Council workers have removed a pile of illegally dumped tyres near Langport. An extra £400,000 is being spent on the regeneration of Chard town centre. Rail passengers travelling out of Somerset via Temple Meads station in Bristol are being told to expect delays. Plans have been passed for a small development of new homes behind the Dolphin Hotel in Wincanton. A new Chief Executive has been appointed to run South Somerset District Council.
Council workers have removed a pile of illegally dumped tyres near Langport. The 60 tyres were left at the roadside in the village of Aller. District council officials are now visiting tyre centres to check their waste tyre transfer records and make them aware of the problems caused by illegal dumping.
An extra £400,000 is being spent on the regeneration of Chard town centre. Numerous improvements to Chard's public spaces are planned - including changes to the layout of Holyrood Street, improvements to the "eastern gateway" and revamping the entrances of two public car parks. South Somerset District Council say the additional £412,500 is to ensure the scheme moves forward.
Rail passengers travelling out of Somerset via Temple Meads station in Bristol are being told to expect delays. Temple Meads is undergoing improvement works, including an upgrade to its track and signalling. Mike Gallop from Network Rail is advising passengers to check timetables before leaving home.
Plans have been passed for a small development of new homes behind the Dolphin Hotel in Wincanton. The four two-bed properties will be built by Hopkins Estates. Residents will access their homes off the High Street.
A new Chief Executive has been appointed to run South Somerset District Council. Jane Portman was previously Managing Director of Bournemouth Borough Council. She will manage South Somerset District Council over the next 18-months while the planned changes for local government in Somerset are implemented.
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.