Local News Thursday 14th September

    Plans to add a roof terrace to a Yeovil pub have been aborted after more than three years. A major Chard housing development could still be going ahead but with fewer homes. More than one hundred schools in Somerset expect to go over their budgets this year...and more.

    Plans to add a roof terrace to a Yeovil pub have been aborted after more than three years. The original proposals for a £1.5m terrace at the William Dampier pub on Middle Street were given the go-ahead in 2019, with work starting in March 2020. The mix of indoor and outdoor seating would have accommodated around 280 people. However, Wetherspoons now say they’ve decided against the development.

    A major Chard housing development could still be going ahead, but with fewer homes than the developer originally requested. Persimmon Homes South West applied in July 2016 to build on the outskirts of the town, between Tatworth Road and Forton Road. This plan was then revised to 252 homes but after South Somerset District postponed its decision, the developer has further reduced the proposed number to 236.

    More than one hundred schools in Somerset expect to go over their budgets this year. Somerset Council is blaming low government funding, inflation and falling birth rates in the county. The Department for Education says they are investing an extra £2 billion into schools, this year and next, describing school funding as being at the highest level in history.

    And one of the major A roads in the area has received drivers’ highest satisfaction score in a recent survey. 85% of A303 drivers surveyed were more than happy with the stretch, whilst the M5 came close behind thanks to what is described as “good traffic flow” and the road “not being too busy”.

    More from News

    • Thursday 30th October

      Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more

    • Wednesday 29th October

      Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.

    • Tuesday 28th October

      Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more

    • Monday 27th October

      The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more

    • Friday 24th October

      New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more

    • Thursday 23rd October

      Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more

    • Wednesday 22nd October

      A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .

    • Tuesday 21st October

      Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Low-level cloud

      High: 13°C | Low: 12°C

    • Chard

      Heavy Rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 12°C

    • Crewkerne

      Heavy Rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 12°C

    • Somerton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 14°C | Low: 12°C

    • Wincanton

      Low-level cloud

      High: 13°C | Low: 12°C

    Recently Played