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”.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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