Friday 13th December

Friday, 13 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset-based social housing provider, Stonewater, is urging caution over plans by the government to relax the planning rules. The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Westlands Entertainment venue...and more.

Somerset-based social housing provider Stonewater is urging caution over plans to relax the planning rules. The government has set a target to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years by making it easier and quicker for developers to get applications approved. Jonathan Layzells from Stonewater says safeguards will be needed if the process is simplified.

NHS Somerset is urging those eligible to get a flu jab. It follows a warning that a "tidal wave of flu" is hitting hospitals. The latest figures show that the number of beds taken up by flu patients increased by 70 per cent last week.

A Chard business unit destroyed by fire in February is to be rebuilt. The unit on Leach Road within the Chard Business Park will be replaced with one of identical size and external appearance. Somerset Council’s Planning South Committee approved the rebuild under delegated powers.

The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. Nationally, more than one million phone calls are received by the Samaritans every year with a third of calls made over the festive and New Year period.

A new programme has been launched to help vulnerable young people in Yeovil, Chard and Stoke-sub-Hamdon. The Youth Adventure Trust's Resilience Programme will run for a year and use outdoor activities and one-to-one support to help young people gain life skills.

The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil pantomime at the Westlands Entertainment venue. Jack and the Beanstalk, staring Lizzie Bea and Daniel Page, is on until January 5th.

Radio Ninesprings has joined with Somerset-based charity ‘Help for Homeless’ to provide comfort to those who will spend Christmas sleeping rough. The charity is asking for donations of warm clothing, toiletries and treats to give to men and women who face Christmas sleeping in the cold.

More from News

Monday 10th February

A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more
Friday 7th February

A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
Thursday 6th February

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
Wednesday 5th February

The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Tuesday 4th February

Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Monday 3rd February

Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
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