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.

More from News

Thursday 1st May

There’s been a call for the Somerset Levels to be designated a National Landscape. A Yeovil man has raised £2,000 for a new school minibus at Fairmead School in Yeovil by running the London Marathon. Exmoor Ales, which provides cask ales across the region and beyond, is closing its Somerset brewery and moving the business to Surrey...and more.
Wednesday 30th April

The long-awaited refurbishment of Yeovil police station is finally to get underway this summer. Plans have been approved to build 185 new homes off Bunford Lane in Yeovil. Police have arrested three men in Yeovil for being involved in the supply of Class A drugs. A Somerset jockey has been named Champion Conditional Jockey of 2025...and more.
Tuesday 29th April

New figures have shown that registering as a new patient with an NHS dentist in Somerset is still just as difficult as it was six months ago. The go-ahead has been given to build 160 new houses on Station Road in Castle Cary. A sailor from South Petherton has been chosen to lead a team in the round-the-world Clipper Race...and more.
Monday 28th April

Somerset Council is being criticised for taking too long to re-open Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. The Liberal Democrats have won a seat on Chard Town Council by one vote. Dates have been announced for this year’s illuminated carnival processions in South Somerset...and more.
Friday 25th April

Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike in Ilminster. Tributes have been paid to the former Yeovil Town player-manager, Cecil Irwin, who has died aged 83. Town criers from across the South West will be in Yeovil tomorrow competing for the loudest voice in the Yeovil Town Crier Competition 2025...and more
Thursday 24th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in which a child was struck by a car in Yeovil. This week, a planning inquiry is being held into plans to turn a Somerset shopping centre into a retirement complex. A Somerset woman is planning to walk the 70-miles of Hadrian's Wall to mark her 90th birthday...and more.
Wednesday 23rd April

Tourism bosses in Somerset say they feel confident the County will have a good summer for visitors this year. A group representing care providers in Somerset is warning that some residential homes are at risk of going out of business due to rising costs. A Somerset animal charity has taken into care, three orphaned badger cubs...and more.
Tuesday 22nd April

The Care Quality Commission has given two GP practices in Yeovil a 'good' overall rating. According to insurers, AXA, thefts at commercial premises in Somerset are on the rise. Bus users in Somerset could see changes to the frequency of services when the new West of England mayor takes office. Martock is to host its first Pride event in June...and more.