Wednesday 4th December

Wednesday, 4 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Two weeks after Storm Bert, people in the village of Chaffcombe near Chard still do not have broadband and landline phones. A new report warns that drivers are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads in Somerset than on urban roads. Staff and children at Tatworth Primary School near Chard are celebrating after winning the annual Somerset School's Maths Challenge.

People in the village of Chaffcombe near Chard are still without broadband and landline phones two weeks after Storm Bert. A tree that fell on cabling during high winds left more than 200 homes without broadband and phone connectivity, and no date for when normal service will be resumed. Residents say with communications cut off and a mobile phone signal virtually non-existent in the village, their main concern is not being able to contact the emergency services, should a local emergency arise (story and photo courtesy of Chard and Ilminster News).

A new report is warning that drivers are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads in Somerset, than on urban roads. NFU Mutual, which is behind the report, says 107 people in the South West died on rural roads in 2023, compared to 34 in urban areas. NFU Mutual has now produced a Code for Countryside Roads to try and improve safety.

New times have been issued for recycling and rubbish collections over the festive period. If your usual collection day is Wednesday 25th of December it will change to Friday 27th of December. If your usual collection day is Thursday 26th of December it will change to Saturday 28th of December and if your usual pick-up day is Friday 27th of December it will change to Sunday 29th of December. All of Somerset’s recycling sites, including the one at Houndstone in Yeovil, will be open over the Christmas and New Year period, except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Garden collections will be suspended from Wednesday, 25th of December and will resume on Wednesday 8th of January.

Somerset Council is asking for comments on proposed changes to admission arrangements to schools in the County. This includes proposed changes to catchment areas, the number of school places available and how they are allocated. If you have a child due to start or transfer school in September 2026 you may wish to make a comment. The consultation is open now and runs until January 20th.

A Somerset business has been talking about its involvement with the hit film Wicked, which is currently showing in cinemas. Coates English Willow made a balloon basket for the movie.

Staff and children at Tatworth Primary School near Chard are celebrating after winning the annual Somerset School's Maths Challenge. 60 schools took part in the day-long competition with Tatworth's Year-six team, led by teachers, Mrs Hewitson and Mrs Webb, emerging as the overall winners

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Friday 12th June

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Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.
Friday 5th June

A new NHS dental practice in Crewkerne says it won’t start operating at full capacity until July due to staff shortages. Somerset Council says it has no plans to show England matches in the World Cup on the Big Screen in Yeovil town centre due to safety concerns. A Somerset family has been thanked after completing a 73-mile walk raising money for a third world charity... and more
Thursday 4th June

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