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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Tuesday 18th August

People across Somerset are banned from today from using hosepipes to water gardens, clean windows or cars, or fill swimming and paddling pools. More cases of the potentially deadly livestock disease Bluetongue have been confirmed in Somerset. Work is underway to improve disabled access at Holyrood Academy in Chard... and more
Monday 17th August

Wessex Water, who supplies almost all homes and businesses in Somerset, has introduced a hosepipe ban effective from midnight tonight. A sinkhole on Station Road in Castle Cary has been repaired, two years after it was first discovered. A Wildcat helicopter from RNAS Yeovilton has taken part in the annual passing-out parade at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth... and more
Friday 14th August

Police are investigating an incident in which obscene words were scratched onto the World War One memorial at Ham Hill. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has repeated his call for the upgrade of the town’s police station to include a custody suite. A Somerset carnival club is building a specially adapted float to allow a wheelchair user and her assistance dog to take part in this year’s carnival circuit...and more
Thursday 13th August

An Ilminster family is celebrating after winning one million pounds on the National Lottery. Police have released a picture of a man they want to speak to in connection with suspected frauds in Somerset. Somerset Council has opened a tendering process to find a main contractor for the £15 million upgrade of Yeovil’s Octagon theatre... and more
Wednesday 12th August

Experts say with good visibility forecast for this evening, people across Somerset should have some of the best views of the solar eclipse anywhere in the UK. A Somerset councillor is calling for the Stop Line cycle route between Chard and Ilminster to be better supported. It's 40-years ago this week since a Lynx helicopter built in Yeovil set a new World Helicopter Speed Record... and more
Tuesday 11th August

Wessex Water says a hosepipe ban is possible if customers fail to cut their water usage. A record number of illegal dog fights were reported in Somerset last year. Yeovil Town's Mason Obeng has won the traditional sack of potatoes, given to the player who scores Yeovil's first goal of the new season, as a lucky omen... and more
Monday 10th August

A local councillor claims anti-social behaviour is putting people off coming into Yeovil town centre. South-West Water has announced a hosepipe ban in the Chard area. Great Western Railway has apologised after a wheelchair user from Chard became stuck at one of its stations... and more
Friday 7th August

Chard's biggest employer, Numatic International, makers of the Henry vacuum cleaner, has announced job cuts. A new Neighbourhood Plan for Hatch Beauchamp has officially been adopted. Two historic artefacts taken from Glastonbury Abbey more than 70 years ago have been returned...and more