Friday 8th March

Friday, 8 March 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Federation of Small Businesses in Somerset has welcomed the government's decision to raise the threshold for VAT registration. Taunton MP, Rebecca Pow, says plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton are still active despite speculation the scheme has been dropped. Two hundred years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute is being marked with a special service of thanksgiving in Sherborne Abbey...and more.

A Somerset business leader has welcomed the government's decision to raise the threshold for VAT registration for small businesses. In this week’s budget, the Chancellor announced that firms will only have to register for VAT once their turnover reaches ninety thousand pounds, which is up from the previous limit of eighty-five thousand from April. Ruth Lambert of the Federation of Small Businesses says the increase will benefit many of her members but would have liked more help for small businesses from the Chancellor.

NHS Somerset says a new self-referral service to check signs of womb cancer in women has seen the average wait for an appointment drop from sixty-three to just four days. More than one hundred and fifty patients have made a self-referral since the service was launched last September with Somerset the first county in England to roll it out.

Taunton MP, Rebecca Pow, says plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton are still active. Her comments follow speculation the project has been shelved as part of government spending cuts. The Junior Environment Minister says she has no knowledge of this being the case and that next week is due to meet with the Department of Transport for an update on the scheme.

Nominations close at midnight tonight for this year’s Pride of Somerset Youth Awards. Now in its seventeenth year, the scheme rewards young people under 21 years of age for their acts of bravery, for caring for others or for being outstanding in sport, music, and the arts.

Two hundred years of the RNLI will be marked at a special service of thanksgiving in Sherborne Abbey on Sunday. Chairman of the RNLI Sherborne branch, Chris Copeland, says the service is to give everyone a chance to say a big thank you to the RNLI and remember those volunteers who lost their lives saving others.

More from News

Thursday 17th April

The father of a one-month-old baby boy in Chard is to stand trial for the murder of his son. New figures show that just under 1300 crimes were reported to the Police in Yeovil during the final quarter of last year. A night in a prison cell is offered at Shepton Mallet Jail to those who want to be alone this Easter...and more.
Wednesday 16th April

Big changes are being made to where taxi ranks in Yeovil are located. Farmers are being told to keep an extra lookout for people acting suspiciously following the latest livestock theft near the Devon and Somerset border. Channel 4’s Location Location Location is coming to Somerset, with anyone looking to buy a property locally invited to apply to be in the show...and more
Tuesday 15th April

A 36-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in Yeovil. Yeovil Labour Club has had its drinks licence revoked. NHS Somerset has been taking its physiotherapy team around the county to cut waiting times for patients. A men-only cooking course has been launched in Sherborne with all ingredients and equipment provided free of charge...and more
Monday 14th April

A new banking hub has opened in Crewkerne. South Western Ambulance is asking people to only dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency over the Easter weekend. £1.8 million is being spent improving walking and cycling routes around a major new housing development at Up Mudford in Yeovil...and more
Friday 11th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man riding an e-bike was injured and later died in hospital. Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says the number of false alarm calls it receives is on the increase. A new micro-pub opens in Chard next week...and more
Thursday 10th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for more targeted support for schools in Somerset. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident near Wells in which a cyclist died. Plans have been approved to convert a former care home in Yeovil into a house of multiple occupation...and more
Wednesday 9th April

A man from Yeovil has been jailed for stabbing another man in a pub in the town. Work is underway to help minimize the flood risk at Chard Reservoir. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-six new homes at Sparkford. A new Town Crier is needed in Glastonbury...and more
Tuesday 8th April

Work is underway to demolish the Glovers Walk Shopping Centre in Yeovil. A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with drink driving for a third time. Somerset Council has paid £35,000 in compensation for failing to deliver the right support to children with special educational needs. Another shop in Yeovil town centre is closing for good today...and more