Friday 6th December

Friday, 6 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is asking the government for permission to raise next year’s Council Tax by more than 5 per cent. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A3088 Cartgate Link Road in which a pedestrian was killed. A trainee at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil has been presented with a Rising Star award...and more.

Somerset Council is asking the government for permission to raise next year’s Council Tax by more than 5 per cent. Currently, Council Tax rises are capped at 5 per cent but Somerset Council says it needs the extra income to avoid bankruptcy.

Police, social services, and the NHS aren't working together properly on knife crime in Somerset, according to a new report. It says tackling youth violence is not being given a high enough priority, which is leaving children at risk of harm and exploitation.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A3088 Cartgate Link Road in which a pedestrian was killed. It happened when a man collided with a Hyundai car last Tuesday night at around 9 pm. If you saw what happened or have dashcam footage please call the non-emergency number 101.

Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a project aimed at combating a rise in non-native invasive plant species. The Trust says non-native plants, introduced through human activities, outcompete native species, disrupting natural ecosystems, and impacting the survival of native mammals, insects, and other wildlife. The charity is aiming to raise £20,000 to better manage non-native invasive plants on nature reserves through the Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK’s largest match-funding initiative.

A trainee at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil has been presented with a Rising Star award at the Make UK’s Regional Manufacturing Awards. The judging panel said Brandon Weeks had impressed his employers with his work ethic and leadership skills. Before moving to Leonardo, Brendon worked as a volunteer sports therapist at Yeovil Town Football Club.

If you would like to travel to the North Pole without leaving Yeovil this Christmas, you can do so by hopping onboard a Santa Special at Yeovil Railway Centre. It’s the 30th year they’ve run Santa Specials with steam rides this Sunday, over the weekend of the 14th & 15th and 22nd & 23rd of December.

More from News

Thursday 12th December

Farmers from Somerset were amongst the hundreds of others from across the UK who gathered in London yesterday. Avon and Somerset Police is trialling a new way to find people with dementia when they are reported missing. A cake designer from Yeovil has been crowned Best Cake Designer in the South West...and more.
Wednesday 11th December

An open letter has been sent to NHS Somerset asking for a revision of the decision to close the emergency stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset residents, whose lives and property were impacted by Storm Darragh, could be entitled to compensation. Haselbury Mill, near Crewkerne, has been sold for an undisclosed price...and more.
Tuesday 10th December

Seventy-seven homes on the outskirts of Yeovil remain without electricity this morning. Yeovil MP Adam Dance wants schools in Yeovil and South Somerset to receive a fair share of new special educational needs funding. A Somerset business has been talking about its involvement with the hit film Wicked...and more
Monday 9th December

Preston Church of England School has been named one of the best-run state schools in the country. Councillors have delayed a decision on plans to build 30 new homes in Keinton Mandeville. Original film footage of King Charles’s christening in 1948 is being offered for sale at auction in Chard...and more
Thursday 5th December

Attacks on local ambulance crews have more than doubled in the past five years. The trial has begun of two Yeovil men, charged with murdering a neighbour. Somerset Council is due to make a decision early in the New Year on controversial plans to build 47 new homes at Horton, near Ilminster...and more.
Wednesday 4th December

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.
Tuesday 3rd December

Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident in Shepton Mallet in which a man was beaten up. A major emergency exercise is taking place at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil today. A Crewkerne dental surgery has been voted UK Dental Practice of the Year...and more.
Monday 2nd December

Wessex Water has issued an apology for last Friday’s major disruption to water supplies in Yeovil. Planned reforms to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital could be delayed following the discovery of asbestos in parts of the building. Rail travellers are being warned of disruption on the West of England Line over the Christmas and New Year period...and more.