Tuesday 17th December

Tuesday, 17 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Emergency teams are still working across Somerset to remove trees damaged in last week’s Storm Darragh. Crewkerne Town Council has been asked to ban the Seavington Hunt from gathering in the town centre on Boxing Day. The London Standard newspaper has named the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George as its "Country Pub of the Week"...and more

Emergency teams are still working across Somerset to remove trees damaged in last week’s Storm Darragh. Some roads in Somerset remain partially blocked by trees waiting to be felled.

Crewkerne Town Council has been asked to ban the Seavington Hunt from the town centre on Boxing Day. It’s become traditional for the Seavington Hunt to gather in Crewkerne on Boxing Day but Action Against Fox Hunting says the Hunt’s activities are abhorrent and want the Town Council to follow Castle Cary Town Council who have banned the Sparkford Vale Hunt from the town centre. The Countryside Alliance has hit back saying only a small group want the Seavington Hunt banned from Crewkerne.

Controversial plans to build 46 new homes in Castle Cary are due to be decided at a meeting of Somerset Council Planning South Committee on Tuesday, January 28th. The application to develop land north of the town’s cemetery in South Street has twice been delayed over concerns about access and drainage issues.

Councillors in Glastonbury have backed proposals to link the town to Castle Cary with a new community bus service. The initiative, led by the Somerset Bus Partnership, aims to make travel between the two towns easier, with improved access for rail passengers using Castle Cary train station.

Work will start in the New Year creating a car-free route between Curry Rivel and Langport. The Curry Rivel Active Travel Group says the route will make it possible for pedestrians and cyclists to avoid using the A378 to get from Curry Rivel to Langport. Eventually, it will form part of a wider planned active travel network stretching across the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Public access is now being provided through the grounds of Hazlegrove Preparatory School at Sparkford. South Somerset Bridleway Association applied in 2018 to secure a footpath through the grounds of the grade two listed Hazlegrove House, which has been a school since 1947. Somerset Council approved the request, despite claims that due process had not been followed, and concerns about pupil safeguarding.

The London Standard has named the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George as its "Country Pub of the Week". The newspaper highlighted the pub's quintessential charm for its choice.

More from News

Tuesday 24th December

Two men from Yeovil have been found guilty of murdering a man in the town. A school in Chard has been named the best-run primary school in Somerset. Somerton MP Sarah Dyke is calling on the government to provide more funding for community pharmacies. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A303...and more
Monday 23rd December

Public Health at Somerset Council is blaming a rise in measles cases on a drop in the number of children getting the MMR vaccination. Police have produced an online gallery to try and find the owners of hundreds of stolen items. The sale of a boxing glove in Chard claimed to have been worn by Cassius Clay, has been halted after new evidence about its authenticity came to light...and more
Friday 20th December

Somerset Council is pursuing a less ambitious plan for redeveloping Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he hasn’t given up on trying to keep open the town’s hyper-acute stroke unit. Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space in the Triangle in Lower Middle Street will open for public use early in the New Year...and more
Thursday 19th December

A Somerset pensioner has criticised the government for refusing to compensate women who claim they were not given adequate warning about changes to the start date for receiving the state pension. Parents are being asked to check their children have been vaccinated against measles following a rise in cases. The use of energy-saving light bulbs is greater in the South West than in any other region in England.
Wednesday 18th December

The Unite union says it is becoming ‘increasingly anxious’ about a delay in awarding Leonardo in Yeovil a multi-million-pound contract to build a new medium-lift helicopter for the RAF. The government has set Somerset a target to build 3,700 new homes next year. A boxing glove once worn by Muhammad Ali is being auctioned in Chard today...and more
Monday 16th December

The government says it won’t intervene in the decision to close the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Police are asking for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man suffered a broken leg. Shepton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School has been rated as good by Ofsted...and more.
Friday 13th December

Somerset-based social housing provider, Stonewater, is urging caution over plans by the government to relax the planning rules. The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Westlands Entertainment venue...and more.
Thursday 12th December

Farmers from Somerset were amongst the hundreds of others from across the UK who gathered in London yesterday. Avon and Somerset Police is trialling a new way to find people with dementia when they are reported missing. A cake designer from Yeovil has been crowned Best Cake Designer in the South West...and more.