Local News Monday 7th June

    More than three-hundred-and-sixty-thousand people in Somerset have now received their first Covid vaccine, according to new figures from NHS England. The result of a public poll on the shake-up of local government in Somerset is due to be announced today. Avon and Somerset Police are providing officers for the policing operation at the G7 summit in Cornwall later this week. South Somerset District Council has given a grant of £400,000 towards new emergency accommodation for homeless people in Yeovil...and more.

    More than three-hundred-and-sixty-thousand people in Somerset have now received their first Covid vaccine, according to new figures from NHS England. They also say that in the latest age group to be given the jab, 30 to 34-year-olds, around a third of people have already been vaccinated.

    The result of a public poll on the shake-up of local government in Somerset is due to be announced today. Polling closed on Friday on the plan to scrap Somerset’s existing five councils and replace them with one council to run all services in Somerset or two councils, one based on the eastern side of the county the other on the western side. The government says it won’t be influenced in making its decision by the outcome. The poll’s been funded by Somerset’s four district councils and described by Somerset County Council as a ‘waste of public money’.

    Avon and Somerset Police are providing officers for the policing operation at the G7 summit in Cornwall later this week. It’s not been confirmed how many offers are being deployed but Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset, Mark Shelford, says helping at the G7 won’t affect policing levels in Somerset.

    South Somerset District Council has given a grant of £400,000 towards new emergency accommodation for homeless people in Yeovil. The Pathways facility on Newton Road in Yeovil, which houses up to 30 people, is no longer considered fit for purpose. The new facility, on the outskirts of Yeovil, will have 39 en-suite rooms with kitchenettes, and communal space for group work and leisure activities.

    Work starts this week on major repairs to the David Hall in South Petherton. The arts venue has been given grants totalling thirty-five thousand pounds to make the building safe, including blocking a leaking roof. 

    More from News

    • Tuesday 30th April

      Somerset Council is taking legal action to remove an arms company from one of its commercial properties. Waste collection days across Somerset are set to change next month due to two impending bank holidays. An archaeological survey has begun on the proposed site of a new skate park in Bruton... and more.

    • Monday 29th April

      Somerset’s busiest speed camera in 2023 has been revealed as the camera on the westbound carriageway of the A303 between the Podimore Roundabout and the Hazelgrove Roundabout. Bus campaigners are calling on Somerset Council to keep the public toilets open at Yeovil bus station. The funeral has taken place in Yeovil of D-Day veteran, Bill Tolley, who has died at the age of 97...and more.

    • Friday 26 April

      A man has been arrested in Castle Cary and charged with stalking, harassment and making threats to kill. The NHS in Somerset says its staff retention rate has improved over the past two years. A farmer in South Petherton is preparing to cycle 1,000 miles to raise money for charity...and more.

    • Thursday 25th April

      The NHS is offering spring COVID-19 vaccines to people in Somerset who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. A new way of making roads safer for children in Somerset has started this week. A Yeovil-based apprentice has been named as a winner in the JTL Regional Awards. Haselbury Mill near Crewkerne has been put up for sale...and more

    • Wednesday 24th April 

      Yeovil Town FC have sent a strongly worded letter to the Football Association asking for plans to end FA Cup replays to be dropped. A Somerset woman who's spent the last 32 years living with Hepatitis C, says better support is needed for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. A new school of musical theatre has opened in Chard...and more.

    • Tuesday 23rd April

      Two teenage boys have admitted animal cruelty after filming themselves throwing a lamb down a stone staircase at Montacute. Somerset Council could lose around £5 million by selling the Marks and Spencer building in Yeovil. Chard, Wincanton, Castle Cary and Ansford are on a list of fifteen places in Somerset where new 20 mph speed limits could soon be introduced...and more.

    • Monday 22nd April

      The parents of a two-week-old baby boy, accused of his murder at Yeovil Hospital, are to stand trial. Protesters have splashed red paint across the front of County Hall in Taunton for a second time. A comedy film about the world of competitive marrow-growing and made in Shepton Mallet has opened in cinemas across the UK...and more. 

    • Friday 19th April

      Work starts today building a new eastbound carriageway as part of dualling the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. A childhood obesity clinic in Somerset has revealed that it is treating children as young as eight months old. Somerset Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to recruit an army of young people to act as conservation champions...and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 9°C

    • Chard

      Light rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Crewkerne

      Light rain

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain

      High: 15°C | Low: 10°C

    • Wincanton

      Light rain

      High: 15°C | Low: 10°C

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