Monday 12th August

Monday, 12 August 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Four people were arrested in Yeovil at the weekend during a large police operation put in place over concerns of possible disorder in the town. Bus users in Somerset are facing disruption today with staff at First Bus staging a walkout. Work is underway replacing a historic stained-glass window at Ilminster Arts Centre...and more.

Four people were arrested in Yeovil at the weekend during a large police operation put in place over concerns of possible disorder in the town. Police say the arrests were for offences, including a racially aggravated public order offence and possession of a knife. Officers stopped and searched 14 people, while six people in a dispersal zone were directed away from the area. In addition to the police having extra powers during Saturday’s operation, horses, a dog unit, a drone team, and officers from neighbouring forces were deployed. Those arrested remain in police custody.

Bus users in Somerset are facing more disruption today with staff at First Bus staging a walkout in their long-running pay dispute. The RMT union claim First Bus has refused to negotiate further on the pay claim but the company says it’s offered an above-inflation offer of 5.1 percent on all pay grades.

The next phase of road surface work in Somerset starts today. Surface dressing is a technique used to seal a road, improving skid resistance, and preventing water from getting under the surface, to help stop potholes from forming. Roads in our area being treated this week include; Canal Road in Ilminster, Fosse Way at Lydford on the Fosse, and Frome Road at Bruton.

A Planning Inspector has given the go-ahead for 37 new homes to be built at Walton near Street despite the plans being rejected by Mendip Council. They’d argued the homes would worsen road safety issues on the busy A39 but the Planning Inspectorate ruled in the developer’s favour, meaning the new homes can now be built on land off South Street in Walton.

A Somerset woman is planning to set a new world record for flying to the most countries in a hot air balloon. Allie Dunnington, who currently holds the women’s world record for flying through one-hundred-and-fifteen countries aims to beat the men’s world record held by her late husband.

An historic stained-glass window at Ilminster Arts Centre is undergoing restoration after being damaged by bad weather. The repairs are due to be completed by the autumn.

More from News

Friday 25th July

A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.
Thursday 24th July

Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more.
Wednesday 23rd July

Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more
Tuesday 22nd July

Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more
Monday 21st July

A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more
Friday 18th July

EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more
Thursday 17th July

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Ilminster residents are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset later this year...and more
Wednesday 16th July

A children’s play area in Ilminster has been closed on safety grounds after badger setts were found on the land. Somerset Council sold off £90m of property assets last year to help fight off bankruptcy. Crewkerne Community Hospital could be turned into a neighbourhood health centre...and more.