Tuesday 9th January

Tuesday, 9 January 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Extra charges are being levied on empty properties and second homes in Somerset. Tributes have been paid to Somerset councillor Dean Ruddle who has died at the age of 59. Yeovil Town's game away to Taunton Town tonight is completely sold out...and more

Extra charges are being levied on empty properties and second homes in Somerset. More than 2,600 properties are currently unoccupied in the County, including nearly 100 that have been empty for ten years. To encourage owners to bring them back into use, Somerset Council is imposing a 100 per cent council tax premium on properties empty for more than one year. Additional charges are also being levied on second homes.

Tributes have been paid to Councillor Dean Ruddle, who died at 59. Known to his colleagues as “Mr Somerton”, Cllr Ruddle was Lead Member for Adult Services on Somerset Council and also Chairman of Somerton Town Council.

One person had to be taken to hospital following a three-vehicle crash near Chard. It happened on the A358 at Hornsbury Hill at midday yesterday. The road was closed for more than an hour. The condition of the injured person is not known.

A new way of dealing with women, arrested for the first time for low-level offences, is being tested in Somerset in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police. 'Project She' run by the Nelson Trust offers women who admit to wrongdoing, the chance of training and support, rather than a court appearance.

A new £3 parking charge has come into effect at the Westhay Moor Nature Reserve, near Langport. Up until now, parking at the Reserve has been free, however, entry to the Reserve itself remains at no charge.

An audiologist in Somerset claims hearing aids help people to stay fit and active in older age. Laura Lewis, who works for T T M Hearing Services, says she's not surprised that a study has found hearing aids can delay the onset of dementia and help people to live longer.

Yeovil Town will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run of six games when they take on Taunton Town away at Wordsworth Drive tonight. The Glovers, who are ten points clear at the top of National League South, beat Taunton 4-1 at Huish Park on Boxing Day. Tonight’s game, which is sold out, kicks off at 7.45 pm.

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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.