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

Friday 17th January

Bruton Primary School is the latest to have a barrier installed outside the school to stop parents parking when dropping off and picking up children. A man has appeared in court charged with being drunk and disorderly at Yeovil Hospital. A veteran of World War Two in Castle Cary has been awarded France’s highest military and civil distinction...and more
Thursday 16th January

A Chard woman has appeared in court after driving her car towards a crowd of people who, she claimed, were causing a disturbance. Crewkerne residents will soon be provided with a new banking hub. Work has started removing 14 trees along the embankment of Chard Reservoir...and more
Wednesday 15th January

A Yeovil man has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child. A Community Fridge in Shepton Mallet says it saved ten tonnes of unwanted food from going to landfill in the run-up to Christmas. Somerset Council has started collecting empty toothpaste tubes for recycling at the kerbside for the first time...and more
Tuesday 14th January

Police are appealing for witnesses after two people died in a car crash near Shepton Mallet. A new passing loop could be introduced on the rail line between Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill stations. St Margaret’s Hospice has thanked the public for making this year’s Christmas Tree Recycling project their most successful ever...and more
Monday 13th January

Plans to build forty-six new homes in Castle Cary have been rejected for a third time. Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has no plans to step down from his dual role as a member of Somerset Council. Rug Ratz in Yeovil is closing permanently today, leaving the town without a children's soft play space...and more.
Friday 10th January

Yeovil Hospital has declared a critical incident due to a sharp rise in flu admissions putting pressure on bed spaces. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, joined campaigners and colleagues in Downing Street this week to hand in a petition calling for action to tackle the shortage of NHS dentists. Yeovil's Marlie Packer has been replaced as England's Red Roses captain for 2025 season... and more
Wednesday 8th January

Police are appealing for witnesses to a hit-and-run accident in Yeovil. Somerset Council says it's monitoring the weather closely following a Yellow Warning of snow across the County. A public inquiry is to decide the future of a Somerset shopping centre. Plans to build 30 new homes in Keinton Mandeville have been turned down.
Tuesday 7th January

Firefighters have used a boat to rescue a man trapped in a submerged van in floodwaters at Isle Abbots. Businesses in Somerset say there was a return to High Street buying over Christmas. The search is on locally for places where new homes and business premises could be built. Astro-tourism took off in Somerset last year, with hundreds coming to the County to view the Northern Lights...and more.