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.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more