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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Friday 12th June

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

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
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