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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Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Friday 19th December

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Thursday 18th December

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Wednesday 17th December

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
Tuesday 14th December

New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Monday 15th December

Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
Friday 12th December

The Chief Executive of Somerset Council, Duncan Sharkey, has admitted to making mistakes in cutting jobs. Yeovil MP Adam Dance is supporting a Lib Dem initiative to introduce a new ‘Farm First’ training scheme. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has launched an appeal to help buy a second helicopter... and more.
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