Local News Friday 28th May

Friday, 21 May 2021 06:00

Two former Beales department stores in Yeovil have been snapped up by new owners this week. A wooden stable block has been destroyed in a fire at Kingsbury Episcopi. Plans for a new railway station on the line between Castle Cary and Taunton on the Somerset Levels have taken a step forward. A petition’s been launched to have an off-road cycling track built in South Somerset. A newly formed pressure group in Chard is demanding plans for new homes in the town be refused...and more.

Two former Beales department stores in Yeovil have been snapped up by new owners this week. Formerly the home of Denners, the two separate sites are located on High Street in the heart of Yeovil town centre. The sites were due to go to auction with digital property marketplace BidX1 on Wednesday (26-05) but due to high interest in the lots and a large number of pre-auction bids, the pair were both sold before the planned auction began, according to John Connolly, surveyor at BidX1.

A wooden stable block has been destroyed in a fire at Kingsbury Episcopi, near Martock. It happened in Pulpitsway Drove at around 10 pm on Wednesday night.

Plans for a new railway station on the line between Castle Cary and Taunton on the Somerset Levels have taken a step forward. It follows the granting of £50,000 by local councillors to fund a feasibility study into the project. The station would be built around the area of Langport and Somerton which had stations before they were closed by the Beeching cuts of the1960's.

A petition’s been launched to have an off-road cycling track built in South Somerset. The petition’s been organised by Mark Hughes of 1st Chard Wheelers. They’re asking for a two-kilometer tarmac loop circuit, with amenities, to be provided somewhere in the Yeovil area. They say the track is needed because there is nowhere in South Somerset for people to cycle off-road in safety.

A newly formed pressure group in Chard is demanding plans for new homes in the town be refused, arguing they will not deliver the local facilities that were promised. ‘Residents 4 A Better Chard’ has published a formal assessment of the plans to build 252 homes on the A358 Tatworth Road. They claim the scheme will not provide the improved roads, schools, and health facilities that the town badly needs.

Police are investigating the theft of valuable silverware from the Eastbury Hotel in Sherborne. The theft was discovered early on Monday morning. The items are valued at £25,000 and the hotel has appealed for their safe return. Anyone who can help is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.

More from News

Thursday 24th July

Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more.
Wednesday 23rd July

Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more
Tuesday 22nd July

Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more
Monday 21st July

A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more
Friday 18th July

EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more
Thursday 17th July

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Ilminster residents are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset later this year...and more
Wednesday 16th July

A children’s play area in Ilminster has been closed on safety grounds after badger setts were found on the land. Somerset Council sold off £90m of property assets last year to help fight off bankruptcy. Crewkerne Community Hospital could be turned into a neighbourhood health centre...and more.
Tuesday 15th July

The fire service has blamed a discarded portable barbecue for starting a blaze at Ham Hill Country Park. A care home for people with autism and complex needs in Crewkerne has been rated 'good'. A seven-year-old Yeovil boy has set a new world record for completing the most number of consecutive sit-ups for his age group...and more