Somerset’s busiest speed camera in 2023 has been revealed as the camera on the westbound carriageway of the A303 between the Podimore Roundabout and the Hazelgrove Roundabout. Bus campaigners are calling on Somerset Council to keep the public toilets open at Yeovil bus station. The funeral has taken place in Yeovil of D-Day veteran, Bill Tolley, who has died at the age of 97...and more.
Somerset’s busiest speed camera in 2023 has been revealed as the camera on the westbound carriageway of the A303 between the Podimore Roundabout and the Hazelgrove Roundabout, near Yeovil. It recorded 12,005 speeding offences last year. The limit on this stretch of the A303 is 30mph. The highest speed recorded was 85mph. A speed camera on the A303 between Podimore Roundabout and Hazelgrove Roundabout travelling eastward recorded 4,227 offences. The highest speed recorded last year on all cameras in the Avon and Somerset Police area was 159 mph.
Bus campaigners are calling on Somerset Council to keep the public toilets at Yeovil bus station open. The toilets are due to close at the end of May with neither Somerset Council nor Yeovil Town Council claiming they don’t have the £70,000 needed to keep them open. The Somerset Bus Users Group wants the decision reversed, citing the experience of disabled passengers and concerns about the future of the Yeovil bus station site.
Four men have been arrested in connection with an alleged assault in Yeovil. It happened in Middle Street on Sunday, April 13th at around 1.15 am. A man suffered bruising and the loss of a tooth in the attack.
People in Somerset whose homes were flooded in January by Storm Henk may be eligible for government grants of up to £5000 to help prevent it happening again. The money is to help pay towards installing measures to reduce damage from flooding in future. Grant applications should be made through Somerset Council before the end of May.
Work has started building a new diagnostic centre at Yeovil Hospital. The 3-storey building on Higher Kingston is targeted to handle 70,000 diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments every year. During the construction, sections of footpath along Higher Kingston and the A30 Reckleford are cordoned off, with pedestrians using other routes into the hospital grounds.
The funeral has taken place in Yeovil of a D-Day veteran who has died at the age of 97. Bill Tolley served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. His funeral service was held at St John’s Church last 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