Local News Friday 22nd July

    Around forty new jobs could be created at Leonardo in Yeovil. Test flights for so-called air taxis are set to take place in the South West by 2024. Somerset Wildlife Trust has criticised the government for delaying the introduction of new laws to protect Beavers and South Somerset District Council made an income of £2.8 million pounds from two battery storage sites.

    Around forty new jobs could be created at Leonardo in Yeovil following a sixty million pound contract awarded by the government. It’s to deliver a new type of drone, capable of taking off and landing vertically, for the Royal Navy. Leonardo says the bulk of the work on the Rotary Wing Un-crewed Air System Technology Programme, will take place at its factory on Lysander Road in Yeovil.

    Test flights for so-called air taxis are set to take place in the South West by 2024. Unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show, they would take off and land vertically like a helicopter, carrying up to four passengers and travelling at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour. 

    Somerset Wildlife Trust has criticised the government for delaying the introduction of new laws to protect Beavers. The Trust claims research has shown that Beavers help with flood management and improve water quality. The Trust is urging the government to get on with giving Beavers greater protection because of the good they do.

    South Somerset District Council made an income of £2.8 million pounds from two battery storage sites that it owns in the last financial year April 2021 to March 2022. The Council invested £43.5 in creating the sites - one of which is on the outskirts of Taunton and the other near Fareham in Hampshire. The sites store surplus electricity and sell it back to the National Grid at peak times.

    More from News

    • Friday 31st January

      A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more

    • Thursday 30th January

      Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more

    • Wednesday 29th January

      New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more

    • Tuesday 28th January

      Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more

    • Monday 27th January

      A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more

    • News Friday 24th January

      Plans have been submitted to build a David Lloyd Health and Fitness Club in Yeovil. Carers in Somerset say spending cuts to mental health support services will be hugely damaging. People with memories of Somerset women's cricket side are being asked to take part in a project to preserve its history. Two of our local restaurants have been listed in the top 100 restaurants in the UK...and more

    • Thursday 23rd January

      Yeovil Town Council has defended its decision to increase its share of the Council Tax by an average of £80. A man who drove an e-scooter in Yeovil while disqualified from driving has been jailed for six weeks. According to new data, the Yeovil driving test centre is the 12th easiest in the UK to pass a driving test...and more

    • Wednesday 22nd January

      Somerset Council is to pay for fifty-bed spaces in nursing homes so that patients can be discharged from hospital quicker. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, is calling for improved disabled access at Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction railway stations. Crewkerne could soon get a new farm shop...and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 9°C | Low: 4°C

    • Chard

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 8°C | Low: 4°C

    • Crewkerne

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 8°C | Low: 4°C

    • Somerton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 8°C | Low: 4°C

    • Wincanton

      Medium-level cloud

      High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

    Recently Played