Local News Tuesday 8th June

Tuesday, 8 June 2021 07:02

The result of a poll on changing local government in Somerset has come out strongly against one council to run all services in the county. Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh is calling on the government to stick with the plan to lift all covid restrictions by June 21st. The number of car journeys on Somerset's roads fell to a 17 year low last year with people making fewer journeys because of the pandemic. Bradfords Building Supplies in Yeovil has been voted ‘Builders' Merchant of the Year’ in the National Builders' Merchants Awards...and more.

The result of a poll on changing local government in Somerset has come out strongly against one council to run all services in the county. Under the changes, Somerset’s five existing councils, including the County Council, would be replaced by one council or two councils, one based on the western side of the county, the other on the eastern side. Of the 111,000 people who took part in the poll, the one council option was rejected by more than two-thirds of voters. The result was 34.7 percent in favour of one council and 65.3 percent in support of two councils, the so-called ‘Stronger Somerset’ option. The result’s been sent to the Secretary of State for Local Government, Robert Jenrick, who will make the decision on the future shape of local government in Somerset but he’s said the poll, which was organised by Somerset’s four district councils, will not influence his decision.

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh is calling on the government to stick with the plan to lift all covid restrictions by June 21st. He believes enough people in Somerset have now been vaccinated for a return to normal life. Mr. Fysh says the country should not be held back every time a new covid variant emerges.

The number of car journeys on Somerset's roads fell to a 17 year low last year with people making fewer journeys because of the pandemic. Somerset Green party campaigner, Shane Collins, Is hoping the changes in the way get about over the past 15-months are here to stay.

A Chard woman caught shoplifting on three occasions has been given a one-year conditional discharge. Appearing before local magistrates, Sophie Plyer of Furzehill, Chard, pleaded guilty to stealing items from a shop in Crewkerne for which she was ordered to pay £104 compensation. She also admitted stealing from shops in Chard and in Axminster.

Bradfords Building Supplies in Yeovil has been voted ‘Builders' Merchant of the Year’ in the National Builders' Merchants Awards. It’s the second year in a row that the title has been won by Bradfords, who have 43 branches across the South West with headquarters in Yeovil.

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Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more
Tuesday 14th April

Avon and Somerset Police has launched a new five-year plan to tackle anti-social behaviour. Additional GP appointments will soon be available at three local surgeries, following a £1 million investment to upgrade NHS facilities in Somerset. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon couple whose daughter died of cancer have raised £128,000 in her memory... and more
Monday 13th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for better support for survivors of domestic abuse living in rural communities. The RSPB in Somerset is urging people to stop feeding birds to prevent the spread of disease. Yeovil Town Football Club says an issue that had threatened it with removal from the register at Companies House has been resolved... and more
Friday 10th April

Maternity services at Yeovil Hospital will reopen on Tuesday April 21st. A Somerset woman, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, has criticised changes to the Motor Motability scheme. Somerset Freemasons have presented a cheque for forty-three thousand pounds to Young Somerset, a charity that supports young people in the county... and more
Thursday 9th April

Yeovil Town Football Club has received a warning that it could be struck off the register at Companies House. Somerset Council has been given £22 million to provide assistance to people facing cost of living pressures. Members of 1st Ilminster Scout Group have spent a night sleeping outdoors to experience the challenges faced by homeless military veterans... and more
Wednesday 8th April

A Yeovil school teacher has been banned from teaching for sharing inappropriate details about her private life with pupils. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon woman has been given a 17-month driving ban. A Yeovil woman who survived bone cancer is raising is running the London Marathon... and more
Tuesday 7th April

Somerset Council has set aside three hundred and seventy thousand pounds to keep open five leisure centres in the Mendip area. Watercombe Lane in Yeovil is set to close for thirty-one days for gas mains replacement works. It’s been announced that Martock will stage a Pride event in June...and more