Local News Tuesday 28th July

Tuesday, 28 June 2022 06:00

Somerset Waste Partnership says the county's recycling rate is at an all-time high. The NHS says more blood donors are urgently needed in Somerset. A new survey has been launched to find out how to best support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Somerset and the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station is bringing his one-man show to Yeovil.

Somerset Waste Partnership says the county's recycling rate is at an all-time high. It jumped to over 56 percent last year making it the highest increase since records began 20 years ago. The increase is believed to be due to the new ‘Recycle More’ initiative that has seen plastic pots, tubs, and trays added to weekly pick-ups.

The NHS says more blood donors are urgently needed in Somerset. There is a particular need for people with O-positive blood to come forward. NHS Somerset says blood stocks have fallen due to cancellations caused by Covid and the drop in donations that happens at this time of year. Meanwhile, the NHS says it's stepping up efforts to deal with the list of six thousand people who've been waiting for more than two years for surgery by offering more of them treatment in different parts of the country. It says it will pay travel and accommodation costs, with some orthopaedic patients from Somerset going to London for operations.

A new survey has been launched to find out how to best support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Somerset. Anyone who has been in contact with the Somerset S.E.N. services over the past year is asked to share their views and experiences in the survey. The anonymous survey organized by Somerset County Council, NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group and the Somerset Parent Carer Forum, runs until Monday, September 19th.

The first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station is bringing his one-man show to Yeovil. Tim Peake will stage ‘My Journey To Space’ at Westlands in March next year. Tim, who before becoming an astronaut worked at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil, will be talking about his life and showing video of his trip into space.

More from News

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.
Tuesday 14th October 2025

Film and TV crews have given Somerset's economy a £4 million boost in the last 12 months. Around 100 people have objected to plans to build 325 new homes in Crewkerne. Somerset Council is asking the public to report anyone they see sleeping rough...and more
Monday 13th October

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is urging people to join a campaign for improved support for children with dyslexia. An opposition Conservative member of Somerset Council says businesses will suffer a ‘terrible blow’ if plans go ahead to sell off five Yeovil town centre car parks. A Yeovil man has been jailed for three years... and more.
Friday 10th October

Union members at Leonardo sites across the UK, including in Yeovil, have voted to go on strike after rejecting a 3.2 percent pay offer. GWR has apologised for not providing a visually impaired Yeovil women with an escort to cross between platforms at Pen Mill station. A walnut grower in Somerset is calling on supermarkets to stop importing the nuts from aboard and to sell the ones he grows instead... and more
Thursday 9th October

Police are appealing for witnesses to a break-in at The Crossing Café on Preston Road in Yeovil. A Yeovil Pharmacist says a 70 percent of people booking an online covid jab are not eligible this year. A former doctor in Chard has won through to the semi-finals of BBC Mastermind...and more
Wednesday 8th October

A child safeguarding review is underway following the murder of a two-week-old baby boy at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset’s been chosen for a pilot scheme in which drones are used to monitor environmental emergencies. Yeovil nightclub, Club Neo in Stars Lane, has got a new owner and is changing its name... and more
Tuesday 7th October

Somerset Council says affordable homes built in the county will be given to people with a ‘local connection’ to the area. Emergency services were called to a single vehicle collision involving a Royal Mail van. A new audio installation has been recorded by local vocal groups for Montacute House this Christmas... and more.