Local News Monday 9th January

Monday, 9 January 2023 06:00

South Somerset District Council is insisting that plans to regenerate Yeovil town centre will attract more shoppers. Plans have been submitted to change an empty office building in Yeovil town centre for residential use. The owner of a group of pharmacies in Somerset says they can't be expected to treat all the patients that are referred to them by GPs. People in Somerset are being urged to recycle their Christmas trees...and more.

South Somerset District Council is insisting that plans to regenerate Yeovil town centre will attract more shoppers. The Council has increased spending on smartening up the town centre by two million pounds, taking the budget for the Yeovil Refresh Project, which is already four million pounds over budget and two years behind schedule, to more than twenty-four million pounds. Business owners say they want the Council to adopt a change of approach and introduce incentives to attract new retailers into the town centre.

Plans have been submitted to change an empty office building in Yeovil town centre for residential use. The owners of the property in Market Street, opposite the Pall Tavern pub, want to convert it into flats and a two-bed house.

The owner of a group of pharmacies in Somerset says they can't be expected to treat all the patients that are referred to them by GPs. Under a new scheme, family doctors can direct people to chemists for a fee. Dr Tim Norbury, says it’s putting pharmacy staff under too much pressure.

People in Somerset are being urged to recycle their Christmas trees. Managing Director of the Somerset Waste Partnership Mickey Green says if people have a garden waste subscription with SWP, their tree will be taken away at no charge.

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Domestic Appliances shop at Old Town in Chard into a general convenience store. If approved, the new store would sell a range of goods including, food, publications and alcohol.

Community groups in Somerset are being invited to apply to the Thatcher’s Cider Apple Tree Project. As in previous years, the cider maker is giving away five-hundred trees to local community and voluntary groups to plant around the County.

The Dean of Wells, the Very Reverand Doctor John Davies is retiring. He started his tenure at Wells Cathedral in 2016. The Dean’s final service will be the Feast of Candlemas on the 2nd of February.

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New figures show that 500 young people were either injured or killed on roads in Somerset and Devon last year. The Old School Community Centre in Queen Camel has reopened, thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Somerset Freemasons. Two Fleet Air Arm engineers based at RNAS Yeovilton have recreated a family moment from 26 years ago...and more
Thursday 23rd October

Yeovil-born actress Sarah Parish is supporting efforts to reopen the Octagon theatre. Mobility scooter campaigners in Somerset have welcomed a government review of the legislation governing the use of mobility scooters on public highways. Changes are being made to the dates when garden waste is collected in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 22nd October

A major house builder in the South West says government targets for new house building in Somerset are 'unrealistic'. Pizza Hut is closing its restaurant in Yeovil. Staff at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard will be taking part in a ‘Sleeping Ruff’ challenge tomorrow...and more .
Tuesday 21st October

Reckleford in Yeovil is to shut for 15 days for essential drainage works. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has paid out compensation of £23 million for claims related to birth injuries. A Grade II listed building in Glastonbury has been converted into a health and wellbeing centre...and more
Monday 20th October

Somerton and Glastonbury MP, Sarah Dyke, says the government needs to get an urgent grip on the worsening dentistry situation in her constituency. Bridgwater Town Council has criticised plans by the Somerset Council to charge for Sunday parking. Somerset Council’s Libraries service has launched its Winter Coat Exchange scheme for a third year...and more
Friday 17th October

A new £7 million primary school and nursery is to be built in the grounds of Holyrood Academy in Chard. A public consultation has opened into plans to merge the parishes of Ansford and Castle Cary. The nomination papers that paved the way for Margaret Thatcher to become Britain's first female Prime Minister have been uncovered in a Somerset garage...and more
Thursday 16th October

Two mothers in Chard are calling on carnival organisers to make carnivals more accessible to children with special educational needs. 4,000 people have been put on a waiting list at a new NHS dental practice in Somerset. Channel 4’s ‘Love It or List It’ is looking to feature properties in Somerset in a new series... and more
Wednesday 15th October

The maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital is to reopen within the next six months. There’s been a further delay to reopening Yeovil’s Octagon theatre. No CrossCountry trains will run through Somerset this weekend due to planned industrial action by the RMT union...and more.