Wednesday 11th October

Wednesday, 11 October 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town Council has voted to give financial support to the £30 million project to upgrade Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil Hospital is running a study to test whether hypnosis could benefit patients. The railway line between Yeovil Junction and Axminster will be closed for five days next month. A Wincanton butcher has been chosen to be a housemate on the new series of the TV reality show Big Brother...and more

Yeovil Town Council has voted to give financial support to the multi-million-pound project to upgrade Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. At a special meeting of the Town Council held last night at the Westland entertainment venue attended by around 300 members of the public, twelve councillors voted in favour and two against the Council giving money to the £30 million project that has run into difficulties due to increased building costs and higher interest rates. Leader of the Town Council, Graham Oakes, says the Council will work in partnership with Somerset Council to find ways to fund the scheme and will be asking parish and town councils to contribute to the Octagon upgrade. Meanwhile, Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh, who attended last night’s meeting, is offering to work with the Town Council and Somerset Council to help build a new theatre for Yeovil but says not on the current Octagon site. He wants a new theatre built on the former cattle market site off Reckleford and will work with the government to take the idea forward.

Yeovil Hospital is running a study to test whether hypnosis could benefit patients. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is looking to recruit patients who’ve undergone surgery to take part in the trial to check if it helps with their pain and overall recovery.

Local councillor, Oliver Patrick, has lodged a formal objection to permanently closing Chinnock Hollow which links East Chinnock and Odcombe. Somerset Council says it couldn’t justify spending £2.7 million to reopen the road that was shut in 2021 following a landslide. The Council has applied for an order to keep the road permanently closed. Councillor Patrick believes it could be safely reopened with reduced width, temporary traffic lights and concrete barriers to protect road users.

The railway line between Yeovil Junction and Axminster will be closed for five days next month. From Monday, November 6th to Friday, November 10th, a replacement bus service will operate between the two stations. A second 16-day closure between Yeovil Junction and Salisbury will take place from Saturday, November 26th to Sunday, December 10th. Network Rail says the closures are needed for engineering work to take place.

A Wincanton butcher is aiming to win big on the new series of Big Brother that has re-launched on ITV. Tom, who’s 21, and works at Andrew Barclay Butchers in Wincanton is one of the housemates on the reality TV show, hoping to take home the £100,000 top prize.

More from News

Friday 31st January

A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Thursday 30th January

Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more
Wednesday 29th January

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more
Tuesday 28th January

Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more
Monday 27th January

A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more
News Friday 24th January

Plans have been submitted to build a David Lloyd Health and Fitness Club in Yeovil. Carers in Somerset say spending cuts to mental health support services will be hugely damaging. People with memories of Somerset women's cricket side are being asked to take part in a project to preserve its history. Two of our local restaurants have been listed in the top 100 restaurants in the UK...and more
Thursday 23rd January

Yeovil Town Council has defended its decision to increase its share of the Council Tax by an average of £80. A man who drove an e-scooter in Yeovil while disqualified from driving has been jailed for six weeks. According to new data, the Yeovil driving test centre is the 12th easiest in the UK to pass a driving test...and more
Wednesday 22nd January

Somerset Council is to pay for fifty-bed spaces in nursing homes so that patients can be discharged from hospital quicker. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, is calling for improved disabled access at Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction railway stations. Crewkerne could soon get a new farm shop...and more.