Monday 24th November

Monday, 24 November 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

A church leader has warned that “irrevocable damage” will be caused to town centres if Somerset Council starts charging for Sunday parking. Fifty new homes are to be built in Castle Cary following a successful planning appeal. A call has been made for a memorial to the victims who died in a plane crash on the Blackdown Hills 80 years ago...and more.

A church leader has warned that the introduction of Sunday car parking charges in Somerset will do “irrevocable damage” to town centres. Somerset Council held a consultation in September and October on implementing Sunday parking charges across all its car parks. But Judith Butler, a pastor at Kingdom Faith Church in Taunton, says implementing the charges will damage Somerset’s struggling high streets, with fewer people using the car parks to shop, eat out and attend religious services. The results of the consultation show that 93 per cent of respondents either disagree or strongly disagree with charging for Sunday parking. Somerset Council is due to decide on the issue before the end of December.

Fifty new homes are to be built in Castle Cary following a successful appeal to the Planning Inspectorate by developers Castle Cary LLP. Their application to build off South Street, close to the town’s cemetery, was turned down by Somerset Council’s planning committee in January. But after a planning inspector visited the site, the decision was overturned. In his report, the Inspector dismissed concerns that the new homes would harm the town's conservation area, saying the site was "almost wholly screened" by mature trees and other vegetation.

A call’s been made for a permanent memorial to the twenty-seven people who died in a plane crash on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset 80 years ago. The flight had taken off from the Merryfield air base near Ilminste with mostly military personnel on board when it crashed near Hare Lane at Castle Neroche on November 22nd 1945. Diana Hughes, whose father, Major Harry Staunton, was one of those killed, is asking for a permanent plaque to be put up in Buckland St Mary church in memory of all those who died.

A ten-million-pound upgrade of Bridgwater's Dunball roundabout, that's led to a year of disruption, has been completed. The junction connects junction 23 to the town. Somerset Council says the new 'through-about' will help ease congestion in the town.

Wells MP Tessa Munt says people living with chronic fatigue and ME are desperate, calling on the government to speed up investment into care and research into the condition. The government has spent over £6 million on ME research over the last five years. Still, a plan to tackle ME published in July admitted that resources to turn the research into action were inadequate.

A top international award has been given to the school in Wincanton. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School has been presented with a Live Simply Award by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development for its efforts in supporting struggling communities around the world.

More from News

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