Wednesday 4th December

Wednesday, 4 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Two weeks after Storm Bert, people in the village of Chaffcombe near Chard still do not have broadband and landline phones. A new report warns that drivers are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads in Somerset than on urban roads. Staff and children at Tatworth Primary School near Chard are celebrating after winning the annual Somerset School's Maths Challenge.

People in the village of Chaffcombe near Chard are still without broadband and landline phones two weeks after Storm Bert. A tree that fell on cabling during high winds left more than 200 homes without broadband and phone connectivity, and no date for when normal service will be resumed. Residents say with communications cut off and a mobile phone signal virtually non-existent in the village, their main concern is not being able to contact the emergency services, should a local emergency arise (story and photo courtesy of Chard and Ilminster News).

A new report is warning that drivers are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads in Somerset, than on urban roads. NFU Mutual, which is behind the report, says 107 people in the South West died on rural roads in 2023, compared to 34 in urban areas. NFU Mutual has now produced a Code for Countryside Roads to try and improve safety.

New times have been issued for recycling and rubbish collections over the festive period. If your usual collection day is Wednesday 25th of December it will change to Friday 27th of December. If your usual collection day is Thursday 26th of December it will change to Saturday 28th of December and if your usual pick-up day is Friday 27th of December it will change to Sunday 29th of December. All of Somerset’s recycling sites, including the one at Houndstone in Yeovil, will be open over the Christmas and New Year period, except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Garden collections will be suspended from Wednesday, 25th of December and will resume on Wednesday 8th of January.

Somerset Council is asking for comments on proposed changes to admission arrangements to schools in the County. This includes proposed changes to catchment areas, the number of school places available and how they are allocated. If you have a child due to start or transfer school in September 2026 you may wish to make a comment. The consultation is open now and runs until January 20th.

A Somerset business has been talking about its involvement with the hit film Wicked, which is currently showing in cinemas. Coates English Willow made a balloon basket for the movie.

Staff and children at Tatworth Primary School near Chard are celebrating after winning the annual Somerset School's Maths Challenge. 60 schools took part in the day-long competition with Tatworth's Year-six team, led by teachers, Mrs Hewitson and Mrs Webb, emerging as the overall winners

More from News

Thursday 12th December

Farmers from Somerset were amongst the hundreds of others from across the UK who gathered in London yesterday. Avon and Somerset Police is trialling a new way to find people with dementia when they are reported missing. A cake designer from Yeovil has been crowned Best Cake Designer in the South West...and more.
Wednesday 11th December

An open letter has been sent to NHS Somerset asking for a revision of the decision to close the emergency stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset residents, whose lives and property were impacted by Storm Darragh, could be entitled to compensation. Haselbury Mill, near Crewkerne, has been sold for an undisclosed price...and more.
Tuesday 10th December

Seventy-seven homes on the outskirts of Yeovil remain without electricity this morning. Yeovil MP Adam Dance wants schools in Yeovil and South Somerset to receive a fair share of new special educational needs funding. A Somerset business has been talking about its involvement with the hit film Wicked...and more
Monday 9th December

Preston Church of England School has been named one of the best-run state schools in the country. Councillors have delayed a decision on plans to build 30 new homes in Keinton Mandeville. Original film footage of King Charles’s christening in 1948 is being offered for sale at auction in Chard...and more
Friday 6th December

Somerset Council is asking the government for permission to raise next year’s Council Tax by more than 5 per cent. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A3088 Cartgate Link Road in which a pedestrian was killed. A trainee at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil has been presented with a Rising Star award...and more.
Thursday 5th December

Attacks on local ambulance crews have more than doubled in the past five years. The trial has begun of two Yeovil men, charged with murdering a neighbour. Somerset Council is due to make a decision early in the New Year on controversial plans to build 47 new homes at Horton, near Ilminster...and more.
Tuesday 3rd December

Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident in Shepton Mallet in which a man was beaten up. A major emergency exercise is taking place at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil today. A Crewkerne dental surgery has been voted UK Dental Practice of the Year...and more.
Monday 2nd December

Wessex Water has issued an apology for last Friday’s major disruption to water supplies in Yeovil. Planned reforms to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital could be delayed following the discovery of asbestos in parts of the building. Rail travellers are being warned of disruption on the West of England Line over the Christmas and New Year period...and more.