Monday 7th April

Monday, 7 April 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

There’s been a setback in building a new multi-million-pound electric car battery factory in Somerset. A new bus service has started running between Yeovil and Bristol. A new project has been launched to support people living with dementia in Somerset. Wetherspoon's in Yeovil reopens to customers tomorrow following a £1.6 million refurbishment...and more

A setback has been made in building a new multi-million-pound electric car battery factory in Somerset. Jaguar Land Rover, which is building the plant alongside the M5 at Puriton near Bridgwater, says that due to a slowdown in electric vehicle sales, the factory will now be built smaller than was originally planned. The opening date for production to start has been delayed by a year to 2027.

A new bus service has started running from Yeovil to Bristol. The 376 service stops in Street and runs to Bristol daily.

Wetherspoon's in Yeovil reopens to customers tomorrow following a £1.6 million refurbishment. The William Dampier pub, on the corner of Central Street and Middle Street, has been closed since January. Weatherspoon's says the upgrade, including a new beer garden, has created 35 full and part-time jobs.

Somerset Council has closed the public toilets opposite Tesco in Ilminster. The Council shut the toilets last week, saying they could no longer afford to keep them open. Ilminster Town Council has been asked to take over running the toilets and is due to discuss the issue at a meeting on April 15th.

The Managing Director of Leonardo in Yeovil, Nigel Coleman, says this is a good time to be in the defence sector. It comes after the company was awarded a £165m contract to service and repair Merlin Helicopters.

A new project has been launched to support people living with dementia in Somerset. Run by Froglife, it aims to get people with memory loss outdoors and be more active.

Four boys at Hazelgrove School at Sparkford are planning a cycling marathon in aid of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Hambo Kane, Ed Hyland, Freddie Storey and Louis Plunkett, all aged under 12, plan to cycle the 125 miles from Cardinham in Cornwall to Sparkford over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

More from News

Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more