Local News Wednesday 22nd June

Tuesday, 21 June 2022 23:10

Traffic queuing for Glastonbury in previous years

With the gates opening today at Glastonbury Festival, motorists planning to travel near to Pilton are being advised to leave plenty of time to complete their journeys. Rising fuel prices are putting charities like the Yeovil-based Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service under pressure. A farm safety event has been held in Yeovil to encourage local farmers to take matters of Healthy and Safety more seriously. A new report is soon to be published on building a new relief road on the eastern side of Chard and a former Yeovil Town footballer has had his dream fulfilled of playing for England.

With the gates opening today at Glastonbury Festival, motorists planning to travel near to Pilton are being advised to leave plenty of time to complete their journeys. Up to 200,000 revellers are due to arrive at Worthy Farm between today and Friday. Many festival-goers are unable to travel by train due to around half of trains being cancelled to Castle Cary by the rail strike and local roads around Pilton are expected to be even more congested than usual.

Meanwhile, the westbound carriageway on the A303 between Ilchester and the Cartgate roundabout will be closed from 8 pm this evening to 6 am tomorrow morning for resurfacing work to be carried out. The road will shut again tomorrow evening. During the closure, a diversion will operate via the A37, A30, and A3088.

Rising fuel prices are putting charities like the Yeovil-based Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service under pressure. Yeovil Freewheelersdelivers blood by motorbike across Somerset and the South West, and estimates that its fuel costs have gone up by a quarter in the past two months.

A farm safety event has been held in Yeovil to encourage local farmers to take matters of Healthy and Safety more seriously. The event was arranged by insurers, NFU Mutual, and the Farm Safety Foundation, and follows a rise in fatalities on farms in the South West.

A new report is soon to be published on building a new relief road on the eastern side of Chard. The Chard Eastern Relief Road is seen as crucial to complementing new homes to the south and east of the town. If it goes ahead, the road would begin at a new roundabout on the A358 and cross the B3162 Forton Road to the east of the existing houses. It would then move north around the back of the Lordleaze Hotel, skirting the edge of the current employment units at Millfield, and joining up with the A30 to the east of a new Numatic facility.

A former Yeovil Town footballer has had his dream fulfilled of playing for England at the age of 80. Rex Buttle twisted his vertebrae playing for the Glovers in 1959 and was told by doctors that he would never play football again. Rex has just won his first England cap in a 1-1 draw against Wales as a member of England's Over 75’s Walking Football team.

More from News

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
Wednesday 3rd June

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
Tuesday 2nd June

Somerset Prostate Cancer Support Group says a decision not to introduce mass screening for prostate cancer is the wrong one. A Martock woman has been banned from driving for 28 months. Somerset Council is marking Volunteers’ Week by thanking the volunteers who help deliver council services... and more