The future of Yeovil Hospital’s stroke unit could be decided at a meeting later this week. A new cycle route in Yeovil, promised for September, won’t now open until the end of December. Somerset Council has announced plans to turn an empty property in Chard into a children's home....and more.
The future of Yeovil Hospital’s stroke unit could be decided at a meeting later this week. A row broke out earlier in the year when plans were announced to close all stroke services in Yeovil and move them to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. Now, health leaders have listened to the objections and are recommending only a partial shutdown of the unit. Under the new plans, hyper-acute services, that provide treatment within 72 hours of a stroke would close, but the acute care services would stay open. The plans are due to be discussed at a meeting of NHS Somerset’s Integrated Care Board on Thursday, with a final decision taken at a meeting in late January.
A new cycle route in Yeovil, promised for September, won’t now open until the end of December. Somerset Council has blamed the delay in building the cycle route along Lyde Road on complications involving utility connections.
Buses of Somerset have introduced extra morning and evening services from this week on some routes in the hope it will improve punctuality and reliability. It follows criticism from passengers linked to problems caused by a shortage of drivers.
Somerset Council has announced plans to turn an empty property in Chard into a children's home. Meads House on Touches Lane has not been in use for several years. Now, Somerset Council says it will invest £300,000 to update the property and turn it into a children's home with staff living on site.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... 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. 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
Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more