Local News Monday 24th July

Monday, 24 July 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

A new call has been made to improve farm safety in Somerset. Plans have been submitted to build fifty-two new houses in the village of Henstridge. A team of doctors in Somerset has been awarded three hundred thousand pounds. Roger McGough, the brother of Paul McCartney, is one of the headline speakers at this year's Yeovil Literary Festival...and more.

A new call has been made to improve farm safety in Somerset. It comes from the Farm Safety Foundation and follows new data showing that twenty-seven people died in farm accidents across the UK last year, including children and visitors.

Plans have been submitted to build fifty-two new houses in the village of Henstridge. Developers, Macra Ltd, want to use land behind Townsend Farm off the A30 for the scheme. Somerset Council is expected to make a decision on the application before the end of the year.

Police are investigating the theft of chainsaws and hedge trimmers from a property in Holwell near Sherborne. The break-in happened in the early hours of last Friday, July twenty-first, at a workshop in Holwell Drove. Five chainsaws, three hedge trimmers, a cordless sander, and other small tools were taken. Anyone with information that would help the Police is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.

Rail travellers wanting to object to the planned closure of ticket offices at stations in Somerset have until Wednesday this week to submit their comments. GWR says four out of five rail tickets are now bought online or by using a ticket machine.

A team of doctors in Somerset has been awarded three hundred thousand pounds to improve cervical cancer screenings among women who've recently given birth. Currently, mothers have to wait twelve weeks to be tested but the new study aims to reduce the wait time to six weeks and make it part of post-natal care.

The names of some of the speakers who will be appearing at this year’s Yeovil Literary Festival have been announced. In the line-up will be Deborah Meaden, Sarah Beeny, Chris Packham and Roger McGough, the brother of Paul McCartney. Yeovil Literary Festival takes place during the last week of October.

Drivers are being reminded that the A30 through West Coker is closed for re-surfacing. Access to local businesses is still being provided with the road not due to re-open until the end of August.

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Friday 24th April

Plans have been submitted to turn a property on Preston Road in Yeovil into a House in Multiple Occupation. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has been recalled to the England Red Roses starting line-up for tomorrow’s Women’s Six Nations game against Wales. Three sisters from Yeovil will be running the London Marathon this weekend in support of Guide Dogs UK... and more
Thursday 23rd April

Helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton have completed six weeks of sorties, protecting Cyprus from attacks by Iran. People in Somerset who use domestic heating oil are calling on the government to regulate the oil supply industry. Patients are being invited to register at a new NHS dentist in Crewkerne... and more
Wednesday 22nd April

Expectant mothers are using Yeovil Hospital once again to give birth following the reopening of the maternity unit. A Yeovil man has been jailed for four years for committing sexual offences against two young girls. Plans have been approved to convert a pub in Milborne Port into housing... and more
Tuesday 21st April

NHS Somerset has delayed closing the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. A former Avon and Somerset Police officer has been jailed for making indecent images of children. A Somerset man has been fined after pleading guilty to hunting a wild animal with dogs... and more
Monday 20th April

Nearly one hundred roads in Somerset will be surface dressed this summer to prevent further damage. Almost all children starting primary school in Somerset in September have been offered a place at one of their top three school choices. People in Somerset are being asked to record wild mammals in gardens and other green spaces over the summer... and more
Friday 17th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has backed calls for a cap on heating oil prices. Invitations are being sent out to those in Somerset eligible for the latest Covid vaccine. A pub near Chard has closed just four months after reopening... and more
Thursday 16th April

Wessex Water has been told to pay £300,000 after a sewer spilled into the River Yeo killing dozens of fish. The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton has been given a grant of half a million pounds. Today marks the official opening of the new visitor centre at Ham Hill... and more
Wednesday 15th April

Yeovil College has been upgraded to a Defence Technical Excellence College. Somerset Council is taking legal action against a housing developer that owes £35,000 in contributions towards local services in Broadway. An Ilminster couple have covered the first 400 miles of their epic walk around the coastline of mainland Britain... and more