Thursday 29th February

Thursday, 29 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

It’s hoped that businesses in Yeovil will benefit from a new £4 billion car battery-making factory being built near Bridgwater. A consultation is underway into plans to shut the Sunnymeade care home in Chard. Women in Wincanton are being offered free business training by the entrepreneur and PR guru Lynne Franks...and more.

It’s hoped that businesses in Yeovil will be amongst those in Somerset to benefit from the £4 billion being spent building a new car battery-making factory near Bridgwater. The facility alongside the M5 at Puritan will produce batteries for Jaguar Land Rover, creating 4,000 jobs and thousands more in the supply chain across the region. Agratas and Tata, two of India’s largest conglomerates, who are behind the venture, will occupy around half of the 616-acre Puritan site, with hotels, leisure, and office buildings on the other half.

A consultation is underway into a proposal to shut a residential care home in Chard. Somerset Care says Sunnymeade care home is no longer financially viable and they want to close it in April. Somerset Council’s Adult Social Care Team is independently assessing the care needs of the residents, with staff at the home put at risk of redundancy.

Police are investigating a break-in at a property in Sandford Orcas near Sherborne. It happened on Saturday, February 17th at around 4 pm. Police say the suspects were disturbed by a neighbour and that nothing was taken. They’re asking people in Sandford Orcas to check CCTV and door cameras for footage of anyone acting suspiciously. If you can help, you’re asked to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Holyrood Academy in Chard has come to the aid of a local karate club whose premises were destroyed in a fire. Chard Tae Kwon-do Club lost its training base in last weekend’s major blaze in Leach Road. Members have been told they can hold their training sessions at Holyrood Academy until further notice.

Women in Wincanton wanting to start their own business are being offered free training by entrepreneur and PR guru Lynne Franks. Lynne, who lives in Wincanton, has worked with major corporates including McDonald’s, Tesco and HSBC and says the course is aimed at helping women identify their strengths and talents, to set up a business or work collaboratively with others on a new business venture.

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