Tuesday 30th January

Tuesday, 30 January 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Members of Yeovil Town Council meet tonight to vote on doubling the amount of council tax they charge. Rail services through Castle Cary could be delayed or cancelled due to an overtime ban and strike by train drivers. Tobias Turley from Street, who won the ITV series 'Mamma Mia I Have a Dream' has made his debut performance in ‘Mama Mia the Musical’ in London’s West End...and more.

Members of Yeovil Town Council meet tonight to vote on doubling the amount of council tax they charge people who live in Yeovil. The increase would see the Town Council’s share of the council tax on a typical Band-D property rise from £130.80 to £276.08 per annum – an increase of more than 100 per cent. Town Council says it needs the extra income – amounting to just over one million pounds – to pay for services they plan to take over from Somerset Council like Yeovil Recreation Centre, Yeovil Country Park, the Octagon Theatre and Westland's Entertainment venue, Tonight’s meeting at the Town House in South Street is open to the public and starts at 7.30 pm.

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police says having cameras film the work of the force’s professional standards department for a TV documentary has been the right thing to do. It follows criticisms of the police for revealing in a TV documentary how they investigate corrupt staff and officers. Chief Constable Sarah Crew says the programme will show how open and transparent the force is in all its dealings.

Somerset Council is calling for more people to come forward to act as foster carers. Currently, 581 children in Somerset live away from home, with only 152 looked after by foster carers.

Rail services through Castle Cary could be delayed or cancelled over the next few days due to an overtime ban and strike by train drivers. Members of the ASLEF union at more than a dozen train companies, including GWR, are taking action in support of their ongoing dispute over pay.

Tobias Turley from Street, who won the ITV series 'Mamma Mia I Have a Dream' has made his debut performance in ‘Mama Mia the Musical’ in London’s West End. Tobias, who plays the role of Sky, says he feels privileged to have such a big part in the show.

Yeovil Town are in action tonight. The Glovers, who have a twelve-point lead at the top of National League South, take on Slough Town at Huish Park, kick-off is at 7.45 pm.

More from News

Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.