Monday 29th January

Monday, 29 January 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Play areas in Yeovil will not get any new equipment installed for the next twelve months as part of spending cuts at Somerset Council. A Milborne Port man has been jailed for six years after being found in possession of £17,000 worth of class-A drugs. The owners of the former Oscar Mayer factory in Chard have yet to submit a planning application to develop the site, two years after it closed...and more.

Play areas in Yeovil and across South Somerset will not get any new equipment installed for the next 12 months as Somerset Council seeks to cut its spending by £100 million. The Council says the pause on buying new kit will save £168,000 and claims it will not put children and young people at risk.

The Chief Medical Officer for Somerset, Doctor Bernie Marden, says he understands people’s concerns about closing the emergency stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Despite strong objections, NHS Somerset has decided to downgrade the unit, with people who suffer a stroke in Yeovil being taken to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. The changeover will take about eighteen months to implement. Doctor Marden claims it will lead to better outcomes for stroke patients.

A Somerset man has been jailed for six years after being found in possession of £17,000 worth of class-A drugs. Matthew Appleyard, of Combe Hill, Milborne Port pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine at Taunton Crown Court. It’s estimated that Appleyard’s criminal activity netted him around £250,000. A hearing will now be held under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure he profits from his activities.

Somerset Council says the owners of the Oscar Mayer site in Chard have yet to submit a planning application to develop the site. The former ready-meal factory in Furnham Road remains untouched, two years after it closed. Somerset Council says it’s keen to see the site used for a business, rather than housing.

A cheque for £2,300 has been presented to Yeovil Hospital by Milborne Port Sports and Social Club. The money, given to the Oncology and Haematology Day Unit at Yeovil Hospital, was raised at events held by the Club last year.

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Friday 27 March

There's been a big improvement in ambulance response times in Somerset. Three local people have been charged with offences linked to the theft and supply of prescription-only drugs. A fragment of a jawbone found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge appears to show that humans kept dogs as pets as far back as 5,000 years ago... and more
Thursday 26th March

Somerset Council is offering food vouchers during the school easter holidays to families whose children receive free school meals. A local man has been charged in connection with an incident involving a firearm in Yeovil. The Environment Agency says it could take up to 10 years to protect homes at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster from flooding...and more.
Wednesday 25th March

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has raised concerns in the House of Commons about the planned closure of Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Police in Yeovil are appealing for information after a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. A 13-year-old terrier named Mole has been rescued after becoming trapped underground...and more
Tuesday 24th March

Yeovil College has received a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. The main road between Chard and Ilminster is to be better protected from flooding. A six-thousand-year-old wooden walkway has been uncovered on the Somerset Levels... and more
Monday 23rd March

A wildcat helicopter belonging 815 Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton has been in action tracking two Russian ships in the English Channel. People living in Somerset will have to pay to use Dorset’s household waste recycling centres from today. A road in Ilminster has closed to traffic today and will stay shut for the next ten days... and more
Friday 20th March

Police are appealing for witnesses to a three-vehicle crash in Sherborne. The jobs of housing maintenance staff at Somerset Council could be outsourced to a private contractor. A pie throwing event is taking place in Chard today for Red Nose Day ... and more
Thursday 19th March

Farmers in Somerset say they're struggling after a doubling in the price of red diesel. Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised Donald Trump over his comments about people with learning disabilities. A Somerset woman whose father was killed in a crash on the M5 is running the London Marathon to raise money for South West Ambulance...and more
Wednesday 18th March

The murder of a two-week-old baby by his father at Yeovil Hospital could not have been predicted, according to a new report. A road in Ilminster is to close to traffic for eleven days later this month. A new Post Office counter is to open in Somerton... and more