Somerset Council is being given extra funding by the government to repair potholes. Somerset Waste Partnership says it is changing the days when it collects household waste in some parts of South Somerset. A new mobile Post Office service has started operating in Somerset. A school in Chard has won the support of local MP Marcus Fysh,..and more.
Somerset Council is being given extra funding by the government to repair potholes. The announcement has been made in advance of today’s Autumn Statement when the government will set out its tax and spending plans for the year ahead. The money to fill potholes has been allocated from the HS2 budget and follows the decision to cancel building HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester.
Somerset Waste Partnership says it is changing the days when it collects household waste in some parts of South Somerset. The changes, that take effect from February, are aimed at making the service more efficient and reducing carbon emissions. Households affected will receive a letter in January advising them of the change.
A new mobile Post Office service has started operating in Somerset. In a typical week, the unit will visit more than a dozen local villages.
A school in Chard has won the support of local MP, Marcus Fysh, in having a pedestrian crossing built outside the school. Avishayes Primary School wants a 20 miles per hour limit introduced on Fairway Rise, and a new crossing built. Mr Fysh, who was at the school as part of Road Safety Week, said he would be pressing Somerset Council to act with urgency on the school’s concerns.
£130,000 of additional funding has been provided to carry out dredging on the Somerset Levels. The work will see water injected into the riverbed to suspend silt and carry it downstream. 200 metres of waterway between Burrowbridge and Northmoor will be treated in January and February.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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