Local News Monday 6th December

Monday, 6 December 2021 06:00

Yeovil Carnival could be revived next year. South Somerset District Council is planning to buy a property in Yeovil to drive forward its regeneration of the town centre. A teenager who took police on a high-speed chase around country lanes in Crewkerne has been given was a suspended prison sentence. Owners of cats in South Somerset that are aged 20-weeks and over will need to have them microchipped. Businesses in South Somerset are being encouraged to sign up for a new initiative to tackle food waste...and more.

Yeovil Carnival could be revived next year. Carnival in Yeovil folded in 2005 due to a lack of volunteers and plans to reinstate it in 2019 also failed due to roads works in the town centre. Now, a new committee has been formed and they are holding a public meeting to gather support on January 26th at the 94 Club in Middle Street, Yeovil.

South Somerset District Council is planning to buy a property in Yeovil to drive forward its regeneration of the town centre. Work on improving Westminster Street and Wine Street as part of the Yeovil Refresh project is already underway. A major upgrade of The Triangle in Lower Middle Street is due to start late next year. The Council hasn’t said which property they plan to buy but say owning it will mean the start date on one of the improvement schemes in Yeovil town centre can be brought forward.

A teenager who took police on a high-speed chase around country lanes in Crewkerne has been given was a suspended prison sentence. Taunton Crown Court was told that 19-year-old Theodore Galpin put his foot down when police tried to speak to him about not having a driving licence. He overtook a van on a blind bend, narrowly missed a walker and his dog and almost hit a cyclist. When he was eventually stopped, police found there were three other people in the car. Galpin who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving was also banned from driving for 30-months.

Owners of cats in South Somerset that are aged 20-weeks and over will need to have them microchipped and their contact details stored in a database under a new scheme announced by the government. Owners who don’t comply could face a fine of £500 pounds.

A former pub in Castle Cary could be converted into a convenience store. A planning application has been submitted for a ‘change of use’ on the former Horse Pond Inn into a Co-op shop. The plans also include the addition of three new homes on the site. South Somerset District Council is due to consider the application early in the New Year.

Businesses in South Somerset are being encouraged to sign up for a new initiative to tackle food waste. The tourism organisation ‘Visit West’ has partnered with ‘Too Good - To Go’ a company that helps cafes, restaurants and hotels sell food at a discounted rate that would otherwise be thrown away.

Chard business owners are being invited to apply for grants to improve the appearance of their shop fronts. A consultation launching later this week will lay out how different parts of the town should appear and how shop fronts could be enhanced. The scheme’s being run by South Somerset District Council through the Chard High Street Heritage Action Fund.

Yeovil Town will be number 45 in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup tonight. You can see the draw being made on ITV4 at 7 pm.

More from News

Friday 25th July

A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.
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.