Local News Friday 9th July

    The start date to begin work regenerating Yeovil town centre has been pushed back for the fourth time. South Somerset has moved towards a greener future following a drop in carbon dioxide emissions. Grants of up to two-and-a-half thousand pounds are being made available to smaller charities and community groups in South Somerset. A pub near Ilminster has opened for the first time in over 12-months. The George at Donyatt closed in March last year due to the pandemic...and more.

    The start date to begin work regenerating Yeovil town centre has been pushed back for the fourth time. The Yeovil Refresh project will see public spaces revitilised and the Borough pedestrianized. South Somerset District Council had intended work starting last summer. Then said it would be early 2021 and revised that date to June. Now, they say it will be August at the earliest before the project gets off the ground

    South Somerset has moved towards a greener future following a drop in carbon dioxide emissions. New figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show CO2 emissions in the Yeovil area fell by 3.1 percent in 2019 compared to the year before. Between 2009 and 2019 overall CO2 emissions in South Somerset lowered by 24.2 percent.

    Grants of up to two-and-a-half thousand pounds are being made available to smaller charities and community groups in South Somerset. The money from the Somerset Community Foundation is to help organisations with the costs of re-opening now Covid restrictions are being eased.

    A pub near Ilminster has opened for the first time in over 12-months. The George at Donyatt closed in March last year due to the pandemic. Owners, Helen Calvert and Steven Faulkner have used the time to spring clean and redecorate the building. 

    Lady members of Chard Inner Wheel have held a party to mark the group’s 70th anniversary. Since it was formed in 1950, members of Chard Inner Wheel in Chard have raised money for dozens of local good causes including Chard Carnival and St Margaret’s Hospice.

    The Fearne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has launched an appeal for funds to upgrade a duck pond. Money raised will be used to buy a new water treatment system and build a structure to keep ducks and wild birds separate during the influenza season.

    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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 24°C | Low: 13°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 23°C | Low: 12°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 23°C | Low: 12°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain shower

      High: 23°C | Low: 14°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain shower

      High: 24°C | Low: 13°C

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