Monday 6th January

Monday, 6 January 2025 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Police are treating, as deliberate, a fire at the former Oscar Mayer factory in Chard. The owner of an American diner says her takings are down 75 percent since the opening of the new dual carriageway between Sparkford and Ilchester. Yeovil-born England women’s rugby union team captain, Marlie Packer, says she’d like to captain the national side at this year's World Cup series...and more.

Police are treating as deliberate a fire at the former Oscar Mayer factory in Chard. Crews from Chard and Ilminster dealt with the blaze on Furnham Road that broke out at lunchtime last Thursday. Anyone with information that might help the police is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.

The owner of an American diner says her takings are down 75 percent since the opening of the new dual carriageway between Sparkford and Ilchester. National Highways has promised to install new advertising boards on the A303 for Mattia Diner but the signs are not yet in place.

Plans for a new housing development in Yeovil originally turned down over concerns about traffic congestion and flooding, will now go ahead. Somerset Council has drooped its objections and agreed to the development of sixty new homes on land between Brimsmore Garden Centre and Yeovil Gospel Hall on Tintinhull Road.

Supporters of trail hunting in Somerset have criticised the Labour government for planning to ban the sport. Trail hunting was introduced as a more humane alternative to fox hunting. Labour claims it’s a smokescreen for illegal hunting but Ollie Hughes from the British Hound Sports Association says they see no reason to ban the sport.

Yeovil-born England’s women’s rugby union team captain, Marlie Packer, has been speaking about her hopes for 2025. Marlie, a former pupil at Bucklers Mead School in Yeovil, says she’d like to captain the national side at this year's World Cup series being played in the UK.

Somerset Ramblers Association has welcomed the decision to extend the deadline for registering public footpaths and rights of way. People now have until 2031 to have a public footpath and right of way, currently not registered, or mapped, protecting them from being built over.

More from News

Friday 22nd May

The National Farmers Union in Somerset has welcomed the government’s new trade deal with six Gulf countries. Campaigners say Somerset’s canals and locks are in urgent need new investment. The Liverpool comedian John Bishop is heading to Somerset later this year...and more
Thursday 21st May

Police are being asked to cut the time the M5 is closed following accidents. Plans to build a major solar farm near Chard have been thrown out. Aldi is asking shoppers to help find locations for new stores in Somerset...and more
Wednesday 20th May

People in Somerset are being encouraged to get their cholesterol checked to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. A Chard man has appeared in court charged with using threatening behaviour. A gardener from Somerset has won a silver award at the Chelsea Flower Show... and more
Tuesday 19th May

A Somerset car boot business says it will no longer accept twenty-pound notes after being handed counterfeit notes.Taunton Flower Show is warning this year’s event could be its last. Numatic, makers of the Henry vacuum cleaner, have invested one-and-a-half million pounds installing new solar panels at their factory in Chard... and more
Monday 18th May

The RSPCA is investigating after eleven newborn puppies were abandoned in Snowdon Park in Chard. Major funding has been announced for a new two-year arts programme in Yeovil. Plans have been unveiled to improve sports facilities at Somerton Recreation Ground...and more
Friday 15th May

A fire that damaged two vehicles in Chaffcombe near Chard is being treated as deliberate. A road in Hardington Mandeville is set to re-open today after being closed for three days. Friends, family and colleagues of a Royal Navy officer based at RNAS Yeovilton are taking on a 630-mile coastal challenge in her memory... and more
Thursday 14th May

Somerset Council has defended spending nineteen million pounds on consultants over the past three years. A new clinic specialising in sexual health has opened in Yeovil. RNAS Yeovilton has been in the TV spotlight this week after featuring on Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr...and more
Wednesday 13th May

Concern's been expressed that too many of the 580 new council homes being built in Somerset will be clustered around Taunton and Bridgwater. Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman died following a crash on the M5. Haynes Motor Museum has been awarded £180,000 by The National Lottery to transform its Red Room gallery... and more