Monday 20th April

Monday, 20 April 2026 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage. Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three school choices. People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer... and more

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage and improve traction for drivers. Surface dressing is a nationally recognised technique for sealing a road, involving coating the surface with bitumen, covering it with stone chippings, and then rolling it. It improves skid resistance and prevents water from getting under the road surface, which is crucial in stopping potholes from forming. Roads in our area that are to be treated include the A30 Crewkerne Road near Chard, the A37 Ilchester Road at Chilthorne Domer, Cartgate Link Road in Yeovil, and the A37 Dorchester Road in Yeovil. A full list of the roads to be resurfaced can be viewed on the Somerset Council website.

Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three choices. Somerset Council says that of the 4,938 applications received, 4,710 were given places at their first-choice school, 162 at their second-choice school, and 38 at their third-choice school.

People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species charity is particularly keen to receive records from churchyards, cemeteries, and allotments.

A new trail guide exploring UNESCO sites in the South West has been launched. The route has been designed by Great Western Railway to encourage ‘greener’ travel.

A number of roads in North Cadbury are set to close for cabling works from today. Woolston Road, Sandbrook Lane, Parish Hill, High Street, and Cutty Lane will be closed to traffic on various dates from today until Thursday, May 21, as Wessex Internet carries out cabling work.

More from News

Friday 17th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has backed calls for a cap on heating oil prices. Invitations are being sent out to those in Somerset eligible for the latest Covid vaccine. A pub near Chard has closed just four months after reopening... and more
Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more
Tuesday 14th April

Avon and Somerset Police has launched a new five-year plan to tackle anti-social behaviour. Additional GP appointments will soon be available at three local surgeries, following a £1 million investment to upgrade NHS facilities in Somerset. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon couple whose daughter died of cancer have raised £128,000 in her memory... and more
Monday 13th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for better support for survivors of domestic abuse living in rural communities. The RSPB in Somerset is urging people to stop feeding birds to prevent the spread of disease. Yeovil Town Football Club says an issue that had threatened it with removal from the register at Companies House has been resolved... and more
Friday 10th April

Maternity services at Yeovil Hospital will reopen on Tuesday April 21st. A Somerset woman, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, has criticised changes to the Motor Motability scheme. Somerset Freemasons have presented a cheque for forty-three thousand pounds to Young Somerset, a charity that supports young people in the county... and more
Thursday 9th April

Yeovil Town Football Club has received a warning that it could be struck off the register at Companies House. Somerset Council has been given £22 million to provide assistance to people facing cost of living pressures. Members of 1st Ilminster Scout Group have spent a night sleeping outdoors to experience the challenges faced by homeless military veterans... and more
Wednesday 8th April

A Yeovil school teacher has been banned from teaching for sharing inappropriate details about her private life with pupils. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon woman has been given a 17-month driving ban. A Yeovil woman who survived bone cancer is raising is running the London Marathon... and more