Local News Monday 17th April

Monday, 17 April 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Plans to build a new police station in Yeovil have been scrapped. Somerset Council has apologised for sending out thousands of pension credit letters to the wrong addresses. The green light has been given to build a huge solar farm at South Perrott. Cider makers in Somerset are staging events this week to mark British Cider Week...and more.

Plans to build a new police station in Yeovil have been scrapped after more than five years of waiting. The existing station on Horsey Lane was due to be demolished and replaced with a new two-storey building, but Avon and Somerset Police say the scheme has been cancelled due to escalating costs. A decision to refurbish the existing building instead is expected to be announced shortly.

Somerset had the highest number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the South West last year, according to Diabetes UK. The charity says that thirty-seven thousand people in Somerset were told they had the condition in 2022.

Somerset Council has apologised for sending out thousands of pension credit letters to the wrong households. The Council says a glitch in its computer system led to eleven thousand letters being sent to the wrong addresses. A revised and corrected letter has been prepared and is now being sent to eligible residents.

The green light has been given to plans to build a huge solar farm that partly crosses into Dorset from South Somerset. The scheme had already approved a fifty-four-hectare site near South Perrott and now Dorset Council has also given its approval. The solar farm will be built close to Pipplepen Farm on School Hill in South Perrott. Developers, Elgin Energy claim it will generate enough power for around 10,000 homes.

It’s been confirmed that Dillington House near Ilminster is to close as a venue at the end of September. The decision to permanently shut the building was made by Somerset County Council last October after the Council ran up huge losses running it as a venue. Bookings between now and the end of September will go ahead as normal.

Cider makers in Somerset are staging events this week to mark British Cider Week. UK cider is said to account for thirty-nine per cent of all worldwide sales of cider.

More from News

Friday 7th March

The Leader of Somerset Council has repeated his call for a reform of the way that councils are funded. Crimestoppers is stepping up efforts to help tackle violent crime in Somerset. A new radar satellite is playing a crucial role in collecting data about flooding in Somerset...and more
Thursday 6th March

Somerset Council has approved a seven-and-a-half percent increase in council tax. People are being asked to return boxes of paracetamol bought from Boots Chemists in Somerset. It’s been revealed that five members of staff at Somerset Council are being allowed to work from home outside the UK...and more
Wednesday 5th March

Somerset Council has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds in loans taken out by former district councils, including South Somerset, have to be paid back. A Somerset charity says it needs more volunteers to help with research into new treatments for dementia. A local shop owner has welcomed Somerset Council’s decision to scrap plans to charge for parking after 6 pm...and more.
Tuesday 4th March

The population of Somerset has reached record levels with nearly one in ten born outside the UK. Stanchester School in Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’. Experts have been called in to appraise a 15th-century piece of artwork in Sherborne...and more.
Monday 3rd March

A woman from Crewkerne has been fined £280 for assaulting two emergency workers. Plans have been announced to open new NHS dental surgeries in Chard and Crewkerne. A Yeovil man has been thanked for raising £10,000 for the cardiac charity Heartbeat...and more
Friday 28th February

A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. One hundred bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset, have been donated to charity. The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for resurfacing...and more.
Thursday 27th February

Fourteen hundred people have added their names to a petition against Somerset Council's plans to scrap free car parks. St Margaret’s Hospice has won a share of £25 million of government funding. A man from Charlton Adam is preparing to visit Ukraine as an Aid Worker for a tenth time...and more
Wednesday 26th February

A local man has been charged with possessing an air weapon following an incident in Yeovil town centre. The Labour government has removed funding to the Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet that the previous Conservative government had allocated. Entries are now open for this year’s Minster Miles 10K fun run with organisers aiming to exceed last year’s number of runners...and more.