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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Tuesday 8th July

Adam Dance, MP has challenged the Government over a "failure to tackle rising levels of child poverty" in South Somerset. A man in Chard has been evicted from a property in the town. Temporary changes are being put in place at Yeovil Bus Station and more....
Monday 8th July

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Thursday 3rd July

Dorset County Hospital is preparing to handle an increased number of births from now until the end of the year, following the closure of Yeovil Hospital's Maternity Unit. A number of former and current serving military personnel are pursuing the Ministry of Defence for compensation. Vandals have damaged a wooden shelter at the recreation ground in Ilminster...and more
Wednesday 2nd July

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Tuesday 1st July

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Monday 30th June

The Care Quality Commission has published its report into the running of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital. A public consultation has been launched into plans to build 150 new homes at Horton near Ilminster. A Chard man has embarked on walking 75 miles across Somerset, raising money for the Devon Air Ambulance...and more