Monday 16th March

Monday, 16 March 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Drivers are being told that it could take several more weeks yet before Hendford Hill in Yeovil reopens to traffic. A new bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station is to start on a trial basis. Children in Chard are being given free reading books as part of a scheme founded by Dolly Parton... and more

Drivers are being told that it could take several more weeks yet before Hendford Hill in Yeovil reopens to traffic. The road was closed in both directions in February following a landslip. Somerset Council has carried out work to reduce the height of the trees on an embankment but says the land remains unstable. The council says it’s considering building a barrier along the length of the embankment, but that this would narrow the road.

A new bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station is to start on a trial basis. Glastonbury TrainLink has been campaigning for a route via Pilton and Shepton Mallet to Castle Cary and has been given a grant of £150,000 by Somerset Council to cover the cost of the service for an initial six months.

A date’s been announced for when a judicial review will be held into plans to build up to 765 new homes at Up Mudford near Yeovil. The Friends of Mudford Action Group is taking the action against the Abbey Manor Group and Bloor Homes who want to build on land on both sides of the main A359. The Friends of Mudford Action Group say increased flood risk, loss of landscape and historic anthrax contamination are reasons why the development should not go ahead as currently described. The judicial review will be heard in front of a judge at Bristol Crown Court on April 28th.

Children in Chard are being given free reading books as part of a scheme founded by Dolly Parton. Chard Community Hub's been donated four thousand pounds to pay for the scheme, which will see children get a free reading book every month up to the age of five.

A support group in South Somerset for people living with M.E. and Long Covid has been given a donation of £500. The money was raised by the Ilton charity bingo group and will be used to help improve the lives of people with M.E. and Long Covid. The M.E./Long Covid Support Group meets on the second Thursday of each month at Donyatt Village Hall.

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