Wednesday 31st July

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil’s new Lib Dem MP is calling for more investment in Somerset’s ambulance service following an incident. Police are appealing for help identifying protesters caught on CCTV spraying red paint across the front of the County Hall in Taunton. One hundred dresses have gone on display at Shepton Mallet prison, raising money for local charities...and more.

Yeovil’s new Lib Dem MP Adam Dance is calling for more investment in Somerset’s ambulance service following an incident in which a pensioner with heatstroke was made to wait eight hours to be treated by paramedics. South Western Ambulance has apologised for the delay saying that more needs to be done to ensure a quicker handover of patients at hospital emergency departments.

Police are appealing for help identifying a group of protesters caught on CCTV spraying red paint across the front of the County Hall in Taunton. The incident at the weekend was the fourth such attack of its kind on County Hall this year. The protesters want a defence company evicted from a building owned by Somerset Council which they claim has links to Isreal. The company involved denied the claim. Avon and Somerset Police have posted a video of the latest incident on their website hoping that someone will recognize those responsible.

A consultation has been launched to help shape a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for Somerset. Somerset Council is asking for comments from local people and those closely involved in the sector, including social care, housing and public health. To submit a comment go to the Somerset Council website.

St John’s Almshouse in Sherborne is to get a major makeover, including the creation of a new tea room, alongside affordable accommodation. A joint scheme, involving the Almshouse and Sherborne Abbey, will see space retained for affordable accommodation, with the downstairs of the property becoming a tearoom. Other rooms upstairs will also be used for a young people's centre and community group meetings. A public meeting for all interested parties, to find out more and share views, will take place at the Almshouse in the coming weeks.

One hundred dresses have gone on display at Shepton Mallet prison, raising money for local charities. The dresses have been created from old wedding dresses as part of the New Clothes Project, which started five years ago.

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A formal planning application has been made to carry out significant improvements to Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, costing £15 million. The Halifax Bank in King George Street in Yeovil could be converted into 17 flats. A new young people’s centre opens in Chard early in the New Year...and more.
Tuesday 23rd December

NHS Somerset reports a strong uptake of flu jabs, but some eligible people for free vaccinations haven’t come forward. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303 in which a pedestrian was killed. A Crewkerne woman has gone viral on TikTok after being trapped inside a Lidl store in the town... and more.
Monday 22nd December

Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Friday 19th December

Crewkerne Community Hospital is to lose half its inpatient beds. A review will be conducted of a project to make Bridgwater more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Chard Methodist Church is offering residents a free lunch on Christmas Day. Yeovil-based Screwfix is opening a new outlet in Minehead...and more.
Thursday 18th December

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Wednesday 17th December

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
Tuesday 14th December

New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Monday 15th December

Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more