Local News Monday 31st January

Monday, 31 January 2022 06:00

It’s reported that work has stopped on the major scheme to upgrade Westminster Street in Yeovil. A section of the A30 in South Somerset will close for three weeks next month for repairs to be carried out to a retaining wall. Plans have been approved for a food van to remain permanently located in the Cocklemoor public car park in Langport. Final plans have been submitted to build sixty-five new houses in Milborne Port. Chard bodybuilding champion, Chris Williams, has announced the staging of his first major bodybuilding event...and more.

It’s reported that work has stopped on the major scheme to upgrade Westminster Street in Yeovil. This follows financial losses at the Midas Group the company delivering the contract. In a statement, Midas said it had filed a court notice with the intention of appointing an administrator to take over the business. Work on the scheme to partially pedestrianize Westminster Street, as part of the multi-million-pound Yeovil Refresh project, started back in August with the pavement on one side of Westminster Street now remains dug up and cordoned off. Exeter-based, Midas, is one of the region’s largest employers, with more than four hundred people directly employed and supporting more than 10,000 jobs in supply chains. It’s reported that work on other Midas building projects across the South West has also ceased. A spokesman for Midas says they’re working with stakeholders to try to resolve the situation. South Somerset District Council, which runs the Yeovil Refresh project, has yet to comment.

A section of the A30 in South Somerset will close for three weeks next month for repairs to be carried out to a retaining wall. Somerset County Council says the wall at Haselbury Plucknett has become a serious road hazard. Work to repair it will begin on Monday, February 7th with traffic management in place for 13-weeks.

Plans have been approved for a food van to remain permanently located in the Cocklemoor public car park in Langport. South Somerset District Council’s Area North Committee voted by a majority of two to allow the food van to trade from a parking space at the western end of the car park despite objections from local shop owners who claimed it would take trade away from the High Street.

Final plans have been submitted to build sixty-five new houses in Milborne Port. Redcliffe Homes was granted outline permission in 2019 to build the homes, a convenience store and community hub at the corner of Station Road and Wheathill Lane and secured detailed approval in 2020. The developer has now put forward fresh plans for the store that will serve both the new homes and the South Somerset District Council is expected to decide on the application by late spring.

Chard bodybuilding champion, Chris Williams, has announced the staging of his first major bodybuilding event. Chris who holds, the British IBFA over 45’s title, will stage the World War Hulk event at Exeter Corn Exchange in September.

People in South Somerset are being asked to open their gardens to the public to raise money for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. It’s part of the charities Blossoming and Blooming campaign that for the past two years has been cancelled due to Covid.

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.