Local News Tuesday 2nd May

Tuesday, 2 May 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Several local schools are facing disruption today again as teachers stage another strike. Somerset Council has published a timetable of works for the next round of new traffic lights in Yeovil. Work building a new Enterprise Centre in Chard is close to being completed. A well-known café in Langport has announced that it's shutting...and more.

Several local schools are facing disruption today as teachers stage another strike. Members of the National Education Union are taking action in support of their long-running dispute over pay. The schools in our area affected are: Buckler’s Mead School in Yeovil, Huish Episcopi Academy in Langport, Ashlands Primary School in Crewkerne and Ansford Academy in Castle Cary.

Somerset Council has published a timetable of works for the next round of new traffic lights in Yeovil. Larkhill Road will be the first of three places in the town to get new lights installed with work commencing in late May. Work to install new traffic lights on West Coker Road will commence in early June. Work to replace the traffic lights at the junction of Wyndham Street and Sherborne Road will start in July.

Drivers in Somerset are being told to get their eyesight tested regularly with estimates that nearly one million people in the UK are driving with poor vision. Avon and Somerset Police and Somerset Council are involved in a national campaign aimed at getting older drivers to have their vision checked.

South Western Railway says trains on the Waterloo to Exeter line through Yeovil Junction and Sherborne stations will be running as normal from today. SWR was forced to make cuts to the timetable last week when a problem with diesel fuel led to a number of trains being withdrawn from service.

Work building a new Enterprise Centre in Chard is close to being completed. The building in Beeching Close has been funded by Somerset Council with a grant from the European Regional Development Fund. Local businesses and, in particular, owners of new start-up businesses in Chard are now invited to take up space at the new Centre.

A well-known café in Langport has announced that it's shutting. Secret Teacup at Old Kelways will close for good on Friday, blaming increases in the cost of ingredients, electricity and wages for the decision.

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Wednesday 12th March

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Tuesday 11th March

The union representing workers at Somerset Council is warning of further job cuts at the council next year. Secondary school pupils in Somerset are being offered help to withstand peer pressure to vape or smoke. The bells of St George's Church in Hinton St George have been fully restored after becoming difficult to ring ... and more
Monday 10th March

A property in Raglan Terrace in Yeovil has been closed down by a court order after it was linked to anti-social behaviour. NHS Somerset says investing in nurse apprenticeships has helped to boost recruitment. A new community garden has opened in Chard.... and more
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

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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.