Work has begun on building a new hard-surface runway at the Leonardo Helicopters airfield in Yeovil. The NHS in Somerset is offering patients' families training to help look after them once they leave hospital. Somerset County Council is urging the government to act more quickly over an issue that has brought new local house building almost to a standstill. The AA says more than three-fifths of UK motorists have not read recent updates to the Highway Code and another local pub has been put up for sale.
Work has begun on building a new hard-surface runway at the Leonardo Helicopters airfield in Yeovil. The first stage of the project involved constructing a support building located close to the runway. Addressing local concerns raised at a public meeting on building the new runway, Leonardo said it would allow for small fixed-wing aircraft to take off and land but that there were no plans to encourage more planes to use the airfield.
The NHS in Somerset is offering patients' families training to help look after them once they leave hospital. It's for patients who are medically well enough to leave but who still need some help with their care.
Somerset County Council is urging the government to act more quickly over an issue that has brought new local house building almost to a standstill. The council wants plans for water companies to upgrade their treatment plants brought forward to improve the removal of phosphates from sewage. The issue of nutrient neutrality has seen many housing and business developments in Somerset held up as planning permissions cannot be granted because of the resulting increased pollution into sensitive environments such as the Somerset Levels.
The AA says more than three-fifths of UK motorists have not read recent updates to the Highway Code. New guidance was issued in January giving pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders, greater priority on the roads.
Another local pub has been put up for sale. The Marston Inn at Marston Magna near Yeovil features two bars, a restaurant, and a skittle alley and stands alongside the main A359 and is being sold with a guide price of £395,000.
Somerset Council has approved a seven-and-a-half percent increase in council tax. People are being asked to return boxes of paracetamol bought from Boots Chemists in Somerset. It’s been revealed that five members of staff at Somerset Council are being allowed to work from home outside the UK...and more
Somerset Council has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds in loans taken out by former district councils, including South Somerset, have to be paid back. A Somerset charity says it needs more volunteers to help with research into new treatments for dementia. A local shop owner has welcomed Somerset Council’s decision to scrap plans to charge for parking after 6 pm...and more.
The population of Somerset has reached record levels with nearly one in ten born outside the UK. Stanchester School in Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’. Experts have been called in to appraise a 15th-century piece of artwork in Sherborne...and more.
A woman from Crewkerne has been fined £280 for assaulting two emergency workers. Plans have been announced to open new NHS dental surgeries in Chard and Crewkerne. A Yeovil man has been thanked for raising £10,000 for the cardiac charity Heartbeat...and more
A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. One hundred bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset, have been donated to charity. The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for resurfacing...and more.
Fourteen hundred people have added their names to a petition against Somerset Council's plans to scrap free car parks. St Margaret’s Hospice has won a share of £25 million of government funding. A man from Charlton Adam is preparing to visit Ukraine as an Aid Worker for a tenth time...and more
A local man has been charged with possessing an air weapon following an incident in Yeovil town centre. The Labour government has removed funding to the Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet that the previous Conservative government had allocated. Entries are now open for this year’s Minster Miles 10K fun run with organisers aiming to exceed last year’s number of runners...and more.
A new report says Avon and Somerset Police is struggling to cope with a big increase in cases involving the abuse of sexual images of children. Three primary schools in our area have been chosen to take part in a pilot of the Government’s free breakfast clubs for pupils scheme. A new TV documentary has captured footage of 50,000 starlings in a group gathering over the Somerset Levels...and more