The final go-ahead has been given to build a new hard-standing runway at the Leonardo Helicopters site in Yeovil. Average council tax bills in Somerset look set to rise by £40.47 for county council services from April. Small businesses in Somerset are calling for 100% business rate relief from the government. A biscuit product made by a Yeovil bakery has been named Christmas Product of the Year and Police saw the funny side when they stopped a BMW for not having a front registration plate.
The final go-ahead has been given to build a new hard-standing runway at the Leonardo Helicopters site in Yeovil. Leonardo says the tarmac runway is needed because the current runway on their airfield off Bunford Lane is no longer fit for purpose. South Somerset District originally gave the plans the green light in 2019. This latest approval involves permission to construct a building for lighting purposes, next to the existing factory sheds at the Leonardo site
Average council tax bills in Somerset look set to rise by £40.47 for county council services from April. The County Council says the extra £30million it would raise is needed to pay the higher costs of delivering adults' and children’s services. A public consultation on the proposed increase has opened and will close at the end of January. Somerset County Council claims it currently has the fourth-lowest council tax amongst English counties.
Small businesses in Somerset are calling for 100% business rate relief from the government. The Chancellor has announced a one billion pounds support fund for businesses struggling to deal with the Omicron variant. It means they can claim a grant of six thousand pounds for each of their premises.
A biscuit product made by a Yeovil bakery has been named Christmas Product of the Year in The Quality Food Awards 2021. Percy’s Bakery in Artillery Road on the Lufton Trading Estate has been given the award for its Chocolate Caramel Thins, which can be bought in Aldi supermarkets.
Police saw the funny side when they stopped a BMW for not having a front registration plate. The driver told them he’d been to the Longleat safari park and that a monkey had jumped on the bonnet of his car and stolen the number plate. Avon and Somerset Police have voted it the ‘best creative excuse of the festive season so far’. After giving the driver ‘some advice’, he was allowed to continue with his journey.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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