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.
People in Somerset are being asked to take part in a new survey about alcohol use. Yeovil's MP Adam Dance will lead a debate in Parliament today on NHS dentistry. A Yeovil runner has been selected to represent England at a national endurance championship... and more
It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
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