Local News Wednesday 18th January

    Teachers in Somerset are set to strike for four days in February and March. One in four of the population of South Somerset has the highest level of qualifications, according to new figures. A Chard motorist has been fined for drinking and driving. A major balloon festival is coming to Yeovil. £12,000 has been raised for St Margaret’s Hospice from collecting Christmas trees and the smell of freshly made coffee may be to many people’s liking but not it seems if you live in Wincanton.

    Teachers in Somerset are set to strike for four days in February and March. It's after members of the largest teaching union, the National Education Union, voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions. 

    One in four of the population of South Somerset has the highest level of qualifications, according to new figures. The data from the Office for National Statistics show that 29.6 percent of people in South Somerset had a level 4 or higher qualification, such as a degree, postgraduate qualification, higher national certificate or diploma.

    A Chard motorist has been fined for drinking and driving. Ray Singleton of Linkhay Orchard in Tatworth pleaded guilty to the offence and was also banned from driving for sixteen months when he appeared at Yeovil magistrates court.

    A major balloon festival is coming to Yeovil. It’ll take place at Yeovil Showground from Friday, May 5th to Sunday, May 7th. The three-day event will see ‘special shaped balloons’ take to the skies over the town with balloon pilots performing a ‘night glow’ as darkness falls.

    £12,000 has been raised for St Margaret’s Hospice from collecting Christmas trees. Volunteers worked over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of January taking away Christmas trees from homes across Somerset. Apart from raising funds for St Margaret’s the trees were put to good use by being turned into mulch for local farmers.

    The smell of freshly made coffee may be to many people’s liking but not it seems if you live in Wincanton. Local people there are objecting to an application by Coffee Sense for retrospective planning permission to use their factory to roast coffee beans. Objectors claim that fumes from the factory on the Bennetts Field Industrial Estate pollute the town and say if the business succeeds with its application, it should be made to install a taller chimney to ensure the aromas from the manufacturing process are carried well out of Wincanton.
     

    More from News

    • Thursday 17th April

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    • Wednesday 16th April

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    • 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

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    • Friday 11th April

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    • Thursday 10th April 

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    • 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

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Chard

      Sunny intervals

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Crewkerne

      Sunny intervals

      High: 14°C | Low: 8°C

    • Somerton

      Sunny intervals

      High: 15°C | Low: 9°C

    • Wincanton

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 15°C | Low: 8°C

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