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

Wednesday 22nd April

Expectant mothers are using Yeovil Hospital once again to give birth following the reopening of the maternity unit. A Yeovil man has been jailed for four years for committing sexual offences against two young girls. Plans have been approved to convert a pub in Milborne Port into housing... and more
Tuesday 21st April

NHS Somerset has delayed closing the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. A former Avon and Somerset Police officer has been jailed for making indecent images of children. A Somerset man has been fined after pleading guilty to hunting a wild animal with dogs... and more
Monday 20th April

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage. Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three school choices. People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer... and more
Friday 17th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has backed calls for a cap on heating oil prices. Invitations are being sent out to those in Somerset eligible for the latest Covid vaccine. A pub near Chard has closed just four months after reopening... and more
Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more
Tuesday 14th April

Avon and Somerset Police has launched a new five-year plan to tackle anti-social behaviour. Additional GP appointments will soon be available at three local surgeries, following a £1 million investment to upgrade NHS facilities in Somerset. A Stoke-sub-Hamdon couple whose daughter died of cancer have raised £128,000 in her memory... and more
Monday 13th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for better support for survivors of domestic abuse living in rural communities. The RSPB in Somerset is urging people to stop feeding birds to prevent the spread of disease. Yeovil Town Football Club says an issue that had threatened it with removal from the register at Companies House has been resolved... and more