Tuesday 28th July

Monday, 27 July 2026 18:42

By Steve Haigh

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. The Grade Two listed store closed in March 2020, with regeneration work taking place elsewhere in the town centre through the Yeovil Refresh project. Somerset Council has now approved a new masterplan for Yeovil town centre, committing to further regeneration, including new homes and commercial space, and bringing former shops back into use. The council says it will be working with the building’s owners to regenerate the former store into flats and commercial space.

A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset and the rest of the SouthWest from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. The UK Health Security Agency says high temperatures could have a significant impact on health and social care services. There’s also an increased risk of cold-water shock and drowning.

A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976. Duncan Palmer says 1976 may have been drier overall, but the conditions farmers are experiencing now are far more challenging. Agronomist Sam Pociecha, who advises farmers on growing crops, says the dry conditions are having a major impact.

Average earnings in Somerset have risen above the rate of inflation over the past year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show wages increased by five-point-five per cent to an average of two-thousand-five-hundred-and-sixteen pounds a month in the year to June. Analysis shows workers in Somerset are now one-hundred-and-one pounds a month better off in real terms than they were in February 2022.

A pub in Street is looking for a new landlord. Punch Pubs is advertising The King Alfred, on Leigh Road, as a business opportunity. The pub includes a main bar, a restaurant seating up to 90 people, a private function room, beer garden, three guest rooms and parking for 20 cars.

Ditton Street and Listers Hill in Ilminster will be closed to traffic for three days from tomorrow. The closure will run from the junction with Orchard Vale to the junction with Long Close, while National Grid carries out urgent repairs.

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Friday 11th September

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Thursday 10th September

Work has begun building a new multi-million-pound David Lloyd leisure centre in Yeovil. NHS Somerset says a new system to handle emergency stroke care will lead to "better outcomes" for patients. Tickets for next year’s Glastonbury Festival will go on sale in October...and more
Wednesday 9th September

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Tuesday 8th September

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Friday 4th September

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