Local News Wednesday 18th January

Wednesday, 18 January 2023 06:00

Teachers in Somerset are set to strike for four days in February and March. One in four of the population of South Somerset has the highest level of qualifications, according to new figures. A Chard motorist has been fined for drinking and driving. A major balloon festival is coming to Yeovil. £12,000 has been raised for St Margaret’s Hospice from collecting Christmas trees and the smell of freshly made coffee may be to many people’s liking but not it seems if you live in Wincanton.

Teachers in Somerset are set to strike for four days in February and March. It's after members of the largest teaching union, the National Education Union, voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.

One in four of the population of South Somerset has the highest level of qualifications, according to new figures. The data from the Office for National Statistics show that 29.6 percent of people in South Somerset had a level 4 or higher qualification, such as a degree, postgraduate qualification, higher national certificate or diploma.

A Chard motorist has been fined for drinking and driving. Ray Singleton of Linkhay Orchard in Tatworth pleaded guilty to the offence and was also banned from driving for sixteen months when he appeared at Yeovil magistrates court.

A major balloon festival is coming to Yeovil. It’ll take place at Yeovil Showground from Friday, May 5th to Sunday, May 7th. The three-day event will see ‘special shaped balloons’ take to the skies over the town with balloon pilots performing a ‘night glow’ as darkness falls.

£12,000 has been raised for St Margaret’s Hospice from collecting Christmas trees. Volunteers worked over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of January taking away Christmas trees from homes across Somerset. Apart from raising funds for St Margaret’s the trees were put to good use by being turned into mulch for local farmers.

The smell of freshly made coffee may be to many people’s liking but not it seems if you live in Wincanton. Local people there are objecting to an application by Coffee Sense for retrospective planning permission to use their factory to roast coffee beans. Objectors claim that fumes from the factory on the Bennetts Field Industrial Estate pollute the town and say if the business succeeds with its application, it should be made to install a taller chimney to ensure the aromas from the manufacturing process are carried well out of Wincanton.

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Friday 7th February

A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
Thursday 6th February

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
Wednesday 5th February

The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Tuesday 4th February

Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Monday 3rd February

Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
Friday 31st January

A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Thursday 30th January

Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more
Wednesday 29th January

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more