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SWR was forced to make cuts to the timetable last week when a problem with diesel fuel led to a number of trains being withdrawn from service.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.

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It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Thursday 11th June

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
Wednesday 3rd June

A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more