Tuesday 3rd June

Monday, 2 June 2025 20:01

By Steve Haigh

Police say they have traced a man, believed to be a witness to an incident in Chard in which a teenager alleges she was sexually assaulted. A campaign has started aimed at cutting the number of motorcyclists, cyclists and e-scooter users killed and seriously injured on Somerset's roads. Yeovil Town Council has taken over the management of Yeovil's public parks after Somerset Council announced it could no longer afford to maintain them...and more.

Police say they’ve traced a man, believed to be a witness to an incident in Chard in which a teenager alleges she was sexually assaulted. It follows the release of a photo of the man on the Avon and Somerset Police website and an appeal broadcast on Radio Ninesprings. A man arrested on the day of the alleged offence has been released on conditional police bail while investigations continue.

A campaign has started in Somerset aimed at cutting the number of motorcyclists, cyclists and e-scooter users killed and seriously injured on local roads. There have been 28 fatal collisions involving two-wheel-powered vehicles since January 2023 in the Avon and Somerset force area. Police say they'll be carrying out extra patrols on high-risk routes, warning people of the dangers.

A new road junction linking a housing development in Crewkerne with the town’s railway station won’t be built until a third of the new homes on the site have been occupied. The development at Wool Gardens will eventually comprise 635 homes, a 66-bed care home and commercial space between the A30 Yeovil Road and the A356 Station Road. People already living at Wool Gardens currently have to use Blacknell Lane to access Station Road to reach the town centre and railway station. Developers Taylor Wimpey promised that a signal-controlled junction on Station Road, joining up with the southern end of the new link road, would be in place when 55 homes on the Wool Gardens site had been occupied. But the developer has now reached an agreement with Somerset Council to delay building the junction until 200 homes are occupied.

Yeovil Town Council has taken over the running of Yeovil’s public parks and play areas. Somerset Council had been responsible for the management of green spaces in Yeovil but devolved them to the Town Council after declaring a financial emergency.

A project is underway that aims to help endangered eels move around the Somerset Levels. Barriers can stop the creatures from reaching their natural habitat. Now, 12 passes that act as ladders have been introduced in the North Moor and King's Sedgemoor areas.

More from News

Wednesday 24th December

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.
Tuesday 23rd December

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.
Monday 22nd December

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.
Friday 19th December

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.
Thursday 18th December

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
Wednesday 17th December

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
Tuesday 14th December

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.
Monday 15th December

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