People across Somerset are voting today in the local elections. Up to twenty-five new jobs are being created in Martock by transport company C & D. Around thirty UK-based aerospace and engineering companies have met in Yeovil to discuss initiatives to benefit local communities still recovering from the impact of the pandemic and A memorial dedicated to lives lost in battle has been unveiled at the village church in Isle Brewers.
People across Somerset are voting today in the local elections. It’s to elect 110 councillors to run the new Somerset unitary council that takes over responsibility for providing all council services in Somerset in April next year and at which point Somerset’s four district councils, including South Somerset, and the County Council cease to exist. Polling stations opened at 7 am this morning and stay open until 10 pm tonight for votes to be cast. 337 candidates are standing in 55 divisions across Somerset with each division returning 2 councillors. The Conservatives are fielding 109 candidates across all 55 divisions, the Liberal Democrats have 108 candidates, the Green Party has 50 candidates, Labour 45 candidates and 23 candidates are standing as independents or with no affiliation or description. Look at your polling card for the address of the polling station in your area. Votes are being counted tomorrow (May 6th) with the results announced at around 4 pm. You can hear all the results in a special local elections programme here on Radio Ninesprings, starting at 7 pm, tomorrow evening.
Up to 25 new jobs are being created in Martock by transport company C & D. It follows the opening of a new depot and warehouse on the Martock Business Park by the Chard-based logistics business. C & D Transport South West currently employ around 50 drivers and other staff at their depot on the Millfield Industrial Estate in Chard.
Around 30 UK-based aerospace and engineering companies have met in Yeovil to discuss initiatives to benefit local communities still recovering from the impact of the pandemic. The gathering, organized by Leonardo Helicopters, was held at the new iAero centre, off Bunford Lane, in Yeovil.
A memorial dedicated to lives lost in battle has been unveiled at the village church in Isle Brewers. All Saints Church is inviting people to come forward with names of relatives who lived in Isle Brewers and died in conflict to have their names added to the memorial.
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.