Wednesday 31st January

Wednesday, 31 January 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town Council has voted for a 100% increase in its share of the Council Tax. Police are appealing for witnesses to a burglary in Ermine Street in Yeovil. Preston Primary School in Yeovil has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Somerset has been ranked as the sixth worst place in the UK for speeding fines...and more.

Yeovil Town Council met last night and voted to put up its share of the Council Tax on a typical band-D property to £276, an increase of £146 or by 100%. The Town Council says it needs the extra income, amounting to just over one million pounds, to pay the costs of running services like Yeovil Recreation Ground, Yeovil Country Park, the Octagon Theatre and Westland Entertainment venue that Somerset Council can no longer afford to fund.

Police are appealing for witnesses or CCTV footage of a burglary in Yeovil. The break-in happened at a property in Ermine Street in the early hours of yesterday morning. Police are asking for anyone who spotted or has CCTV footage of two men acting suspiciously in Ermine Street between midnight and early yesterday morning to please call the non-emergency number 101.

Police are also appealing for witnesses or dashcam footage of an accident near Chard in which two motorcyclists died. The two bikers, who were travelling in opposite directions, crashed head-on close to the Red Barn junction on the A30 on Sunday night. Anyone who can help the police with their enquiries is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.

The Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Yeovil, Adam Dance, is calling for a re-think on the decision to close the Hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Members of NHS Somerset’s Integrated Care Board voted to downgrade the Yeovil unit at a meeting last week, despite strong objections. A new Hyper-acute unit will now be built at Dorchester Hospital. Mr Dance is questioning why money can be found to build a new unit in Dorchester but not in Yeovil and wants the financial case for closing Yeovil to be reassessed.

Somerset has been ranked as the sixth worst place in the UK for speeding fines. Figures from Moneybarn Car Finance show that in Avon and Somerset, 166,781 speeding tickets were issued last year, equating to around one in ten of the population being handed a speeding fine.

Preston Primary School in Yeovil has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. The school at Abbey Manor Park, which has 418 pupils, was graded ‘outstanding’ in all areas by Ofsted inspectors. Meanwhile, the Topsie preschool in Yeovil has been given a high rating by Ofsted. Inspectors rated the school as ‘good’ and praised staff for planning a good curriculum and helping children to value other people’s differences.

Chard Carnival Committee has given just over £5,500 to groups, carnival clubs and local charitable organisations. Speaking at the awards presentation, Chairman, Jason Baker said appearance money would continue to be given to clubs entering Chard Carnival, rather than giving prize money. The Committee gave £2,380 in appearance money at last year’s Carnival, with a further £3,133 going to local groups and charities.

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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