Wednesday 15th April

Wednesday, 15 April 2026 06:00

By Steve Haigh

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

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. The government has announced £175 million of investment for technical training at nineteen colleges, including Yeovil, where apprentices from Leonardo already undergo training.

Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Ilminster. Higdon Homes Ltd secured planning permission to build 16 homes on St James Close in Broadway in 2016. As part of the permission, the developer was required to contribute towards facilities within the village, including the village hall and the pitch at Broadway Cricket Club. Somerset Council says the £34,982 that Higdon Homes Ltd promised to pay is still owed.

Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke says rising house prices, high rents and a lack of homes in Somerset have led to people living in vans in her constituency. The government says it is committed to building one and a half million new homes during the lifetime of this Parliament. But speaking in the Commons, Sarah Dyke said that for many people, buying or renting a home is unaffordable.

An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain. Mike and Zoe Langley-Wathen are taking on the One Coast Any Age challenge, walking 7,300 miles around the British coastline for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. So far, the couple, who are both in their 70s, have covered 435 miles along the Sussex coast, raising £4,000 towards their target of £10,000.

Members of a local production of Calendar Girls have stripped off for a real-life photoshoot to help promote the show. Glastonbury and Street Musical Comedy Society are performing the musical at Strode Theatre in Street next week, with money raised going to Blood Cancer UK.

More from News

Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more