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.

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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
Monday 1st June

People in Somerset with Football Banning Orders are being reminded they must surrender their passports by the end of today ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament. A road in Yeovil will close for nine days later this week. Farmers from Somerset were among the winners of this year's ITV Britain's Got Talent final...and more
Friday 29th May

South Western Ambulance Service is struggling to cope after a surge in 999 calls during the hot weather. Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke says a shortage of rental homes is making it harder for rural employers to attract workers. The National Trust is warning that changing weather patterns are making it difficult to maintain the Cerne Abbas Giant... and more
Thursday 28th May

People are being asked to take extra care in parks and open spaces as high temperatures and dry conditions increase the risk of fire. Plans to build hundreds of new homes in Yeovil can now go ahead after a High Court challenge by Mudford Parish Council was dismissed. A Somerset bakery chain has sparked a reaction after it stopped making iced buns... and more
Wednesday 27th May

The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health alert for Somerset to amber. Trading Standards officers have shut down three shops in Taunton after illegal cigarettes and vapes were discovered on the premises. Bridgwater Town Council is considering running its own bus services...and more
Tuesday 26th May

A Martock agricultural machinery business has gone into administration, putting around thirty jobs at risk. A new sensory room has opened at a Yeovil schook to support neurodiverse pupils. The headteacher of a Chard primary school is stepping down... and more