Local News Wednesday 20th July

Wednesday, 20 July 2022 06:00

Plans to build thirty-one new homes next to Wincanton Community Hospital in Wincanton have been approved. The A30 between Yeovil and Crewkerne will close overnight next week for work to be completed on a damaged wall. A full meeting of Somerset County Council is taking place in Yeovil today. A Chard woman has won her fight to have an overgrown footpath cleared...and more.

Plans to build thirty-one new homes next to Wincanton Community Hospital in Wincanton have been approved. The development off Dancing Lane will include seven affordable homes. Dancing Lane will be the only entrance and exit for the development, with no linking footpath to Verrington Lane or the nearby Cale Way estate.

The A30 between Yeovil and Crewkerne will close overnight next week for work to be completed on a damaged wall. Work started in early February on the construction of a new supporting wall at Haselbury Plucknett. The scheme was due to be completed within thirteen weeks but was extended after damage to the wall was found to be worse than thought. Somerset County Council says the A30 will shut overnight for five days, from July 25th to the 29th, to ensure all remaining work is completed.

A full meeting of Somerset County Council is taking place in Yeovil today (July 20). It’s being held at the Westlands Entertainment Venue with all one hundred and ten members of the Council in attendance and is open to the public. The meeting will endorse the appointment of Duncan Sharkey as the new Chief Executive of Somerset County Council. Mr Sharkey, who’s currently Chief Executive of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, will head-up the new Somerset unitary council when that comes into being in April next year.

A Chard woman has won her fight to have an overgrown footpath cleared. The path that runs alongside the A358 and provides an important link between Chard and Tatworth, has been out of use for three years. Now, following a campaign by Jill White, Somerset County Council has promised to have the path cleared and accessible by the end of the month.

A Chard man has appeard in court charged with stealing alcohol. Joshua Miller of Beckington Crescent pleaded guilty to theft from the Tesco store in Chard when he appeared before magistrates in Yeovil. Miller was given a twelve month conditional discharge and told to pay Tesco compensation of two hundred and five pounds.

A former Royal Marine based at RNAS Yeovilton has been presented with a national award for building houses. Tom Jupp was selected out of over four hundred other building site managers to win ‘The Quality Award’. Tom says he learnt his leadership skills through being a member of the Royal Marines.

More from News

Monday 15th June

People in Somerset are being asked to take part in a new survey about alcohol use. Yeovil's MP Adam Dance will lead a debate in Parliament today on NHS dentistry. A Yeovil runner has been selected to represent England at a national endurance championship... and more
Friday 12th June

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
Thursday 11th June

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
Wednesday 10th June

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
Tuesday 9th June

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
Monday 8th June

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.
Friday 5th June

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
Thursday 4th June

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