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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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