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

Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.