Monday 2nd October

Monday, 2 October 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Taxi fares in Somerset could soon rise as Somerset Council seeks to harmonise the cost of journeys across the county. Wincanton Transport has closed its depot in the town. A new Local Plan for Somerset setting out where new homes will be built will not be in place until 2028 at the earliest...and more.

Taxi fares in Somerset could soon rise as Somerset Council seeks to harmonise the cost of journeys across the county. Fares were previously set by district councils, resulting in variations in what passengers paid, depending on where in Somerset they were using taxis. Under the new proposals, drivers will charge £4.60 for the first mile, and 30 pence for every one-tenth of a mile, thereafter. It means a typical two-mile journey would cost £7.60.

After more than 70 years, Wincanton Transport has closed its depot in the town. The company says the cancellation of a contract with the food producer, Muller, had left the Wincanton depot without work.

Somerset Council says it is supporting local businesses with the ban on certain items of single-use plastic from this week. The use of plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups and food containers is no longer permitted, however, containers, plastic plates and bowls can still be used provided they’re part of pre-packaged food.

A new Local Plan for Somerset, setting out where new homes will be built, will not be in place until 2028 at the earliest, according to Somerset Council. The Council says due to the amount of work involved and because of outstanding legal issues, the new Local Plan, which will also identify where new schools, doctors’ surgeries, railway stations and village halls are built, is unlikely to see the light of day for at least another four years,

A number of events are being held in Yeovil and Crewkerne during October to mark Black History Month. The Somerset African Caribbean Network says it’s to celebrate the contribution in the workplace and within local communities that the Windrush generation has made.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.