Thursday 9th January

Thursday, 9 January 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Police say three children, missing from their home in Essex, have been found safe and well in Wincanton. Yeovil Hospital is asking visitors to A&E to wear facemasks to help avoid the spread of infection. Long traffic queues can be expected in Chard over the next nine months. A new arts and music performance space has opened in Crewkerne...and more.

Police say a boy and two girls, missing from their home in Essex, have been found safe and well in Wincanton. It follows a public appeal issued by the Police earlier in the week to help find the three children after reports that they could be in the Somerset area.

Somerset Council has extended its Severe Weather Emergency Provisions due to the icy temperatures the County is experiencing. The scheme aims to help rough sleepers, with welfare checks being made on people who haven't asked for help.

Yeovil Hospital is asking visitors to A&E to wear facemasks to help avoid the spread of infection. It follows a sharp rise in patients being admitted with flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Plans have been submitted to change a former residential care home in Yeovil into flats. Developers, Yeovil Promise Ltd, want to convert the Ferns Nursing Home on St Michaels Avenue into individual living spaces. The change of use will involve demolishing some walls and the roof, re-colouring the windows and doors and extending the vehicular access and parking areas. The trees on the site will not be disturbed. The application is still currently awaiting a decision from the Somerset Council.

Long traffic queues can be expected in Chard over the next nine months due to major roadworks taking place in the town. The first phase of roadworks lasting until September got underway this week with the junction of Furnham Road and Victoria Avenue closed to motorists. Traffic signals at the junction of Furnham Road and Coker Way were taken out of action, and replaced with temporary lights. The changes are to allow for Wales & West Utilities to upgrade a mains gas pipe along Furnham Road and for Wessex Water to carry out improvements to the sewage network near Furzehill and Glynswood.

Registration has opened for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Cycle Challenge, which starts at Watchet and ends 55 miles away in West Bay.

A new arts and music performance space has opened in Crewkerne. The South Somerset Music Centre in the Methodist School Room on South St plans to host concerts and run workshops with the aim of enriching the town’s cultural offerings.

More from News

Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more
Tuesday 3rd March

A woman from Ilminster has been jointly charged with another woman after a man’s body was found inside a car in Cornwall. Somerset businesses, involved in the supply chain for Leonardo, have welcomed the news that the Leonardo factory in Yeovil is to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-two homes in Milborne Port... and more
Monday 2nd March

The Leonardo factory in Yeovil has won a multi-million pound contract to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. A doctor, who previously worked at Yeovil Hospital, has appeared in court charged with illegally accessing NHS computers. A new Construction Innovation Centre has opened at Yeovil College... and more