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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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