Wednesday 6th November

Wednesday, 6 December 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A well-known fish and chip shop in Yeovil is closing, with its owner blaming the poor state of the town centre for his decision. Plans have been approved to build a major new solar farm at Ilton near Ilminster. The Environment Agency is warning that more parts of South Somerset could flood in the next few days as river levels continue to rise...and more

A well-known fish and chip shop in Yeovil is closing, with its owner blaming the poor state of the town centre for his decision. Palmer’s on Market Street will cease trading on Saturday, December 16th, after 65 years of serving fish and chips. Owner, Clive Palmer, says a lack of on-street parking, and the ongoing disruption within Yeovil town centre, has led to the business becoming uneconomic.

Plans have been approved to build a major new solar farm at Ilton. Land off Merryfield Lane, close to Ilton Cricket Club, will be used for the scheme, with construction expected to start early in the New Year.

The Environment Agency is warning that more parts of South Somerset could flood as river levels rise in the next few days. The agency says the flood risk has increased with more rain and rivers at bursting point.

An inquest has been told how an elderly woman with dementia died after getting trapped under a stair-lift at a care home in Langport. Barbara Rymell was a resident at Ashley House in Langport, where the accident happened. The Somerset Senior Coroner said the emergency response had been hampered because two staff at the care home who called 999 didn't speak very good English and failed to communicate fully the seriousness of the situation.

A new report into the state of nature in Somerset says the County is experiencing a serious decline in numbers of insects and birds. The study from the Somerset Wildlife Trust says more than eleven per cent of grassland habitats have disappeared in the County in recent years.

A hair and beauty salon in Ilminster has won a top award. Transformations Hair, Beauty & Aesthetics, based at The North Barn Park on the Dillington Estate, has been named South West Luxury Spa of the Year in the English Beauty Industry Awards 2023.

More from News

Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.