Somerset Council is planning to cut the funding it gives to the Westland Entertainment venue in Yeovil and keep the town’s Octagon Theatre closed. Chard Prep School's successful fundraising campaign has secured its future. Filming of a new BBC period drama at Montecute House has been completed with the house reopening fully to the public next weekend...and more.
Somerset Council is planning cuts of £420,000 in Arts funding across the County, including cutting the subsidy it gives to the Westland Entertainment venue in Yeovil and keeping the town’s Octagon Theatre closed. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton will also have its funding reduced. Somerset Council is looking to make 100 million pounds in savings and says the cuts are necessary to avoid the organisation going bust.
Chard Prep School's successful fundraising campaign has secured its future. The school says the campaign, coupled with retaining existing pupil numbers, has put it in a position of strength. People in Chard, parents, and alumni of Chard Prep School have been thanked for their support.
Filming of a new BBC period drama at Montecute House has been completed with the house reopening fully to the public next weekend. The National Trust property shut in early January for filming of a new series of Wolf Hall, starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis. Montacute House will represent Greenwich Palace in the Hillary Mantel story when the drama is televised later in the year.
St Margaret's Hospice has raised more than twenty thousand pounds by collecting used Christmas trees. Volunteers have disposed of more than sixteen hundred trees picked up from homes across the county in the last two weeks.
Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more
Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.
Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more
The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more
New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more
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Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more