Local News Wednesday 19th January

Wednesday, 19 January 2022 06:00

A rare gold coin, dating back to the 13th century, has been found on the Blackdown Hills. Somerset’s economy has suffered more than most during the pandemic due to it being too reliant on the hospitality sector. Chard has been given funding to help one hundred local people, not in work. Magna Housing says half of the twenty-eight new homes that it plans to build at Chilthorne Domer near Yeovil will be ‘affordable’...and more.

A rare gold coin, dating back to the 13th century, has been found on the Blackdown Hills, on the Somerset Devon border. It was discovered using a metal detector on farmland near Hemyock. The coin, minted during the reign of King Henry the third, is being sold at auction this weekend and could fetch up to half a million pounds.

Somerset’s economy has suffered more than most during the pandemic due to it being too reliant on the hospitality sector, according to new research. The study by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise says new policies for supporting the hospitality sector are urgently needed should the pandemic continue or a second pandemic arise in the future.

Chard has been given funding to help one hundred local people not in work become more physically active and equip them with the skills to move closer to employment. The project will see people, not in jobs given training to use social media, online banking, and the internet to search for jobs. The scheme’s funded by the UK Community Renewal Fund and is being run through Somerset County Council.

Magna Housing says half of the twenty-eight new homes that it plans to build at Chilthorne Domer near Yeovil will be ‘affordable’. South Somerset District Council is expected to make a decision on the planned development on Vagg Lane by early Spring.

Somerset Wildlife Trust is asking people to monitor the amount of frog and toad spawn in their local areas. The Trust says the information is needed to gauge the effects of climate change on the local environment, using the habits of frogs and toads as source material for the study.

A new tractor sales and serving business has opened at South Petherton. C & O Tractors, based in Blandford, have opened the new branch at premises, previously occupied by Medland & Sanders.

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