Monday 4th March

Monday, 4 March 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Government has given Somerset Council the go-ahead to use income from selling property assets to pay day-to-day running costs. A councillor in Chard has started a petition calling for a rethink of plans to close Sunnymeade Care Home in the town. Ticket inspectors have been employed to travel on buses in Somerset to check that passengers have valid tickets...and more.

Somerset Council has been given the go-ahead to sell property assets and use the income to pay the Council’s day-to-day running costs. Somerset is one of nineteen councils in England suffering financial problems to be given government approval to use capital receipts from asset sales to top-up spending on services. Somerset Council will now take out a loan of £77 million over 20 years, paying it back as properties are sold.

A new contract has been issued to run the Number One bus service between Yeovil and Shepton Mallet. South West Coaches will operate the service, with changes to the route and timetable from April 15th. The Number One bus provides an important transport link for students living in Castle Cary, needing to get to Strode College in Street.

A councillor in Chard has started an online petition calling for a rethink of plans to close Sunnymeade Care Home in Chard. Councillor Connor Payne says shutting the home would lose Chard yet another vital provision and have a big impact on residents, their families, and staff at the home. Somerset Care, who run Sunnymeade, say the home is no longer fit for purpose and updating the building would make the home financially unviable.

Ticket inspectors will be travelling on buses in Somerset from this week checking that passengers have valid tickets. Revenue Protection Officers are being employed by First Bus to carry out the checks. Passengers are advised to have their tickets ready to show or risk a £50 fine.

Glastonbury Festival has opened a prize draw to raise money for charities supporting people affected by conflict. Twenty tickets for this year’s sold-out festival are up for grabs with the draw open to the end of March. Organisers say the money raised will be donated to the British Red Cross, Oxfam and War Child.

More from News

Thursday 30th October

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