crewkerne and Ansford Academy in Castle Cary.

Somerset Council has published a timetable of works for the next round of new traffic lights in Yeovil. Larkhill Road will be the first of three places in the town to get new lights installed with work commencing in late May. Work to install new traffic lights on West Coker Road will commence in early June. Work to replace the traffic lights at the junction of Wyndham Street and Sherborne Road will start in July.

Drivers in Somerset are being told to get their eyesight tested regularly with estimates that nearly one million people in the UK are driving with poor vision. Avon and Somerset Police and Somerset Council are involved in a national campaign aimed at getting older drivers to have their vision checked.

South Western Railway says trains on the Waterloo to Exeter line through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations will be running as normal from today. SWR was forced to make cuts to the timetable last week when a problem with diesel fuel led to a number of trains being withdrawn from service.

Work building a new Enterprise Centre in Chard is close to being completed. The building in Beeching Close has been funded by Somerset Council with a grant from the European Regional Development Fund. Local businesses and, in particular, owners of new start-up businesses in Chard are now invited to take up space at the new Centre.

A well-known café in Langport has announced that it's shutting. Secret Teacup at Old Kelways will close for good on Friday, blaming increases in the cost of ingredients, electricity and wages for the decision.

More from News

Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.