Tuesday 6th February

Tuesday, 6 February 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Chard Town Council meets tonight to vote on increasing its share of the Council Tax by 45 %. Homeowners in parts of South Somerset are to get an extra waste pick-up later this month. A new public clock has gone on display in Ilminster marking the reign of Queen Elizabeth the Second...and more.

Chard Town Council meets tonight to vote on putting up its share of the Council Tax by an average of 45%. If agreed, the Town Council precept on a typical band-D property would rise from £173 to £251. Chard Town Council says the extra income is needed to fund services it plans to take over running from Somerset Council. Charges for the cemetery and hire of the Guildhall would also rise. Tonight's meeting in the Guildhall starts at 7 pm and is open to the public.

The Environment Agency says ten years after the major flood event on the Somerset Levels it has learned lessons and changed the way it works. Following the floods of January 2014, the Somerset Rivers Authority was set up and a twenty-year flood action plan for Somerset was drawn up.

Homeowners in some parts of South Somerset will get an extra waste pick-up later this month. The additional collection days will take place on Saturday, February 17th, in Chard and Ilminster and in Hinton St George, Langport, South Petherton, Ilminster and Chard on Saturday, February 24th. Somerset Waste Partnership says the extra collection days are to ensure no household goes more than three weeks between collections when the new timetable for collections starts on February 12th.

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for witnesses after a motorcyclist died in a collision with a van on the A361. It happened in the village of West Lyng near the junction of New Road on Sunday at around 4.30 pm. Anyone who saw what happened or has dashcam footage is asked to please call the police non-emergency number 101.

Ilminster has a new landmark. It’s a public clock located on the side of the building above Retail Therapy in Silver Street. The clock, provided by Ilminster Rotary Club to commemorate the reign of Queen Elizabeth the Second, will be officially switched on at midday on Saturday, February 17th.

Plans have been approved to build five detached houses at Ham Farm in Combe St Nicholas, near Chard. Four of the houses will be newly built with one created from an existing farm building.

More from News

Monday 10th February

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

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