Tuesday 6th August

Tuesday, 6 August 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Drivers are being warned not to scan QR codes when paying to park at Somerset Council-run car parks or risk being scammed. Two men from Yeovil were amongst those arrested at an anti-immigration protest held in Weymouth at the weekend. A new extension to Caryford Community Hall in Ansford has been formally opened...and more.

Drivers are being warned not to scan QR codes when paying to park at Somerset Council-run car parks. It follows the discovery of fake stickers with QR codes stuck to ticket machines in an attempt to scam motorists.

Two men from Yeovil were amongst those arrested at an anti-immigration protest in Weymouth at the weekend. Police say a 42-year-old man from Yeovil was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, and a 62-year-old man, also from Yeovil, for being drunk and disorderly. The arrests followed disturbances involving anti-immigration protesters and Stand Up to Racism demonstrators on the seafront in Weymouth on Sunday.

Glastonbury and Somerton MP, Sarah Dyke, has called for a proposal to build a new railway station in the Somerton and Langport area to be protected from government cutbacks. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that she’s scrapping a £500m fund, launched under Boris Johnson's premiership in 2020, to re-open stations in areas closed under the Beeching cuts of the mid-1960s. Sarah Dyke says a station in the Somerton and Langport area would give access to mainline rail services for 50,000 local people, adding that the line between Taunton and Castle Cary is the longest stretch between London and Cornwall that doesn’t have a train station.

A new extension to Caryford Community Hall in Ansford has been formally opened. The extension includes a meeting room for up to sixty people and a smaller meeting room for twelve people, together with storage space and a new ladies’ toilet. The extension has cost £600k with the bulk of the money provided by the National Lottery, Castle Cary Town Council, Ansford Parish Council, and Somerset Council.

Taunton’s Gateway Park and Ride site will shut for a short time tomorrow. The closure between 1.30 and 2.30 pm is to allow for a replacement barrier to be installed. Anyone needing access to the Gateway Park and Ride during this time for hospital appointments should use the Silk Mills Park and Ride.

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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