Local News Wednesday 2nd August

Wednesday, 2 August 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil-based leather manufacturer, Pittards, has failed in its bid to raise new capital to keep the business afloat. Farmers are being told to be on the lookout for organised gangs targeting their land and equipment. A Somerset Police officer has set up a project to provide football boots to local children who can't afford to buy them ...and more

Yeovil-based leather manufacturer, Pittards, has failed in its bid to raise new capital to keep the business afloat. In a statement last month, the company said it needed an injection of one-point-one-million pounds. Now, in an update to investors, Pittards say they’ve terminated the fundraising after the amount accumulated, around £330,000, was deemed not sufficient. Meanwhile, trading in Pittards shares has been suspended due to a delay in publishing last year’s financial results.

Farmers are being told to be on the lookout for organised gangs targeting their land and equipment. The latest crime figures in Somerset from NFU Mutual show that farm equipment fitted with GPS is now a popular target for thieves together with the theft of livestock. Last year, the value of items stolen from farms in Somerset was put at eight hundred thousand pounds.

Somerset Council has given the go-ahead for thirty-five new homes to be built in the village of Broadway, near Ilminster, subject to improvements being made to the local sewer network. The development, consisting of two and four-bed properties and five bungalows, will be on the corner of Broadway Road and Pound Road.

Road closure signs have been reintroduced at Chinnock Hollow linking East Chinnock and Odcombe. It follows the disappearance of road closure signs at either end of the cut-through that had led some motorists to think the road had been re-opened.

A Somerset Police officer has set up a project to provide football boots to local children who can't afford to buy them. Neighbourhood PC, Ryan Day, has founded the Football Boots Initiative and is asking anyone with football boots to donate to please take them to their nearest police station.

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Wednesday 25th February

Plans have been passed to carry out a £15 million upgrade of Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. A new medical unit providing NHS and private treatments has opened in Shepton Mallet. Manor Court Community Primary School in Chard is celebrating after receiving a Gold Artsmark for excellence in arts and cultural education...and more
Tuesday 24th February

First Bus has announced changes to bus timetables on routes across Somerset. A Somerset drone company is celebrating getting through the audition round of ITV’s Britain's Got Talent. A public footpath in South Somerset is set to remain closed for up to two years... and more
Monday 23rd February

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is warning of a scaling back of jobs at the Leonardo helicopter factory in Yeovil. Work is underway on the multi-million-pound refurbishment of Yeovil police station. The A361 across the Somerset Levels has reopened... and more
Friday 20th February

10,000 incidents of potholes on Somerset’s roads have been reported to Somerset Council in the past four weeks. The Met Office is warning of more unsettled weather into March for Somerset. The Crowshute link in Chard will close for eight nights next month for road repairs... and more
Thursday 19th February

Yeovil fire station is to undergo a major refurbishment. A Yeovil based charity is appealing for adults to become mentors to young people. A Somerset woman has completed a 10,000 kilometre solo bike ride across Africa... and more
Wednesday 18th February

New figures have shown a rise in cases of suicide involving farmers, including in Somerset. Plans to merge the parishes of Castle Cary and Ansford have been scrapped. A Somerset-based charity working to end homelessness is marking its 50th anniversary... and more
Tuesday 17th February

Avon and Somerset Police are asking the owners of replica guns to hand them in. It's claimed motorists in the Bruton and Wincanton area are paying out hundreds of pounds in repairs due to the poor state of local roads. And, Yeovil Town take on Aldershot at Huish Park tonight... and more
Monday 16th February

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that the Westlands entertainment venue in Yeovil would be at risk should Leonardo not be awarded a government contract to build new medium life helicopters. A Chard woman has been given a suspended jail sentence for carrying a knife in a public place. A petition has been launched to slowdown motorists using Coker Way and Wyatt Way in Chard... and more