Thousands more music fans will arrive at Worthy Farm for the start of Glastonbury Festival. The government has granted Somerset Council a stay of execution, allowing it to defer a spending deficit on special needs education. A party has been held to mark the 100th birthday of a Somerset woman who has lived in the same house for 100 years...and more.
Roads around the Shepton Mallet area will again be extra busy with traffic today as thousands more music fans arrive at Worthy Farm for the start of Glastonbury Festival. Meanwhile, Great Western Railway is providing an extra 37,000 seats on trains to Castle Cary. It's designed to persuade festival-goers to ditch their cars and travel instead by rail. According to GWR, some of the artists performing at Glastonbury, including Sam Ryder, have travelled to Somerset by train.
Plans have been outlined to reopen The George in Ilminster. The bar is seeking a licence variation to allow it to sell alcohol and put on live music. The application is currently with Somerset Council awaiting a decision. Owners of The George say it's their 'one last chance' to get the historic bar open and be financially viable.
The government has granted Somerset Council a stay of execution, allowing it to defer a spending deficit on special needs education for a further two years. Demand for specialist education has soared in recent years, with the deficit at the council for special education expected to exceed £100m by April next year. Leader of Somerset Council, Bill Revan, says without the override, the authority would have been pushed closer to effective bankruptcy.
A campervan has been destroyed in a fire at Yarcombe near Chard. Concerned residents called the fire service to report flames coming from the vehicle and a hedgerow on fire. Crews from Honiton and Chard used hose reel jets, breathing apparatus, and a thermal imaging camera to extinguish the blaze.
A party has been held to mark the 100th birthday of a Somerset woman who has lived in the same house for 100 years. Phyliss Marshall was born at the property in Bucklands near Bridgwater in 1925 and says, despite many changes in her life, she never thought about leaving the house.
People in Somerset are being asked to take part in a new survey about alcohol use. Yeovil's MP Adam Dance will lead a debate in Parliament today on NHS dentistry. A Yeovil runner has been selected to represent England at a national endurance championship... and more
It's claimed the increasing availability of drugs such as ketamine and cocaine has normalised drug use among young people in Somerset. The trial of a man accused of killing his one-month-old son in Chard begins today at Bristol Crown Court. A stone pillar outside the Langport Arms Hotel in Langport has been replaced after it was destroyed in a car crash... and more
Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the three aircrew from RNAS Yeovilton who died in last week's helicopter crash in Devon. Two men have been arrested and stolen vehicles seized following a major multi-agency operation in South Somerset. An event highlighting opportunities for women in the aerospace industry has been held in Yeovil... and more
The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
An investigation continues today into the crash of a Royal Navy helicopter, based at RNAS Yeovilton, in which all three aircrew were killed. Somerset Council has confirmed that a new operator will take over several leisure centres across the county. The new live-action Masters of the Universe movie, filmed in Somerset, is released this week...and more
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