Local News Monday 10th July

Monday, 10 July 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Bin collectors in Somerset are set to go on strike from Wednesday this week in a dispute over pay. Funding has been secured to write a business case to reopen Chard Junction railway station. The A3088 Cartgate Link Road in Yeovil is shut to traffic at night all this week. Voters in Somerton and Frome have until Wednesday to apply for a free photo ID...and more.

Bin collectors in Somerset are set to go on strike this week in a dispute over pay. Members of the Unite union will stop work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and on the same days every week for the next four weeks. Suez UK, the company contracted by Somerset Council to collect the waste, has offered staff an eight per cent pay rise that has been rejected. Householders whose waste is not collected on Wednesday are asked to put it out again next Monday. Those whose waste is not collected on Thursday should put it out again next Tuesday. And, those whose waste is not collected on Friday should put it out again the following Friday. SWP says recycling centres are not affected by the stoppage and will open as normal.

Funding has been secured to prepare a business case to reopen Chard Junction railway station. The Chard Active Travel and Transport Group has raised twenty-three thousand pounds to write an outline business proposition that will be submitted to the Department of Transport. The campaign group wants Chard Junction station, which closed in 1966, re-opened as Chard Parkway station, providing hourly services to Exeter and London.

The A3088 Cartgate Link Road in Yeovil is shut to traffic at night all this week. Somerset Council says from today the road will close at 7 pm and re-open at 7 am tomorrow for the drainage system to be cleaned.

A care home in Yeovil is closing. Somerset Care says Sunningdale Lodge care home on Sunningdale Road is no longer fit for purpose and will shut in October. Residents are being supported to find alternative care provision.

A new convenience store could soon be opening in Wincanton. Plans have been submitted to locate a ‘One Stop’ shop on the site of Bridge Motors at The Batch. The application is to change the use of a motor vehicle workshop to a retail outlet.

Voters in Somerton and Frome have until Wednesday to apply for a free photo ID. The upcoming by-election in Somerton and Frome will be the first time that voters will have to produce a photo ID to vote. Anyone who doesn't have a passport, driver’s licence or another photo ID and wants to vote in the Somerton and Frome by-election on Thursday, 20th July, should apply for a voter authority certificate through the Somerset Council website.

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Thursday 18th September

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road accident in Chard in which a 13-year-old boy fell from an e-scooter. People in Somerset are being asked for their views on building a second reservoir in Cheddar. A new exhibition celebrating 200 years of shoemaking in Somerset opens in Street today...and more.
Wednesday 17th September

The Environment Agency is being urged to rethink its decision to stop maintaining smaller rivers and streams in Somerset. South Western Railway, which runs trains through Sherborne, Yeovil and Crewkerne, has issued body cameras to more of its staff. Twelve new neighbourhood officers have joined Avon and Somerset Police...and more
Tuesday 17th September

Plans have been submitted to build 61 new homes between Montacute and Stoke-sub-Hamdon. Organisers of Langport Triathlon say it’ll be a few more days before they’re able to give out the results in the cycling section following a medical emergency in the crowd at Sunday's event. A new town crier is wanted in Wells...and more.
Monday 15th September

NHS Somerset says it’s 'fully committed' to re-opening maternity services at Yeovil Hospital, but won't say when it will reopen. Water levels at Somerset's reservoirs have dropped below 50%, despite the recent heavy rain. A charity shop in Martock has reunited a long-lost compass with its owner after he lost it 70 years ago...and more
Friday 12th September

One of Somerset's most prominent horse trainers says planned tax increases on remote betting could be a ‘nail in the coffin’ for horse racing. An Ilchester man has been arrested in connection with a burglary in West Dorset. Somerset Council’s Chief Executive and other senior officers have been given a 3.2% pay rise...and more
Thursday 11th September

A bill put forward by Yeovil MP Adam Dance, calling for better awareness of pupil neurodivergent behaviour in schools, has passed its first reading in the Commons. Around 40 thousand people in Somerset could have undiagnosed high blood pressure. Dozens of bikers will take to the roads in Somerset this weekend in support of a breast cancer charity...and more
Wednesday 10th September

Yeovil Town Football Club has been given a two-year extension to buy back Huish Park from Somerset Council. A takeaway business in Bridgwater has been stripped of its licence after three employees were discovered working there illegally. A company in South Chard has been celebrating its 200th anniversary...and more
Tuesday 9th September

People are being asked to comment on proposals to introduce Sunday charges at Somerset Council-run car parks. A Pilton man has been jailed after cannabis valued at £28,500 was found at his home. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has started an appeal to raise £1 million...and more.