Local News Wednesday 26th May

Wednesday, 26 May 2021 06:00

Hundreds more jobs have been created to help with building the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. A vehicle has been destroyed by fire in Castle Cary. A fundraising campaign has been started by Yeovil Town to support the family of former club captain Lee Collins, who died in March. Chard School is celebrating its 350th anniversary this week. Engineering work, due to take place on a rail line between Yeovil and Weymouth this weekend has been postponed.

Hundreds more jobs have been created to help with building the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. The firm running the project, EDF, says it’s taking on another seventeen hundred workers that will bring the total number on the site to seven thousand.

Somerset’s four District Councils have been told to apologise after sending out a link to a spoof website. The offending link, which mocks senior figures at Somerset County Council, was included in the literature supporting the public vote over the future of local government in the county. The Secretary of State for Local Government, Robert Jenrick has called the error a ‘serious failure’ that ‘risks undermining the reputation and standing of local government. The District Councils have yet to make public their reply to Mr. Jenrick after he criticised them for staging the countywide poll, describing it as ‘not needed’ and a waste of public money.

A vehicle has been destroyed by fire in Castle Cary. It happened in the early hours of Tuesday (25-05), in Weir Lane. Fire service says the vehicle was left totally burnt out.

A fundraising campaign has been started by Yeovil Town to support the family of former club captain Lee Collins, who died in March. Yeovil Town are raising funds for Lee's partner and young children and mental health charities, with 10% of the donations given to Young Minds through a collaboration with his former clubs. There will also be a celebration of Lee's life when Yeovil plays Stockport County at Huish Park on Saturday.

Engineering work, due to take place on a rail line between Yeovil and Weymouth this weekend has been postponed due to it being a Bank Holiday and to avoid unnecessary disruption for passengers. GWR says the job of laying new tracks around Chetnole has been moved to later in the year.

Chard School is celebrating its 350th anniversary this week. The school was founded in Chard in 1671 by William Symes who gifted the Manor House Chard for a school. Pupils have been taking part in historic activities and local mayor, Jason Baker, attended a celebratory assembly earlier in the week.

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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

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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