Wednesday 22nd October

Wednesday, 22 October 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

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 .

A major house builder in the South West, Chris Winter of West of England Developments, says government targets for new house building in Somerset are unrealistic. The government plans to build one and a half million new homes in England by 2029, with 75,000 of them in Somerset. It represents a 41% increase in the county's house building target..

Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil following the collapse into administration of its owners, DC London Pie Ltd. The Yeovil outlet, located on the Old Town Station Leisure Park, near Cineworld, is one of sixty-eight Pizza Huts closing across the UK, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has accused the Chancellor of ‘turning her back’ on farmers. It follows reports that Rachel Reeves won’t amend or repeal the Family Farm Tax in next month’s Budget. Mr Dance says that for the government to press on with a tax that is causing real harm to family farms is utterly foolish.

The go-ahead has been given to build 43 new homes in Queen Camel. The homes will be built on land off West Camel Road, opposite Rectory Close. A new junction will be created to provide access to the development, along with new pavements laid along West Camel Road, which will give access to Queen Camel Medical Centre and Countess Gytha Primary School. Developers at Ashford Homes say construction is expected to begin early in the New Year.

A Yeovil care home has been rated as ‘overall good’ by the Care Quality Commission. Springview care home in Preston Grove provides support to people with learning and physical disabilities. Following an inspection in 2021, the home was found in breach of a regulation relating to staffing. The new report, based on an inspection in August this year, found “significant improvements” had been made, and that the home was no longer in breach.

Staff at Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow, spending the night alongside rescue dogs. The centre provides refuge and rehabilitation to more than 300 animals, with tomorrow’s event raising much-needed funds to pay towards running costs.

More from News

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
Monday 20th October

Somerton and Glastonbury MP, Sarah Dyke, says the government needs to get an urgent grip on the worsening dentistry situation in her constituency. Bridgwater Town Council has criticised plans by the Somerset Council to charge for Sunday parking. Somerset Council’s Libraries service has launched its Winter Coat Exchange scheme for a third year...and more
Friday 17th October

A new £7 million primary school and nursery is to be built in the grounds of Holyrood Academy in Chard. A public consultation has opened into plans to merge the parishes of Ansford and Castle Cary. The nomination papers that paved the way for Margaret Thatcher to become Britain's first female Prime Minister have been uncovered in a Somerset garage...and more
Thursday 16th October

Two mothers in Chard are calling on carnival organisers to make carnivals more accessible to children with special educational needs. 4,000 people have been put on a waiting list at a new NHS dental practice in Somerset. Channel 4’s ‘Love It or List It’ is looking to feature properties in Somerset in a new series... and more
Wednesday 15th October

The maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital is to reopen within the next six months. There’s been a further delay to reopening Yeovil’s Octagon theatre. No CrossCountry trains will run through Somerset this weekend due to planned industrial action by the RMT union...and more.
Tuesday 14th October 2025

Film and TV crews have given Somerset's economy a £4 million boost in the last 12 months. Around 100 people have objected to plans to build 325 new homes in Crewkerne. Somerset Council is asking the public to report anyone they see sleeping rough...and more
Monday 13th October

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is urging people to join a campaign for improved support for children with dyslexia. An opposition Conservative member of Somerset Council says businesses will suffer a ‘terrible blow’ if plans go ahead to sell off five Yeovil town centre car parks. A Yeovil man has been jailed for three years... and more.
Friday 10th October

Union members at Leonardo sites across the UK, including in Yeovil, have voted to go on strike after rejecting a 3.2 percent pay offer. GWR has apologised for not providing a visually impaired Yeovil women with an escort to cross between platforms at Pen Mill station. A walnut grower in Somerset is calling on supermarkets to stop importing the nuts from aboard and to sell the ones he grows instead... and more