Local News Wednesday 12th May

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 at 06:00

Disruption to rail services on the London line through Castle Cary is set to last until the end of the week. Somerset's gritting lorries travelled a record number of miles last winter. South Somerset District Council is to continue holding meetings online, for the time being. Journalist and broadcaster, Mariella Frostrup, is the new President of the Somerset branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England...andmore.

Disruption to rail services on the London line through Castle Cary is set to last until the end of the week, according to GWR. It follows hairline cracks being found in the chassis of some trains and the trains being taken out of service. Great Western is hoping things will return to normal by the weekend but says people should not travel unless the journey is essential.

Somerset's gritting lorries travelled a record number of miles last winter. The County’s fleet of 23 gritters were called out on 66 occasions and laid salt on more than 70,000 miles of local roads. In the winter of last year, the same number of vehicles salted just 44,000 miles of local roads.

South Somerset District Council is to continue holding meetings online, for the time being. Special measures banning face-to-face meetings introduced at the start of the pandemic expired last week, and organisations representing local councils are pressing the government for clarity on the issue.

Journalist and broadcaster, Mariella Frostrup, is the new President of the Somerset branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England. Ms Frostrup, who lives in Bruton, takes over as Head of the local CPRE from Roger Martin.

Long Hazel Park camping and caravan park at Sparkford has been voted Holiday Park of the Year in the Somerset Tourism Awards. Owners, Alan and Pamela Walton say winning the title has given them a great start to the new holiday season.

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