Thursday 30th November

Thursday, 30 November 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Libraries, leisure centres, theatres and recycling centres could all face cuts as Somerset Council tries to save tens of millions of pounds. The people who run Shepton Mallet Prison say the building is closing as a visitor attraction. A licence has been granted to hold an eight-day long Christmas Festival at Yeovil Showground in December...and more

Libraries, leisure centres, theatres, and recycling centres could all face cuts as Somerset Council tries to save tens of millions of pounds. The authority needs to cut £87m from next year's budget. Rising adult and children social care costs are putting particular pressure on council spending. The Lib Dem Council Leader, Bill Revans, says everything the council does is being looked at with a view to making savings.

The people who run Shepton Mallet Prison say the building will be closing as a venue in early January due to problems they are having with the building’s owners. The former jail that holds the record for having England’s highest prison perimeter wall has been used for events and tours but the company running it says they can no longer continue working with the landlords.

The go-ahead has been given to hold an eight-day long Christmas Festival at Yeovil Showground this year. Somerset Council has granted the event a licence after Avon and Somerset Police withdrew their objections to it being held. The festival also called the Yeovil Christmas Extravaganza will feature Santa's Grotto, an ice rink, live music, fairground rides, and a Christmas shopping village. It is due to take place at Yeovil Showground from Friday 15th to Friday 22nd of December, with a firework display on Saturday, December 16th at 8 pm.

Increasing numbers of families in Somerset are having their complaints about special educational needs services upheld. The number of complaints upheld by the Ombudsman service has gone from three, five years ago, to 22 upheld last year. Somerset Council says it’s consulting on how it can change the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Work has been completed refreshing the look of the Co-op food store in Martock. The store on North Street that supports 18 local jobs re-opens today after being closed for 6-weeks while the refurbishment was carried out.

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Friday 6th December

Somerset Council is asking the government for permission to raise next year’s Council Tax by more than 5 per cent. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A3088 Cartgate Link Road in which a pedestrian was killed. A trainee at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil has been presented with a Rising Star award...and more.
Thursday 5th December

Attacks on local ambulance crews have more than doubled in the past five years. The trial has begun of two Yeovil men, charged with murdering a neighbour. Somerset Council is due to make a decision early in the New Year on controversial plans to build 47 new homes at Horton, near Ilminster...and more.
Wednesday 4th December

Two weeks after Storm Bert, people in the village of Chaffcombe near Chard still do not have broadband and landline phones. A new report warns that drivers are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads in Somerset than on urban roads. Staff and children at Tatworth Primary School near Chard are celebrating after winning the annual Somerset School's Maths Challenge.
Tuesday 3rd December

Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident in Shepton Mallet in which a man was beaten up. A major emergency exercise is taking place at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil today. A Crewkerne dental surgery has been voted UK Dental Practice of the Year...and more.
Monday 2nd December

Wessex Water has issued an apology for last Friday’s major disruption to water supplies in Yeovil. Planned reforms to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital could be delayed following the discovery of asbestos in parts of the building. Rail travellers are being warned of disruption on the West of England Line over the Christmas and New Year period...and more.
Friday 29th November

Work has started demolishing Glovers Walk in Yeovil. Chard Town Football Club says being given planning permission to build a new ground is a huge step forward for the Club. Police are appealing for information concerning the theft of farm equipment and a Land Rover. The Christmas lights are being turned on in Crewkerne tonight...and more
Thursday 28th November

Residents in Somerset had the worst level of access to NHS dental treatment in England last year. Plans have been passed to build 300 new homes on the northern edge of Chard. Fourteen people have been arrested and 18 vehicles seized in five days of co-ordinated road policing operations by Avon and Somerset Police...and more
Wednesday 27th November

NHS Somerset says one hundred thousand people in the county have yet to receive the latest Covid booster jab. The road between Merriot and Lopen at Eggwood Hill remains closed following a landslip. Guests at a B&B in Cornwall can now book an overnight stay in a Lynx helicopter...and more.