Thursday 21st March

Thursday, 21 March 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A four-year-long, one-million-pound regeneration project in Chard, to improve the look of the town centre is nearing completion. Bus users have criticised a decision to cut a bus route between Wells and Yeovil. Yeovil is one of only three towns in Somerset to win a place in the finals of the national Britain in Bloom competition...and more

A one-million-pound regeneration project in Chard, aimed at improving the look of the town centre, is nearing completion. The work, including laying new footpaths, repairing listed buildings and smartening up shop fronts with money from the government’s High Street Fund, has been ongoing for four years. Somerset Council, who manage the project, are hoping the improvements will attract new investment in Chard.

Bus users have criticised a decision to cut a bus route between Wells and Yeovil. The 77 bus that leaves Wells at 6.40 pm for Yeovil Monday to Saturday will run for the last time on April 6th. The Somerset Bus Partnership claims that students at Strode College who work late will be left without a bus to get them home, along with people who rely on the 77 service for journeys too-and-from work.

Wetlands in Somerset are to receive eight hundred thousand pounds of government funding to restore habitats. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust says the money will be used to improve more than three-hundred-and-seventy hectares of habitats at Steart Marshes and Bridgwater Bay.

Yeovil is one of only three towns in Somerset to win a place in the finals of this year’s national Britain in Bloom competition. Yeovil in Bloom is a finalist in the Large Town category, after winning gold in last year’s South West in Bloom Awards. The other towns to win through to the finals are Glastonbury and Cannington. Britain in Bloom judges will visit each of the finalists this summer with the winners announced in the autumn.

The South Somerset Tourist Information Centre at Cartgate will close at the end of the month. The TIC, located off the Cartgate roundabout on A303, has fallen victim to spending cuts at Somerset Council. The last day for the centre will be Saturday, March 30th.

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Friday 22nd May

The National Farmers Union in Somerset has welcomed the government’s new trade deal with six Gulf countries. Campaigners say Somerset’s canals and locks are in urgent need new investment. The Liverpool comedian John Bishop is heading to Somerset later this year...and more
Thursday 21st May

Police are being asked to cut the time the M5 is closed following accidents. Plans to build a major solar farm near Chard have been thrown out. Aldi is asking shoppers to help find locations for new stores in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 20th May

People in Somerset are being encouraged to get their cholesterol checked to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. A Chard man has appeared in court charged with using threatening behaviour. A gardener from Somerset has won a silver award at the Chelsea Flower Show... and more
Tuesday 19th May

A Somerset car boot business says it will no longer accept twenty-pound notes after being handed counterfeit notes.Taunton Flower Show is warning this year’s event could be its last. Numatic, makers of the Henry vacuum cleaner, have invested one-and-a-half million pounds installing new solar panels at their factory in Chard... and more
Monday 18th May

The RSPCA is investigating after eleven newborn puppies were abandoned in Snowdon Park in Chard. Major funding has been announced for a new two-year arts programme in Yeovil. Plans have been unveiled to improve sports facilities at Somerton Recreation Ground...and more
Friday 15th May

A fire that damaged two vehicles in Chaffcombe near Chard is being treated as deliberate. A road in Hardington Mandeville is set to re-open today after being closed for three days. Friends, family and colleagues of a Royal Navy officer based at RNAS Yeovilton are taking on a 630-mile coastal challenge in her memory... and more
Thursday 14th May

Somerset Council has defended spending nineteen million pounds on consultants over the past three years. A new clinic specialising in sexual health has opened in Yeovil. RNAS Yeovilton has been in the TV spotlight this week after featuring on Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr...and more
Wednesday 13th May

Concern's been expressed that too many of the 580 new council homes being built in Somerset will be clustered around Taunton and Bridgwater. Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman died following a crash on the M5. Haynes Motor Museum has been awarded £180,000 by The National Lottery to transform its Red Room gallery... and more