Thursday 4th April

Thursday, 4 April 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Fifteen million pounds could be spent on improvements to Yeovil's Octagon Theatre to get it reopened. A police officer with the Devon and Cornwall force, who lives in Ilminster, has been found not guilty of raping a woman. A woman who lives in Milborne Port has completed a seventy-seven-mile walk across India, re-creating a journey made by her grandfather in 1944...and more.

Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre could have fifteen million pounds spent on improvements to get it reopened. Somerset Council had planned to spend thirty million upgrading the theatre that closed in April last year before deciding the scheme was no longer affordable. The Council now plans to spend half that amount on front-of-house and catering improvements, increased seating and a fly tower. However, the Council says the scheme depends on the Government allowing a grant of ten million, allocated to the original scheme, to be spent on the scaled-back work. If the Government gives the money, a further £3.75 million would be provided by Yeovil Town Council, who have agreed in principle to take over financial responsibility for running the Octagon when the upgrade has been completed.

A police officer with the Devon and Cornwall force, who lives in Ilminster, has been found not guilty of raping a woman. David Stansbury had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at her home in Plymouth. Sergeant Stansbury had denied three counts of rape and was acquitted by a unanimous jury at Bristol Crown Court following a trial lasting three weeks.

Chard Town Council is spending £4,000 on a new children’s swing for a local park. The Council says the equipment, to be installed at Halcombe Park, is being paid for from funds set aside to replace faulty play equipment. Meanwhile, the Council says a new BMX track that it plans to build at Halcombe Park should be open within the next 12 months.

A woman who lives in Milborne Port has completed a seventy-seven-mile walk across India, recreating a journey made by her grandfather in 1944. Charlotte Carty followed the same route as William Brown, when he walked from the village of Jessami to Kohima as Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Assam Regiment, helping to defend Kohima from Japanese attack in the Second World War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

A famous dress created by a Somerset artist could be going back on display in Somerton. The Red Dress by Kirstie McLeod involved people from more than 50 countries contributing embroidery to help make it. Due to popular demand, ACE Arts is planning another exhibition of the Red Dress at its Somerton gallery.

A Somerset charity is trying to raise fifteen thousand pounds for a new van. On Your Bike says it needs the van for community outreach work.

More from News

Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.