Monday 16th March

Monday, 16 March 2026 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Drivers are being told that it could take several more weeks yet before Hendford Hill in Yeovil reopens to traffic. A new bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station is to start on a trial basis. Children in Chard are being given free reading books as part of a scheme founded by Dolly Parton... and more

Drivers are being told that it could take several more weeks yet before Hendford Hill in Yeovil reopens to traffic. The road was closed in both directions in February following a landslip. Somerset Council has carried out work to reduce the height of the trees on an embankment but says the land remains unstable. The council says it’s considering building a barrier along the embankment, but that it would narrow the road.

A new bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station is to start on a trial basis. Glastonbury TrainLink has been campaigning for a route via Pilton and Shepton Mallet to Castle Cary and has been awarded a £150,000 grant by Somerset Council to cover the cost of the service for an initial six months.

A date’s been announced for a judicial review into plans to build up to 765 new homes at Up Mudford near Yeovil. The Friends of Mudford Action Group is taking action against the Abbey Manor Group and Bloor Homes, who want to build on land on both sides of the main A359. The Friends of Mudford Action Group say increased flood risk, loss of landscape and historic anthrax contamination are reasons why the development should not go ahead as currently described. The judicial review will be heard by a judge at Bristol Crown Court on April 28th.

Children in Chard are being given free reading books as part of a scheme founded by Dolly Parton. Chard Community Hub has been donated four thousand pounds to pay for the scheme, which will see children get a free reading book every month up to the age of five.

A support group in South Somerset for people living with M.E. and Long Covid has received a £500 donation. The money was raised by the Ilton charity bingo group and will be used to help improve the lives of people with M.E. and Long Covid. The M.E./Long Covid Support Group meets on the second Thursday of each month at Donyatt Village Hall.

More from News

Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more
Monday 23rd March

A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more
Friday 20th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more
Thursday 19th March

Farmers in Somerset say they're struggling after a doubling in the price of red diesel. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised Donald Trump over his comments about people with learning disabilities. A Somerset woman whose father was killed in a crash on the M5 is running the London Marathon to raise money for South West Ambulance...and more
Wednesday 18th March

The murder of a two-week-old baby by his father at Yeovil Hospital could not have been predicted, according to a new report. A road in Ilminster is to close to traffic for eleven days later this month. A new Post Office counter is to open in Somerton... and more
Tuesday 17th March

The government is being asked to help fund Somerset's carnivals. Bridgwater Town Council wants more trains to stop at the town’s railway station. A fund raising pie throwing event is taking place for Red Nose Day in Chard... and more
Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more