Redundancy payments have been made to 49 senior officers at Somerset Council costing £7.4 million with one officer receiving a payoff of half a million pounds. Farmers in Somerset are warning of major problems with this year’s harvest that could make food more expensive. This year’s Royal Bath and West Show opens today... and more.
Redundancy payments have been made to 49 senior officers at Somerset Council as the council takes steps to prevent bankruptcy by trimming its wage bill. The payments are costing the council £7.4 million with the outgoing executive director for resources and corporate services alone receiving more than half a million pounds. Somerset Council says making the senior officers redundant will save £2.9 million a year, with a further 201 other employees due to be made redundant saving £9.4 million. The Liberal Democrat-controlled Council has defended the payments saying they are in line with the employment conditions of each post holder.
Farmers in Somerset are warning of major problems with this year’s harvest that could make food more expensive this autumn. They say it’s due to the recent bad weather and Somerset having had its wettest winter since records began back in 1836.
A group representing bus users in Somerset has criticised First Bus for taking a local bus out of service and moving it to Swansea. Somerset Bus Partnership has posted a photo of the green bus marked with Somerset taking passengers around Swansea. The Partnership says buses assigned to run in Somerset should be kept in the County as cover for when a bus breaks down and to avoid a service being cancelled.
This year’s Royal Bath and West Show, showcasing the best farming and agriculture across the UK, opens today. Around 30,000 visitors are expected at the Shepton Mallet showground for the first of the 3-day event.
The Liberal Democrat Leader of Somerset Council, Councillor Bill Revans, says they had no choice but to ask the government to allow them to lift the 5 percent cap on raising Council Tax. Two teenagers have been released on bail following the stabbing in Yeovil. More than six thousand pounds has been awarded to local groups by Chard Carnival Committee...and more.
Somerset has been permitted to increase its Council Tax share by 7.5 percent. An Ilminster man, forced out of his house by last week's floods, says he doesn't know when he will be able to return home. Ilminster Literary Festival has launched its annual children’s writing competition, designed to encourage local children to write creative literature...and more.
Five men have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in Yeovil. A 16-year-old is the second person to be arrested in connection with a stabbing in Yeovil. Yeovil’s new outdoor entertainment space in Lower Middle Street has been officially opened by the town’s MP... and more.
A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more
New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more
Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more
A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more
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