Thursday 16th May

Thursday, 16 May 2024 07:00

By Steve Haigh

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road by the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil will continue for another two months. Wales and West Utilities say temporary traffic lights on Dorchester Road and Hendford Hill will remain until the end of May. After that, temporary lights and a one-way system will operate on Hendford Hill until early August, causing delays to traffic.

Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. The Council says it can’t afford the £70,000 needed to keep the toilets open and they will shut on May 31st. The Council says a deal struck with Somerset Bus Partnership and First Bus will keep the waiting room open for a few more months. Meanwhile, Yeovil Town Council is to take on the running of more services from cash-strapped Somerset Council. Yeovil Town Council has already agreed to take over running the Westlands Entertainment Venue, Octagon Theatre, Ninesprings Country Park and Yeovil Rec, adding around one million pounds to its share of the Council tax. Now, it will run open spaces in Yeovil, including play parks and Yeovil in Bloom, at an annual cost of £350,000.

Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has started a business as a gardener. Josh, who was released by the Glovers last season, says he always planned to start a business when his time ended as a full-time professional footballer.

The number of Bitterns on the Somerset Levels has reached record numbers. Somerset Wildlife Trust says it recently recorded 41 male bitterns on their nature reserves in the Avalon Marshes.

Three sisters are planning to walk from Crewkerne to Lyme Regis raising funds for St Margaret’s Hospice in memory of their late mother. Sisters, Annabel Gray, Laura Tucker, and Sophie Blatchford will set off on the nineteen-mile Liberty Trail to Lyme Regis on Saturday, June 1st, in memory of Caroline Taylor, who died last September.

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Thursday 26th March

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.
Wednesday 25th March

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more
Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more
Monday 23rd March

A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more
Friday 20th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more
Thursday 19th March

Farmers in Somerset say they're struggling after a doubling in the price of red diesel. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised Donald Trump over his comments about people with learning disabilities. A Somerset woman whose father was killed in a crash on the M5 is running the London Marathon to raise money for South West Ambulance...and more
Wednesday 18th March

The murder of a two-week-old baby by his father at Yeovil Hospital could not have been predicted, according to a new report. A road in Ilminster is to close to traffic for eleven days later this month. A new Post Office counter is to open in Somerton... and more
Tuesday 17th March

The government is being asked to help fund Somerset's carnivals. Bridgwater Town Council wants more trains to stop at the town’s railway station. A fund raising pie throwing event is taking place for Red Nose Day in Chard... and more