Tourism businesses in Somerset say lifting Covid travel restrictions helped make the Easter Bank Holiday their best for bookings for two years. Around 5,000 children in Somerset will be starting at the primary school of their choice in September. A project to re-wild churchyards in Somerset is being rolled out further afield. A Chard motorist has been fined £574 for speeding. The price of off-peak train tickets on services through Somerset will be cut by as much as a half next month...and more.
Tourism businesses in Somerset say lifting Covid travel restrictions helped make the Easter Bank Holiday their best for bookings for two years. Sally England, who runs Thorney Lakes Caravan Park, near Langport, believes the upturn was due to people not travelling long distances because of higher fuel costs.
Around 5,000 children in Somerset will be starting at the primary school of their choice in September. Figures for pre-school children show ninety-eight percent of them have been offered places in the reception class at one of their top three school choices.
A project to re-wild churchyards in Somerset is being rolled out further afield. The Wilder Churches project is run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust in conjunction with the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It started a year ago and has already seen a big improvement in wildflowers, habitat and biodiversity in Somerset's churchyard
A Chard motorist has been fined £574 for speeding. Richard Lacey, who lives in Halcombe, was caught driving at 93 mph on the A35 in Puddletown in Dorset. Lacey also had five penalty points put on his licence.
The price of off-peak train tickets on services through Somerset will be cut by as much as a half next month. It’s part of an initiative by the government and train operators to encourage more people to travel by train
Yeovil boxer, Dean Dodge is gearing up for another crack at winning the Southern Area Super-Featherweight title. He missed taking the title losing on points to Danny Carr last February. Dean will fight Reece Bellotti for the Southern Area title at York Hall in London this Friday.
A formal planning application has been made to carry out significant improvements to Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, costing £15 million. The Halifax Bank in King George Street in Yeovil could be converted into 17 flats. A new young people’s centre opens in Chard early in the New Year...and more.
NHS Somerset reports a strong uptake of flu jabs, but some eligible people for free vaccinations haven’t come forward. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303 in which a pedestrian was killed. A Crewkerne woman has gone viral on TikTok after being trapped inside a Lidl store in the town... and more.
Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed a £24.7m boost for the county's bus services. Outline planning permission has been granted to build up to 100 new homes in Ilminster. An Ilminster man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years. Residents in Chiselborough have set up a group to try and re-open the village pub...and more.
Crewkerne Community Hospital is to lose half its inpatient beds. A review will be conducted of a project to make Bridgwater more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Chard Methodist Church is offering residents a free lunch on Christmas Day. Yeovil-based Screwfix is opening a new outlet in Minehead...and more.
Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
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