Redundancy payments have been made to 49 senior officers at Somerset Council costing £7.4 million with one officer receiving a payoff of half a million pounds. Farmers in Somerset are warning of major problems with this year’s harvest that could make food more expensive. This year’s Royal Bath and West Show opens today... and more.
Redundancy payments have been made to 49 senior officers at Somerset Council as the council takes steps to prevent bankruptcy by trimming its wage bill. The payments are costing the council £7.4 million with the outgoing executive director for resources and corporate services alone receiving more than half a million pounds. Somerset Council says making the senior officers redundant will save £2.9 million a year, with a further 201 other employees due to be made redundant saving £9.4 million. The Liberal Democrat-controlled Council has defended the payments saying they are in line with the employment conditions of each post holder.
Farmers in Somerset are warning of major problems with this year’s harvest that could make food more expensive this autumn. They say it’s due to the recent bad weather and Somerset having had its wettest winter since records began back in 1836.
A group representing bus users in Somerset has criticised First Bus for taking a local bus out of service and moving it to Swansea. Somerset Bus Partnership has posted a photo of the green bus marked with Somerset taking passengers around Swansea. The Partnership says buses assigned to run in Somerset should be kept in the County as cover for when a bus breaks down and to avoid a service being cancelled.
This year’s Royal Bath and West Show, showcasing the best farming and agriculture across the UK, opens today. Around 30,000 visitors are expected at the Shepton Mallet showground for the first of the 3-day event.
Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more
Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.
Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more
The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more
New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more
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Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more
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