Thursday 8th February

Thursday, 8 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Bus users have started a campaign to stop the closure of four major bus routes in Somerset. Plans to upgrade the Yeovil Crematorium have been put on hold indefinitely. Police in Chard have confiscated a car found abandoned at the roadside with cloned number plates, no insurance and no road tax...and more.

Bus users in Somerset have started a campaign to stop the closure of four major bus routes. One of the routes is the number 58A which runs from Yeovil to Wincanton through Sherborne, Milborne Port, and Henstridge. Somerset Council, which subsidises the routes say they can no longer afford the subsidise them, due to making savings of £100 million to avoid the Council going bust.

Plans to upgrade the Yeovil Crematorium on Bunford Lane have been put on hold indefinitely. South Somerset District Council had allocated £5.9 million for the upgrade but Somerset Council, who took over running Yeovil crematorium when SSDC was disbanded, say the scheme is no longer affordable. Somerset Council which needs to cut spending by £100 million to avoid bankruptcy says the project has been removed from Council’s capital programme, removing the need for £3.6 million of external borrowing.

A new Enterprise Centre has opened in Chard. Provided by Somerset Council at a cost of £4.2 million and based on Beeching Close, the Centre offers flexible office and light industrial workspaces to support small and medium enterprises.

Vans will be used to provide mobile dental surgeries across Somerset. It is part of the Government's new dental recovery plan, which ministers say will deliver one and a half million extra appointments to help ease a shortage of NHS care.

Police are appealing for witnesses or dashcam footage of an accident in Yeovil. It happened on Monday at the top of Hendford Hill by the Quicksilver roundabout when a black Jeep collided with two signposts. The driver was treated at the scene and taken to hospital where he later died. If you can help the police then please call the non-emergency number 101

Police in Chard have confiscated a car, found abandoned at the roadside with cloned number plates, no insurance and no road tax.

More from News

Friday 16th January

The go-ahead has been given to build 200 new homes at Ilchester. Taunton Town Council is increasing its share of the Council Tax by 3 per cent a year. Somerset is featured in a new Agatha Christie drama being shown on Netflix from this week...and more
Thursday 15th January

The company behind a proposed tidal lagoon between Watchet and Minehead says it could create up to eight thousand jobs. A third councillor on Somerset Council has joined Reform UK. St Margaret's Hospice says this year’s Christmas tree collection scheme raised forty-seven thousand pounds...and more.
Wednesday 14th January

The union representing workers at Leonardo in Yeovil says it needs a clear answer from the government on whether the Yeovil factory will be awarded a contract to build new medium-lift helicopters for the RAF. Somerset Council says more support will be provided to foster carers. A bird flu surveillance zone remains in place over the Somerset Levels...and more
Tuesday 13th January

The Government says it won’t bring forward a decision on buying new helicopters from Leonardo in Yeovil. A bird flu surveillance zone remains in place over the Somerset Levels. Yeovil’s temporary police station on Horsey Lane is to close at the end of the month....and more
Monday 12th January

Leonardo is threatening to shut its Yeovil factory. Somerset Community Foundation says there's still time to donate money to its Surviving Winter Appeal. The Swan Theatre in Yeovil is staging a number of special performances to mark its 50th anniversary...and more.
Friday 9th January

A Yeovil man has been arrested and then de-arrested after a collision in Dorset. A Somerset food manufacturer could be expanding its Wincanton base. A new dementia-friendly choir has been launched in Yeovil...and more.
Thursday 8th January

Adam Dance MP is welcoming developments in his campaign to support neurodivergent schoolchildren. Somerset was the star of the small screen last night, thanks to BBC comedy ‘Can You Keep A Secret’. A Yeovil gymnastics club has hosted a VIP guest...and more.
Wednesday 7th January

Somerset's Lib Dem MPs have described a one per cent rise in Council funding as 'profoundly disappointing'. A new independent cinema will open next month in Wincanton. We’re facing the chance of heavy snow with Storm Goretti hitting the region on Thursday...and more.