Tuesday 19th February

Tuesday, 20 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council meets today to agree on spending cuts of £100 million to prevent the Council from going bankrupt. A Martock man has been charged in connection with an incident at a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London. Ilminster Town Council is holding an auction of furniture at its former offices in North Street...and more

Members of Somerset Council meet today to agree on spending cuts of £100 million to prevent the Council from going bust. Meanwhile, the Leader of Somerset Council has been defending the pay of the authority's senior leadership team. Lib Dem Councillor Bill Revans says that salaries of between £100,000 and £195,000 paid to each of the thirty-strong senior leadership team are in line with what other local councils pay their top people.

A Martock man has been charged in connection with a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London. Martin Prady of Birch Road in Martock was arrested during last Saturday’s pro-Palestine demonstration held in the capital, accused of obstructing a police officer. Mr Prady is due to attend Highbury Magistrates’ Court on March 4th.

"No police officer will ever ask people to hand over money or valuables or to divulge sensitive banking details" That's the message Avon and Somerset Police want people to share with friends and family following a spate of incidents in which fraudsters, claiming to be police officers, have called people asking for bank information.

Ilminster Town Council is holding an auction of furniture at its former offices in North Street. The Council is due to vacate the North Street premises at the end of March and will be selling furniture from the council chamber and other items by sealed bids. The items can be viewed at the council offices in North Street between 4 pm and 7 pm on Monday, March 18th.

A primary school teacher in Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been on a visit to Parliament to help grow pupils’ interest in politics. Frances Abbott, of Castle Primary School, was one of seventy teachers invited to take part in the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador programme, sitting in on debates in the Commons and Lords, and learning about the role of select committees.

Chard Rugby Club Ladies have raised nearly £1,500 ahead of their Three Peaks challenge. Members of the team plan to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon in 24 hours in September to raise funds for grassroots rugby. Their next fundraising event will be an Easter Bingo at Chard Rugby Club on Friday, March 22nd.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more