Friday 22nd March

    A by-election for a seat on Yeovil Town Council has been won by the Yeovil Independents. Owners of empty properties in Somerset will be paying double in council tax from April. A Somerset man is celebrating after finding England’s largest ever nugget of gold, said to be worth £30,000, using a metal detector...and more.

    A by-election held in the Westland ward in Yeovil for a seat on Yeovil Town Council has been won by Ruth White for the Yeovil Independents. She polled 482 votes, beating Justice Jimba for the Liberal Democrats on 335 votes into second place. Terry Ledlie for Labour came third with 123 votes. The result increases Yeovil Independents' representation on Yeovil Town Council to 3 members.

    Owners of empty properties in Somerset will be paying double in council tax from April. It follows a decision by Somerset Council to charge double council tax on properties left empty for 12 months or more. The Council estimates the change will raise an extra £1.7 million every year in council tax revenues.

    Plans to build 24 new homes in Martock have finally been approved, four years after they were first proposed. Stonewater Housing Association has won permission to build the properties on Foldhill Lane, opposite the La Fontana dementia nursing home. The application had been delayed by the phosphates issue, with the developer having to put in place additional mitigation measures. Construction is expected to start later this year.

    A Somerset man is celebrating after finding England’s largest-ever nugget of gold using a metal detector. Richard Brocks nearly missed the search in Shropshire, turning up hours late and with dodgy equipment. His find, estimated to be worth £30,000, has now been put up for auction online. 

    Funding's been secured to expand a programme in Somerset helping women back into work after becoming parents. Set up four years ago, the Woman's Work Lab has supported over 300 mothers with up to 70 per cent returning to employment. Now three courses a year are being run locally. 

    Herne Hill Nature Reserve in Ilminster is to be provided with five new dog waste bins. Ilminster Town Council has been given funding for the bins through the Community Champion Fund run by Persimmon Homes South West. The Council says the bins should create a cleaner and safer environment for people visiting the reserve.

    More from News

    • Tuesday 24th December

      Two men from Yeovil have been found guilty of murdering a man in the town. A school in Chard has been named the best-run primary school in Somerset. Somerton MP Sarah Dyke is calling on the government to provide more funding for community pharmacies. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303...and more

    • Monday 23rd December

      Public Health at Somerset Council is blaming a rise in measles cases on a drop in the number of children getting the MMR vaccination. Police have produced an online gallery to try and find the owners of hundreds of stolen items. The sale of a boxing glove in Chard claimed to have been worn by Cassius Clay, has been halted after new evidence about its authenticity came to light...and more

    • Friday 20th December

      Somerset Council is pursuing a less ambitious plan for redeveloping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he hasn’t given up on trying to keep open the town’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space in the Triangle in Lower Middle Street will open for public use early in the New Year...and more

    • Thursday 19th December

      A Somerset pensioner has criticised the government for refusing to compensate women who claim they were not given adequate warning about changes to the start date for receiving the state pension. Parents are being asked to check their children have been vaccinated against measles following a rise in cases. The use of energy-saving light bulbs is greater in the South West than in any other region in England.

    • Wednesday 18th December

      The Unite union says it is becoming ‘increasingly anxious’ about a delay in awarding Leonardo in Yeovil a multi-million-pound contract to build a new medium-lift helicopter for the RAF. The government has set Somerset a target to build 3,700 new homes next year. A boxing glove once worn by Muhammad Ali is being auctioned in Chard today...and more

    • Tuesday 17th December

      Emergency teams are still working across Somerset to remove trees damaged in last week’s Storm Darragh. Crewkerne Town Council has been asked to ban the Seavington Hunt from gathering in the town centre on Boxing Day. The London Standard newspaper has named the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George as its "Country Pub of the Week"...and more

    • Monday 16th December

      The government says it won’t intervene in the decision to close the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Police are asking for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man suffered a broken leg. Shepton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School has been rated as good by Ofsted...and more.

    • Friday 13th December

      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.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

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      High: 8°C | Low: 5°C

    • Chard

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      High: 9°C | Low: 5°C

    • Crewkerne

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      High: 9°C | Low: 5°C

    • Somerton

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    • Wincanton

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