Tuesday 30th April

Tuesday, 30 April 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Council is taking legal action to remove an arms company from one of its commercial properties. Waste collection days across Somerset are set to change next month due to two impending bank holidays. An archaeological survey has begun on the proposed site of a new skate park in Bruton... and more.

Somerset Council is taking legal action to remove an arms company from one of its commercial properties. The council owns a number of commercial properties, the majority of which it inherited when district councils were abolished in 2023. They include offices at Aztec West in Bristol occupied by a defence contractor who, it is claimed, supplies arms to Israel. In recent weeks, Somerset Council has been targeted by the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action for providing office accommodation to arms suppliers linked with Israel. The company at the centre of the row claims all activities from its Bristol base are geared towards supporting the British army and are not related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Waste collection days across Somerset are set to change next month due to two impending bank holidays. During the weeks beginning Monday, May 6th, and Monday, May 27th, recycling, refuse and garden waste collections will be one day later than usual. Somerset’s recycling sites will be open as usual from 9 am to 4 pm on weekends, and if opening on a Monday is part of their normal opening pattern, they will be open on both Bank Holiday Mondays from 9 am to 6 pm.

Street Football Club has been given permission to sell alcohol and hold events until 1 am on Friday and Saturday nights. The Club had asked Somerset Council to amend its existing licence, allowing it to sell alcohol and play music until late into the night at its Tannery ground on Middle Brooks. Despite objections from residents, the Council's licensing sub-committee East voted to grant the new licence after receiving assurances from both the Club and the Police.

An archaeological survey has begun on the proposed site for building a new skate park in Bruton. Final approval for the skate park in Jubilee Park still has to be given, with £87,000 raised so far to pay for it.

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A dog, stolen in Norfolk seven years ago, has been found 200 miles away safe and well in Somerset. A man who lives in Seavington St Michael near Ilminster has been jailed after driving a car at police officers. One hundred new affordable homes could be built near Langport...and more
Friday 7th February

A Yeovil man has been fined £1,200 for sending hostile text messages to his ex-wife. A report into the performance of Avon and Somerset Police has found it doesn't answer emergency calls quickly enough. Twenty-two swimmers at the Trident Swimming Club in Chard have won places in this year’s Somerset County Swimming Championships...and more
Thursday 6th February

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a one-month-old baby boy in Chard. Kingfisher Primary School in Yeovil has been highly praised by Ofsted. Somerset Council says it’s “extremely disappointed” after its bid to form a devolved Wessex group of local councils was rejected by the government...and more.
Wednesday 5th February

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.
Tuesday 4th February

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.
Monday 3rd February

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.
Friday 31st January

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
Thursday 30th January

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