Monday 17th February

Monday, 17 February 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council Leader, Councillor Bill Revans, has been defending putting up council tax by seven-and-a-half percent. Two men have been jailed for life for the murder of a man in Yeovil. Somerset’s new Local Plan won’t be completed until spring 2029. Work is about to start building a new visitor centre at Ham Hill Country Park...and more

Somerset Council Leader, Councillor Bill Revans, has been defending putting up council tax by seven-and-a-half percent. The government has given Somerset Council permission to break the five-percent cap on increasing council tax to help it avoid bankruptcy. Councillor Revans says despite the seven-and-a-half percent increase, Somerset’s council tax will still be below the national average. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Conservative opposition group on Somerset Council, Councillor Mandy Chilcott says more clarity is needed on the impact of cutting 550 staff jobs at Somerset Council.

Two men have been jailed for life for killing a man in Yeovil. Appearing at Bristol Crown Court for sentencing, Mark Sothcott, aged 56, of Stiby Road and Martin Carty, aged 56, of Raglan Terrace, were each given life sentences for the murder of Frank Ingram, aged 68, at a flat in Raglan Terrace in Yeovil in June last year.

Somerset’s new Local Plan won’t be completed until the spring of 2029, one year later than originally intended. A Local Plan allocates sites for new housing, employment growth, protected green spaces and necessary amenities, such as new schools and doctors’ surgeries. The council said in 2023 that the new Local Plan for Somerset would be in place by March 2028 but now says that won’t happen until March the following year.

Work is about to start building a new visitor centre at Ham Hill Country Park, on the outskirts of Yeovil. The project has been funded through the National Lottery, as well as Leonardo and the Clarks Foundation.

Drainage works in Chard have moved from Victoria Avenue to Furnham Road. There have been delays to traffic on roads in the town since December when Wessex Water and Wales and West Utilities began work upgrading the sewage systems. The stretch of Furnham Road to Victoria Avenue will stay closed until the end of May.

Somerset Council is to stop maintaining the floodgates between Muchelney and Langport on the Somerset Levels that are in place to stop people driving on the road when it's underwater. The Council says the floodgates are not being respected and are continually being vandalised.

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Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.