The planned £15m regeneration of Yeovil's Octagon Theatre has been delayed again. A case of the most serious strain of Avian Flu has been confirmed in Yeovil. The main A378 road through Langport will be shut to traffic from today and for the next four weeks...and more.
The planned £15m regeneration of the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil has again been delayed again. Somerset Council says it is yet to submit a new business case to upgrade the theatre to the government, which will hold up work starting on the theatre by several more months. Somerset Council has so far spent £473,000 on the Octagon regeneration project, with it costing £140,000 a year to keep the venue closed.
A case of the most serious strain of Avian Flu, H5N1, has been confirmed in Yeovil. A 3-kilometre monitoring zone has been put in place around the affected farm. Last week, a commercial game producer was ordered to cull two and a half thousand pheasant chicks following an outbreak of Avian Flu in West Somerset.
A protest demonstration has been held in Crewkerne against plans to close inpatient beds at the town’s community hospital. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust says it's considering turning Crewkerne Community Hospital into a neighbourhood health centre providing diagnostics and treatments. Objectors say closing beds at Crewkerne Hospital will lead to bed blocking at other hospitals.
The main road through Langport will be shut to traffic from today and for the next four weeks. It’s to allow Network Rail to carry out bridge repairs. Diversions will be in operation with the A378 shut from Eastover to the junction with Moor Close until the end of August.
Two walkers from a Yeovil gym have completed a sponsored trek for MIND in Somerset. Rob Harris from Progress Gym and Chief Petty Officer Adam Hugill raised £2,750 for MIND by walking 44 miles from Watchet Harbour to Seaton.
Radio Ninesprings Presenter, Julie Haylock and her husband, Andrew of Sandhurst Garden Design in Yeovil, won a Gold medal for their Jane Austen themed garden design at Taunton Flower Show. The garden drew on the literary works of Jane Austen and featured structural elements of a once-great Georgian house.
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
A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with assaulting three police officers. Somerset Council has begun legal action to recover more than £320,000 owed by housing developers. The line-up has been announced for this year’s Ilminster Midsummer Experience...and more