Local News Wednesday 19th May

Wednesday, 19 May 2021 06:00

Somerset County Council is setting aside ten million pounds to help Somerset recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic. People are being asked to vote on the planned changes in local government in Somerset. Police are appealing for help in finding a local man. Plans for a 70-bed care home in Chard have been submitted to South Somerset District Council. Six horses have been stolen in Bower Hinton...and more.

Somerset County Council is setting aside ten million pounds to help Somerset recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic. Two million pounds will be spent on expanding local work to control Covid outbreaks. There'll also be funding to support people whose mental health has been affected.

People are being asked to vote on the planned changes in local government in Somerset. The choice is between replacing the County Council and four District Councils with one council for Somerset proposed by the County Council or two councils; one to cover the Eastern half of Somerset and another for the Western half of the county, proposed by Somerset’s District Councils. The District Councils have written to the Secretary of State to ask that the result be considered as part of the decision making on the future of local government in Somerset. The poll closes at 5 pm on Friday, the 4th of June.

Police are appealing for help in finding a local man. Kieran Finn, aged 28, has links to Chard and Crewkerne and is suspected of breaching his bail conditions. Police say Finn has a swallow tattoo on his neck and a heart tattoo on his fingers. They asked anyone who knows his whereabouts to call 999.

Plans for a 70-bed care home in Chard have been submitted to South Somerset District Council. A number of buildings in East Street would be demolished to make way for the new care home.

A proposal by the government to force eating places to advertise calorie counts on menus has been described as a bad idea by a local eating disorder charity. The plan was one of a number of new laws put forward in the Queen's Speech to help tackle the problem of obesity.

Six horses have been stolen in Bower Hinton. The animals were taken from a field in Hills Lane on Saturday, 15th May. If you live in the areas and saw the animals being loaded onto a trailer, you’re asked to call the police non-emergency number 101.

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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
Tuesday 28th January

Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more
Monday 27th January

A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more
News Friday 24th January

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Thursday 23rd January

Yeovil Town Council has defended its decision to increase its share of the Council Tax by an average of £80. A man who drove an e-scooter in Yeovil while disqualified from driving has been jailed for six weeks. According to new data, the Yeovil driving test centre is the 12th easiest in the UK to pass a driving test...and more
Wednesday 22nd January

Somerset Council is to pay for fifty-bed spaces in nursing homes so that patients can be discharged from hospital quicker. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, is calling for improved disabled access at Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction railway stations. Crewkerne could soon get a new farm shop...and more.