Wednesday 12th March

Wednesday, 12 March 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

A charity in Somerset is appealing for support after one of its sites was vandalised. The Leader of Somerset Council has been to Westminster to put the case for central government to provide councils with more money. A new primary school is to built-in Chard...and more

A charity in Somerset is appealing for support after one of its sites was vandalised. Brainwave says its Therapy Assessment Centre in Bridgwater was targeted with paint last weekend. A car also had its windows smashed.

The Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, joined other local government leaders at Westminster yesterday to put the case for central government to provide local councils with better funding. Cllr Revans told the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that funding from central government to Somerset Council had almost halved in recent years – down by 40 per cent – and that it was not realistic to expect Council Tax income to pay for essential services such as social care for adults and children.

Somerset Council is planning to spend 2 million pounds extending Herne View Church of England Primary School in Ilminster. The school is being enlarged to provide spaces for children living on the new Canal Way housing development. Once extended, Herne View will have accommodation for 600 children with the cost of the work recouped from local housing developments, including Canal Way. Meanwhile, a new primary school is due to open in Chard by late 2027. The new school is planned as part of the Chard Eastern Development Area that lies between the A358 Tatworth Road and the A30 Crewkerne Road where up to 2,700 new homes could be built. But Somerset Council says a site within the CEDA has yet to be allocated, and that an alternative site may have to be found.

A path that runs alongside the Canal in Ilminster will stay shut again today. Ilminster Town Council says the path, next to the Archie Gooch Pavilion, will stay closed until late Thursday for the removal of three Ash trees that are showing signs of Ash dieback.

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Thursday 30th October

Bird flu has been found at a nature reserve in Somerset, closing part of it down. St Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset is calling for the hospice sector to be given more central funding. The Barrington Boar in Barrington has been placed 12th in The Good Food Guide’s list of 100 best pubs in Britain... and more
Wednesday 29th October

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a mobile home near Yeovil. Somerset Council is suggesting people turn their pumpkins into soup this Halloween. People in Yeovil have until Sunday to comment on controversial plans to sell off four car parks in the town centre... and more.
Tuesday 28th October

Plans have been submitted to build 12 new homes in Chard. A nursery in Yeovil has been rated ‘overall good' by Ofsted. A Somerset mortgage broker has achieved national recognition. A stretch of the M5 at Wellington will be shut every night this week...and more
Monday 27th October

The Unite union has announced four days of strikes by its members at Leonardo in Yeovil. One of Yeovil’s busiest roads is closed to traffic today. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard raised £3,000 taking part in a Sleeping Ruff challenge at the weekend...and more
Friday 24th October

New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Thursday 23rd October

Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 22nd October

A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .
Tuesday 21st October

Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more