Local News Wednesday 16th November

Wednesday, 16 November 2022 06:00

A business case put forward to combine the running of Yeovil Hospital with Musgrove Park in Taunton has been approved. A pilot scheme involving the use of e-scooters on the streets of Yeovil is set to continue. Thirty-one motorists were caught by Police driving recklessly on the A303 through South Somerset in the space of just half an hour yesterday. A planning decision to allow five units to be built for storing carnival floats on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster has been overturned in the High Court...and more.

A business case put forward to combine the running of Yeovil Hospital with Musgrove Park in Taunton has been approved. Yeovil Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust will now join together, with some medical services merging. The plans, however, have still to be finally approved by NHS England.

A pilot scheme involving the use of e-scooters on the streets of Yeovil is set to continue. The Department of Transport has extended the trial period to 2024 to gather more data on when and how often people use e-scooters.

Thirty-one motorists were caught by Police driving recklessly on the A303 through South Somerset in the space of just half an hour yesterday. Police say they were positioned on a bridge over a stretch of the A303 with a 60 limit, and no barriers between the carriageways, yet drivers were filmed travelling at speeds in excess of 90mph.

A planning decision to allow five units to be built for storing carnival floats on the Dillington Estate near Ilminster has been overturned in the High Court. The hearing was told that at a meeting of South Somerset District Council, when planning permission was given, two members of the committee who voted in favour of the planning consent, should not have voted, due to them having links to local carnival clubs. The Somerset branch of the CPRE, who brought the case to the High Court, claimed the committee’s decision had been tainted by the apparent bias of the two members involved. South Somerset District Council has described the judgement as ‘very disappointing’ and says it’s considering its position on the matter.

Two local charities have benefitted from the generosity of the Freemasons in Chard. Both St Margaret’s Hospice and the Air Ambulance have been given an equal share of nineteen hundred pounds raised at a skittles evening and bingo night organised by the Freemasons Lodge in Chard.

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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