Tuesday 31st March

Tuesday, 31 March 2026 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council says it doesn’t have the money to install solar panels on the roof of the Octagon Theatre. Three men have been charged in connection with an investigation into a hunt in Somerset. Changes have been announced to the times of waste collections in Somerset over the Easter holidays... and more

Somerset Council says it doesn’t have the money to install solar panels on the roof of the Octagon Theatre under its impending £15m regeneration. Planning permission was granted in February to update the theatre, which includes significant improvements to the auditorium and backstage area. However, the new theatre will not include solar panels or heat pumps due to a lack of funds. Somerset Council is expected to appoint a contractor to carry out the work by November, with construction beginning in January 2027.

Three men have been charged in connection with an investigation into a hunt in Somerset. Ross Cordery, from Highbridge; Wayne Greggory, from Taunton; and James Parish, from Uffculme in Devon, have all been charged under the Hunting Act 2004 with hunting a wild mammal with dogs. It follows an investigation by the Rural Crime Team into a planned hunt by the Vale of Taunton and Banwell Harriers Hunt in November last year.

The Environment Agency says it is looking into installing permanent pumps at 11 new locations on the Somerset Levels. It follows pressure on the agency from the Somerset Drainage Board Consortium for further permanent pumps on the Levels to prevent a repeat of this winter’s severe flooding. The Flooding on the Levels Action Group has also called for more permanent pumps to be installed, rather than relying on the Environment Agency to bring in temporary pumps.

People living in Milborne Port say new charges introduced by Dorset Council to use the recycling centre at Sherborne are unfair. It is only four miles from where they live, whereas the nearest recycling centre run by Somerset Council—to whom they pay council tax—is 11 miles away in Yeovil. The new charge of £8.50 per visit at the Sherborne site came into effect this week.

Changes have been announced to the times of waste collections in Somerset over the Easter holidays. Collections due on Good Friday, April 3, will instead take place on Saturday, April 4. No collections will take place on Easter Monday, April 6th. During the following week, all collections will take place one day later than usual. Recycling sites will move to new opening times of 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm at weekends from Wednesday, April 1st.

More from News

Monday 30th March

Avon and Somerset Police say its armed officers attended 2,700 incidents in Somerset last year. Plans have been submitted to build 40 new homes in Curry Rivel. South Western Ambulance is offering free CPR and defibrillator training to help improve cardiac arrest survival rates...and more
Friday 27 March

There's been a big improvement in ambulance response times in Somerset. Three local people have been charged with offences linked to the theft and supply of prescription-only drugs. A fragment of a jawbone found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge appears to show that humans kept dogs as pets as far back as 5,000 years ago... and more
Thursday 26th March

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.
Wednesday 25th March

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more
Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more
Monday 23rd March

A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more
Friday 20th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more
Thursday 19th March

Farmers in Somerset say they're struggling after a doubling in the price of red diesel. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised Donald Trump over his comments about people with learning disabilities. A Somerset woman whose father was killed in a crash on the M5 is running the London Marathon to raise money for South West Ambulance...and more