Monday 16th March

Monday, 16 March 2026 at 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 embankment, but that it 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 awarded a £150,000 grant by Somerset Council to cover the cost of the service for an initial six months.

A date’s been announced for a judicial review into plans to build up to 765 new homes at Up Mudford near Yeovil. The Friends of Mudford Action Group is taking 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 by 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 has 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 received a £500 donation. 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.

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