Tuesday 11th March

Tuesday, 11 March 2025 at 05:00

By Steve Haigh

The union representing workers at Somerset Council is warning of further job cuts at the council next year. Secondary school pupils in Somerset are being offered help to withstand peer pressure to vape or smoke. The bells of St George's Church in Hinton St George have been fully restored after becoming difficult to ring...and more

The union representing workers at Somerset Council is warning of further job cuts at the council next year. Somerset Council is making 550 people redundant this year, increasing its share of the Council Tax by seven-and-a-half percent and selling commercial investments, to help fill a budget gap of £103 million for the financial year 2025/26 starting in April. But speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Unison branch secretary, Micheal Duffy, said relying on receipts from selling properties to pay the day-to-day running costs is not sustainable and warns the Council will end up in the same position, making more job cuts, next year.

Secondary school pupils in Somerset are being offered help to withstand peer pressure to vape or smoke. The sessions focus on giving young people strategies to deal with situations when they feel pressured to join in.

Trains aren’t running between Yeovil Pen Mill and Castle Cary this week to allow for Network Rail to carry out repairs to the Heart of Wessex Line in the Yeovil area. Network Rail says the work is crucial to preventing the track bed from becoming flooded. A bus replacement service is running between Yeovil Pen Mill and Castle Cary to Sunday 16th March.

The six bells of St George's Church in Hinton St George have been restored after becoming difficult to ring. The bells, dating from 1628, were removed last year and overhauled with new headstocks, clappers, bearings, wheels, and ropes. A day of celebration will be held this Saturday with the bells rung formally for the first time.

An artist has painted a life-size image of a giraffe on the side of a house in a Somerset village. It's the latest in a series of animal murals commissioned by people living in Meare, near Glastonbury.

An exhibition of artwork with a difference has opened in Langport. The display called ‘Thinking Inside the Box’, in which artists are challenged to create a piece of work to fit within a metre-squared suspended cube, is on at the Undercroft in Bow St in Langport to the end of the month.

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Friday 30th October

Wells Cathedral says it's having to get creative to bring in more money as financial pressures continue to grow. A convenience store in Martock has been allowed to keep its alcohol licence despite an employee working there illegally. Police have seized an illegally ridden e-scooter in Yeovil in response to concerns from local residents... and more
Thursday 29th October

A Yeovil man has been detained under the Mental Health Act for attacking his mother with a knife. People in Chard are being reminded that it’s unlawful to attach flags to lamp posts and street furniture. Wincanton Racecourse has called off its 'Badger Chase Day' because the ground is too firm... and more
Wednesday 28th October

Leweston School near Sherborne has announced that it is closing with immediate effect. NHS Somerset could merge with neighbours in Bath and North-East Somerset and Dorset to cut costs. Somerset’s Lord-Lieutenant has launched a campaign to get more people nominated for national honours... and more
Tuesday 27th October

Work has started building a new six-million-pound flood defence scheme in Taunton. Plans have been submitted to build a new church hall in Martock. People are being asked to donate gifts to this year’s Chard Christmas Present Appeal... and more
Monday 26th October

Eligible groups in Somerset are being encouraged to get their flu jabs. There’s a rare opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look inside Avon & Somerset Police’s control room. Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper MP, has visited Yeovil... and more.
Friday 23rd October

Somerset is the 11th most challenging place in England to be a child according to a report. Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire could have its own elected ‘Wessex Mayor’ by 2028. Cricketer, Ian Botham returns to the county this weekend... and more.