Local News Thursday 30th June

Thursday, 30 June 2022 06:00

Eleven thousand more people now live in South Somerset compared to ten years ago, according to the 2021 Census. A bypass for Chard, planned seven years ago, is coming under fresh scrutiny. A further eleven thousand homes in South Somerset are to get ultrafast broadband. Anyone who sets up unauthorised camps in Somerset could now be given a prison sentence and a fine of £2,500 and a new book is due out soon telling the story of Montacute.

Eleven thousand more people now live in South Somerset compared to ten years ago, according to the 2021 Census, details of which have just been published. The Census shows 172,700 people living in South Somerset, up 7 percent from 161,243 in the last census of 2011. The balance of men and women in South Somerset has also changed with 48.9 percent of the population male and 51.1 percent female. The population is also aging. A decade ago, 21.6 percent of people in South Somerset were aged over 65s, now over 65-year-olds account for 25.5 percent of the local population.

A bypass for Chard, planned seven years ago, is coming under fresh scrutiny. The Chard Eastern Relief Road is meant to divert traffic away from the town centre but a petition has been launched asking for the road to be routed well away from the town's reservoir and nature reserve.

A further eleven thousand homes in South Somerset are to get ultrafast broadband, thanks to extra funding from the government. It brings the number of homes and businesses in South Somerset provided with ultrafast broadband by Wessex Internet to 4,700 with places like Isle Abbotts, South Petherton, Tintinhull and Bower Hinton better connected.

Anyone who sets up unauthorised camps in Somerset could now be given a prison sentence and a fine of £2,500. The new Police Act has introduced extra legislation to protect landowners.

A new book is due out soon telling the story of Montacute. The ‘Book of Montacute’ is the second in a series of histories of the village written by local author, Clarence Bradley, who has lived in Montacute since 1944.

More from News

Monday 10th February

A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more
Friday 7th February

A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
Thursday 6th February

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
Wednesday 5th February

The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Tuesday 4th February

Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Monday 3rd February

Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
Friday 31st January

A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Thursday 30th January

Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more