Councillors have voted to cut 555 jobs at Somerset Council. Farmers in Somerset are reporting a big increase in thefts of trucks, trailers and machinery. NHS Somerset has confirmed that a doctor’s surgery in Yeovil is to expand. The Forget Me Not Pre-School in Yeovil has been rated 'Good' across all areas by Ofsted...and more
Councillors have voted to cut 555 jobs at Somerset Council. The authority is undergoing a major restructuring following the merger of five district councils in April 2023 and trying to plug a £66 million gap in its budget for the new financial year starting in April. Chair of Somerset UNISON, Neil Guild, says the cuts will impact greatly on service levels at Somerset Council.
Farmers in Somerset are reporting a big increase in thefts of trucks, trailers and machinery. Figures from insurers NFU Mutual show that in 2023 there was a 42 per cent increase in farm thefts in Somerset.
NHS Somerset has confirmed that a doctor’s surgery in Yeovil is to expand. The Ryalls Park Medical Centre on Marsh Lane is close to several planned housing developments with people moving into the new homes wanting to register with the surgery.
The South West has been given £23.1 million of government funding for new walking and cycling projects, and Somerset Council will receive £2.7 million. The money will provide cycle tracks and footpaths, as well as safer crossings and road junctions.
A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with two drink and drug driving offences. Owen Zubel of Hillside Terrace was found to be over the drink and drug drive limit after the car he was driving was involved in a four-vehicle crash at Pen Hill in Wincanton. Magistrates in Yeovil sentenced him to a 12-month community order with 120 hours unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.
Ofsted has rated the Forget Me Not Pre-School in Yeovil has 'Good' across all areas. The nursery in Linden Road was praised for its strong leadership, high-quality education, and nurturing environment for children aged two to four following the inspection in November.
Local suppliers of wheelchair-accessible products, Koller Engineering, on Garrett Road in Yeovil, has made St Margaret’s Hospice Care its Charity of the Year. The business says it will donate £1 from every wheelchair restraint it sells in 2025 to support the hospice’s work in Somerset..
Yeovil bus station could be transformed into a new 'transport hub'. NFU Mutual says complacency kills when it comes to dog owners letting pets off the lead near livestock. A local man has been jailed for 18 weeks for driving while disqualified. The charity Help for Heroes is expanding its support for military veterans in Somerset...and more.
A serving officer from Avon and Somerset Police is facing a prison sentence after indecent images of children were found at his home. Building 300 new homes and a football stadium in Chard has moved closer following improvements to an access road. World Horse Welfare has reopened the Glenda Spooner Farm near Somerton following a major flood event...and more
Free parking at council-run car parks in Somerset could soon end with the introduction of Sunday and overnight charging. Pavement slabs in Yeovil town centre, damaged by a utility company a year ago, are finally being replaced. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is to use £1 million of reserves to fund its day-to-day spending from April...and more.
Conservationists are celebrating after two barn owls have returned for a third year to their nestbox on the Blackdown Hills. DEFRA is urging farmers to stay vigilant as the restriction zone for the virus Bluetongue has been extended to South Somerset. Rail travellers are being advised that no services will run on the West of England Line between Yeovil Junction and Salisbury this coming weekend...and more.
Somerset Council Leader, Councillor Bill Revans, has been defending putting up council tax by seven-and-a-half percent. Two men have been jailed for life for the murder of a man in Yeovil. Somerset’s new Local Plan won’t be completed until spring 2029. Work is about to start building a new visitor centre at Ham Hill Country Park...and more
The police say footage from dashcams has become an important way to clamp down on dangerous driving. Plans to build a skatepark in Langport are pushing ahead. Dozens of items of tech equipment have been donated to the Digital Poverty Alliance in Somerset for giving to low-income households...and more
Somerset Council is investigating how a flood event in Mudford near Yeovil resulted in human bones being dislodged from a local cemetery. Thousands of new jobs are being created in Somerset as work building the Hinkley C nuclear power station ramps up. A Yeovil cake designer has been named winner of a national Wedding Industry Award for the second successive year...and more.
A public transport pressure group in Yeovil says better bus services would bring a range of benefits to the town. A new campaign has been launched in Somerset to support high-risk domestic abuse victims. Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard has thanked the public for helping it reach a fund-raising target...and more
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