Monday 31st March

Monday, 31 March 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town owner Martin Hellier has announced his intention to put the club up for sale. Somerset Chamber of Commerce says small businesses are bracing themselves for a challenging year. The Children's Hospice South West founder, Eddie Farwell, has died. Tintinhull Gardens near Yeovil have reopened for the new season...and more

Yeovil Town owner Martin Hellier has announced his intention to put the club up for sale. In a post on X over the weekend, Mr Hellier, who bought Yeovil Town in May 2023, blamed online abuse by Yeovil fans for his decision. He says he doesn’t plan to be at Huish Park next season and will leave when a suitable buyer is found. Meanwhile, Yeovil Town’s annual accounts just out show the Club made a loss of £2.8 million for the year ending June 2024, and that it is now reliant on Mr Hellier, through his business the Hellier Trading Group, injecting sufficient working capital into the Club to keep it afloat.

Somerset Chamber of Commerce says small businesses in the County are bracing themselves for a challenging year. Managing Director, David Crew, says companies are cutting staff and having to find additional funds to pay the rise in National Insurance contributions, together with increases in the national living wage.

The Children's Hospice South West founder, Eddie Farwell, has died. Eddie, who was born in Yeovil, founded the charity in 1991 with his wife Jill. Today, Children’s Hospice South West operates from three centres: Little Bridge House in Devon, Little Harbour in Cornwall, and Charlton Farm in Somerset.

Several local businesses were winners at the Somerset Business Awards. ARK at Egwood CIC in Merriott won the Small Business of the Year Award. The Best Use of Digital Technology Award was won by Techosaurus Ltd of Yeovil. Battens Solicitors came runners-up in the Employer of the Year category. The Business Resilience and Growth Award was won by Wessex Pop-Up Coldrooms Ltd of Langport.

Tintinhull Gardens near Yeovil, run by the National Trust, have reopened for the new season. Volunteers have spent the winter tidying the garden to make it more historically accurate.

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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
Wednesday 29th October

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.
Tuesday 28th October

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
Monday 27th October

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
Friday 24th October

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
Thursday 23rd October

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
Wednesday 22nd October

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 .
Tuesday 21st October

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