Local News Wednesday 14th April

Wednesday, 14 April 2021 07:30

Police are looking for witnesses to the dangerous driving incident in Yeovil. Yeovil Hospital says online medical appointments have risen dramatically during the lockdown with more and more patients choosing not to visit the hospital because of fears over Covid. A bank in Chard is set to close at the end of June. A nature charity is asking people in Somerset to count and record cowslips in their area...and more.

Police are looking for witnesses to the dangerous driving incident in Yeovil. It happened on Sunday at about 5.45 pm when a silver VW Golf failed to stop for police on the Queensway. The car then travelled at speed towards Mudford Sock where it narrowly missed a family with children. Shortly afterwards, a horse rider was forced into the hedge by the car. Anyone who saw what happened is asked to call the police non-emergency number 101.

Yeovil Hospital says online medical appointments have risen dramatically during the lockdown with more and more patients choosing not to visit the hospital because of fears over Covid. The hospital’s introducing a virtual assessment app to help reduce still further the number of patient visits to the hospital.

A bank in Chard is set to close at the end of June. Barclays, on Fore Street, says it’s closing the branch due to a fall in the number of customers using it in-person.

A nature charity is asking people in Somerset to count and record cowslips in their area. It's part of a survey by the conservation charity Plantlife to monitor the health of threatened meadows.

Plans have been submitted to build 50 new homes at Horton, near Ilminster. The development would be on land close to the Southfields roundabout on the A303. South Somerset District Council is expected to make a decision on the application later this year.

Somerset councils, including South Somerset District, and local town and parish councils, are urging the government not to force them into resuming face-to-face meetings. The government has announced the lifting of the temporary legislation, which allowed councillors to meet virtually during the pandemic, from May 6th. A legal challenge against the decision is due to be heard by the High Court next week.

Former Somerset County Council Leader, Baroness Cathy Bakewell has paid tribute to the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Shirley Williams who died earlier this week. Baroness Bakewell, who lives at Hardington near Yeovil, said she had been a lifelong admirer of Baroness Williams and described her as someone who ‘changed the political landscape'.

More from News

Thursday 25th April

The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more
Wednesday 24th April

Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 23rd April

Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.
Monday 22nd April

The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more.
Friday 19th April

Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.
Thursday 18th April

A Martock man has been jailed after admitting to shining lasers at aircraft flying over Yeovil. Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the TK Maxx store at Babylon Hill. Nearly four hundred people have put their names forward for redundancy at Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 17 April

Three local primary schools have been named on a list of England's top five hundred primary schools. A new co-working space for businesswomen has opened in Wincanton. Urgent repairs are being carried out to Ilminster's new public clock after it started showing the wrong time...and more
Tuesday 16th April

A new operator has been found to run a Chard care home that has been at risk of closure. A licence has been granted to run a new music festival in West Dorset. People have until midnight tonight to register for a vote in the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset...and more.