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

    Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering up to 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF with Leonardo of Yeovil is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. He’s written to the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, asking for clarity on the Medium Lift Helicopter programme and the publication of the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which was promised before the end of the year. Mr Dance says the lack of a clear timetable for ordering the new Medium Lift Helicopter is causing concern about the future viability of the Leonardo factory in Yeovil. 

    Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. The Green Gas Coalition is calling for the UK to increase its biomethane production and says ten times as much gas could be made from our cows' manure.

    The community centre and café at the Red Brick Building in Glastonbury says it may have to close. They’ve issued the warning after being asked by Somerset Council to repay a grant of £2m towards redeveloping the former Morland’s factory site.

    A social club in Chard says it has to double membership fees to cope with a series of large VAT bills. Perry Street Social Club in South Chard has launched a 'Save Our Club' campaign to help pay running costs.

    Plans have been submitted to convert a former farm building in Chard into new homes. The owner of Highfield Farm on Perry Street in South Chard is seeking permission to adapt a redundant storage building into two residential dwellings.

    A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill Country Park. Funded by the National Lottery and Wolfson Foundation, the centre is described as a place for learning and discovery. Together with a café, it includes a play space called the Hillfort Hideout and an outdoor seating area.

    More from News

    • Friday 13th March

      The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more

    • Thursday 12th March

      A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more

    • Wednesday 11th March

      Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more

    • Tuesday 10th March

      Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more

    • Monday 9th March 

      Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more

    • Friday 6th March

      Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more

    • Thursday 5th March

      Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more

    • Wednesday 4th March

      A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain shower

      High: 11°C | Low: 5°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 12°C | Low: 4°C

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