Friday 12th April

Friday, 12 April 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town will play National League football next season after beating Truro 2-0 last night to win promotion and the National League South title. Somerset Council says the cost of keeping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre closed has risen to £140,000 a year. A holiday website has reported a 31 percent upturn in visitor numbers to Somerset...and more.

Yeovil Town finally won promotion and the National League South title beating Truro 2-0 away last night. Twelve hundred travelling Yeovil fans watched as Rhys Murphy and Alex Fisher scored in each half to give Yeovil the three points. Life-long Glovers supporter and Leader of Yeovil Town Council, Graham Oakes, says the promotion is not just good for the football club but the town as a whole.

Somerset Council says the cost of keeping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre closed has risen to £140,000 a year. The money is being spent paying utility bills, running the heating ventilation systems and various forms of insurance. The Octagon closed in April last year, with Somerset Council voting to keep it shut until a new business case has been agreed to get it re-opened.

A new ‘Welcome to Chard’ stone has been installed at the entrance to Chard. The stone, at the junction of Fore Street and Silver Street, has been paid for by Historic England, as part of the one-million-pound funded Chard High Street Action Zone project.

A holiday website has reported an up-turn in visitors to Somerset following the airing of a Channel 5 series about the county. Somerset: Wonder of the West Country presented by Alan Titchmarsh showcased the best areas, people, and traditions of the County. HolidayCottages.co.uk says after the first programme aired in late February, a 31 percent increase in holiday bookings for Somerset was recorded.

A new operator is needed to run one of Chard’s best-known pubs. The 17th-century Choughs Hotel on the High Street is advertised at a rent of £34,000 per annum with an annual turnover of £550,000.

More from News

Thursday 8th January

Adam Dance MP is welcoming developments in his campaign to support neurodivergent schoolchildren. Somerset was the star of the small screen last night, thanks to BBC comedy ‘Can You Keep A Secret’. A Yeovil gymnastics club has hosted a VIP guest...and more.
Wednesday 7th January

Somerset's Lib Dem MPs have described a one per cent rise in Council funding as 'profoundly disappointing'. A new independent cinema will open next month in Wincanton. We’re facing the chance of heavy snow with Storm Goretti hitting the region on Thursday...and more.
Tuesday 6th January

The Poundland chain has confirmed its store closures, including one of the Yeovil branches next Friday. Yeovil's Marlie Packer has been awarded an OBE for her outstanding contribution to rugby. Nearly one hundred new low-cost homes could be coming to South Chard...and more.
Monday 5th January

A woman has been cut free from her car after a four-vehicle collision in Montacute. Devon and Somerset fire crews have been praised for their bravery, following the summer wildfires. More new homes are set to be built in Martock, following approval from Somerset Council...and more.
Wednesday 24th December

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.