Local News Tuesday 15th August

Tuesday, 15 August 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has joined the fight to keep open Yeovil leather firm Pittards. Plans to build six new homes at Whitelackington have been turned down. A studio has opened in Ilminster, aimed at helping people to upcycle clothing and create new designs. A new way of offering spiritual guidance to older people is being trialled by the Diocese of Bath and Wells...and more.

The fight to save Yeovil leather manufacturer Pittards from closure is far from over according to Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh. The company that employs around 230 staff at its factory on Sherborne Road was put into the hands of administrators last week after failing to raise one-point-one million pounds in cash to keep it afloat. Marcus Fysh believes Pittards has a future and says he’s working with the administrators to explore options for keeping the business going.

Plans to build six new homes at Whitelackington near Ilminster have been turned down. Somerset Council gave highway safety concerns as one reason for rejecting the proposed development off Hanning Close.

A new studio has opened in Ilminster, aimed at helping people to upcycle clothing and create new designs. Sew What! launched last week after receiving cash from a start-up loan programme.

People in Chard are being asked for their views on a proposed new housing development on the town’s northern edge. If it goes ahead, sixty-seven homes would be built between the A358 Furnham Road and Chaffcombe Lane. The consultation is being led by Greenslade Taylor Hunt and can be accessed via their website.

A new way of offering spiritual guidance to older people is being trialled by the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It's setting up a team of so-called 'Anna Chaplains' specifically to help older people worried about what happens at the end of their lives.

The Duke of York pub in Shepton Beauchamp has been put up for sale with a price tag of five-hundred-and-fifty-thousand pounds. It has a main bar, a thirty-seater restaurant, four self-contained ensuite letting rooms and a skittle alley.

Yeovil Lions and Options have raised ten thousand pounds for the Yeovil Breast Cancer Unit Appeal with a charity event held at Lanes Hotel in West Coker. The donation has taken the total raised for the new unit so far to more than two-point-four million pounds.

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Thursday 17th April

The father of a one-month-old baby boy in Chard is to stand trial for the murder of his son. New figures show that just under 1300 crimes were reported to the Police in Yeovil during the final quarter of last year. A night in a prison cell is offered at Shepton Mallet Jail to those who want to be alone this Easter...and more.
Wednesday 16th April

Big changes are being made to where taxi ranks in Yeovil are located. Farmers are being told to keep an extra lookout for people acting suspiciously following the latest livestock theft near the Devon and Somerset border. Channel 4’s Location Location Location is coming to Somerset, with anyone looking to buy a property locally invited to apply to be in the show...and more
Tuesday 15th April

A 36-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in Yeovil. Yeovil Labour Club has had its drinks licence revoked. NHS Somerset has been taking its physiotherapy team around the county to cut waiting times for patients. A men-only cooking course has been launched in Sherborne with all ingredients and equipment provided free of charge...and more
Monday 14th April

A new banking hub has opened in Crewkerne. South Western Ambulance is asking people to only dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency over the Easter weekend. £1.8 million is being spent improving walking and cycling routes around a major new housing development at Up Mudford in Yeovil...and more
Friday 11th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man riding an e-bike was injured and later died in hospital. Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says the number of false alarm calls it receives is on the increase. A new micro-pub opens in Chard next week...and more
Thursday 10th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for more targeted support for schools in Somerset. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident near Wells in which a cyclist died. Plans have been approved to convert a former care home in Yeovil into a house of multiple occupation...and more
Wednesday 9th April

A man from Yeovil has been jailed for stabbing another man in a pub in the town. Work is underway to help minimize the flood risk at Chard Reservoir. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-six new homes at Sparkford. A new Town Crier is needed in Glastonbury...and more
Tuesday 8th April

Work is underway to demolish the Glovers Walk Shopping Centre in Yeovil. A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with drink driving for a third time. Somerset Council has paid £35,000 in compensation for failing to deliver the right support to children with special educational needs. Another shop in Yeovil town centre is closing for good today...and more