Wednesday 18th September

Tuesday, 17 September 2024 21:09

By Steve Haigh

BT is reassuring customers in Somerset who are worried about the upcoming digital switchover for landline phones. Somerset Council could lose 13 percent of its elected members as part of an upcoming boundary review. Castle Cary has been named as the best place to live in the UK in an online poll...and more.

BT is reassuring customers in Somerset who are worried about the upcoming digital switchover for landline phones. Copper phone lines are being decommissioned and all landlines will connect through the internet and electricity sockets. BT senior engagement manager, Vicky Hicks say the change to digital is needed to improve the way phones work.

Somerset Council could lose 13 percent of its elected members as part of an upcoming boundary review. The council has 110 elected members, two for each of the 55 divisions on boundaries inherited from Somerset County Council. However, this number could go down to 96 as part of a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission ahead of the next local elections in Somerset in May 2027. The commission is expected to hold two rounds of public consultation on the proposals before the summer of 2025.

Chard Town FC celebrated 100 years of playing at Zembard Lane last night. The milestone was marked with a Somerset Senior League fixture against Worle FC. Chard Town first played at Zembard Lane on September 17th, 1924, after being formed in March 1921, and initially playing at Bonfire Close.

Somerset Council has launched a new consultation asking people for their views on where they live and the services the council provides. The Council says it will use the results of the 2024 Resident Survey to measure progress against Somerset’s priorities and shape future council services. The survey is open now on the Somerset County Council website and closes on Monday, October 21st.

A sign that hung in the reception area of the Pittards factory in Yeovil is being auctioned off. Anyone who visited the Pittard's on Sherborne Road will have seen the carved wood emblem reading 'Established 1840'. The sign is being auctioned by Charterhouse in Sherborne on September 25th with a guide price of £2,500.

Castle Cary has been named as the best place to live in the UK in an online survey. In a poll of readers of the Muddy Stilettos’ website, Castle Cary came top of a list of the best villages, towns and cities to live in the UK.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more