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

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.
Tuesday 6th January

The Poundland chain has confirmed its store closures, including one of the Yeovil branches next Friday. Yeovil's Marlie Packer has been awarded an OBE for her outstanding contribution to rugby. Nearly one hundred new low-cost homes could be coming to South Chard...and more.
Monday 5th January

A woman has been cut free from her car after a four-vehicle collision in Montacute. Devon and Somerset fire crews have been praised for their bravery, following the summer wildfires. More new homes are set to be built in Martock, following approval from Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 24th December

A formal planning application has been made to carry out significant improvements to Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, costing £15 million. The Halifax Bank in King George Street in Yeovil could be converted into 17 flats. A new young people’s centre opens in Chard early in the New Year...and more.
Tuesday 23rd December

NHS Somerset reports a strong uptake of flu jabs, but some eligible people for free vaccinations haven’t come forward. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303 in which a pedestrian was killed. A Crewkerne woman has gone viral on TikTok after being trapped inside a Lidl store in the town... and more.
Monday 22nd December

Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Friday 19th December

Crewkerne Community Hospital is to lose half its inpatient beds. A review will be conducted of a project to make Bridgwater more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Chard Methodist Church is offering residents a free lunch on Christmas Day. Yeovil-based Screwfix is opening a new outlet in Minehead...and more.
Thursday 18th December

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more