Thursday 20th June

    Candidates standing in the General Election in the Yeovil constituency have been talking about how they would tackle the shortage of NHS dentists. The Manager of Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard is sleeping rough for the next seven nights to raise money for the charity. A mobile food pantry is marking its first year of operations in Crewkerne and Chard...and more.

    Candidates in the general election in the Yeovil constituency have been discussing how they would tackle the shortage of NHS dentists. It follows figures showing that only half the NHS dental budget for Somerset was spent last year. Conservative candidate, Marcus Fysh, says they've increased payments to NHS doctors and are investing two hundred million pounds more in NHS dentistry this year. Liberal Democrat candidate, Adam Dance, says they would tax the most wealthy in society and reverse the tax cuts on the banks to fund more NHS dentists. Labour's Rebecca Montecute says they would give financial incentives to dentists to provide services in areas without NHS dentists. 

    The candidates standing in the general election in Yeovil are:

    • Steve Ashton, Independent
    • Laura Bailhache, Reform UK
    • Adam Dance, Liberal Democrat
    • Marcus Fysh, Conservative
    • Rebecca Montacute, Labour 
    • Serena Wootton, Green

    Somerset’s biggest wildlife survey has started. Somerset Wildlife Trust’s ‘Big Count’ is running at the moment and until Wednesday, June 26th. The charity is asking people to record sightings of all wildlife, particularly Goldfinch, butterflies, snails and even spiders, to develop a wildlife database for Somerset. 

    The Manager of Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard is sleeping rough for the next seven nights raising money for the charity. Kevan Hodges is doing it as part of efforts to raise one hundred thousand pounds needed to keep the sanctuary open. Kevan says he’ll be sleeping on the streets of towns where there are Ferne charity shops.

    A section of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal that’s been closed to walkers for three years could finally reopen to the public in October. The Canals and River Trust, who manage the canal, closed the section between the Albert Street and West Street bridges in Bridgwater back in December 2021, over concerns about the safety of wooden beams straddling the canal, which date back to the 1970s. But now work to repair it could start as soon as late August with the route reopening in October.

    A mobile food pantry is marking its first year of operations in Crewkerne and Chard. Since its launch, the pantry, funded by social housing provider, Abri, has visited Crewkerne and Chard every Monday, giving local people the chance to buy food at reduced prices. The pantry can be found every Monday at Bishops Court in Chard, and in Crewkerne at the Scout hut on Furland Road, in Barn Close, at Bowhayes Lodge and in Severalls Road.

     

    More from News

    • Monday 16th June

      The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.

    • Friday 13th June

      Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.

    • Thursday 12th June

      Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.

    • Wednesday 11th June

      People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.

    • Tuesday 10th June

      A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more

    • Monday 9th June

      Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more

    • Friday 6th June 

      Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.

    • Thursday 5th June

      Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 10°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 20°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 20°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 22°C | Low: 11°C

    • Wincanton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 23°C | Low: 10°C

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