Wednesday 11th October

Wednesday, 11 October 2023 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Yeovil Town Council has voted to give financial support to the £30 million project to upgrade Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. Yeovil Hospital is running a study to test whether hypnosis could benefit patients. The railway line between Yeovil Junction and Axminster will be closed for five days next month. A Wincanton butcher has been chosen to be a housemate on the new series of the TV reality show Big Brother...and more

Yeovil Town Council has voted to give financial support to the multi-million-pound project to upgrade Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre. At a special meeting of the Town Council held last night at the Westland entertainment venue attended by around 300 members of the public, twelve councillors voted in favour and two against the Council giving money to the £30 million project that has run into difficulties due to increased building costs and higher interest rates. Leader of the Town Council, Graham Oakes, says the Council will work in partnership with Somerset Council to find ways to fund the scheme and will be asking parish and town councils to contribute to the Octagon upgrade. Meanwhile, Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh, who attended last night’s meeting, is offering to work with the Town Council and Somerset Council to help build a new theatre for Yeovil but says not on the current Octagon site. He wants a new theatre built on the former cattle market site off Reckleford and will work with the government to take the idea forward.

Yeovil Hospital is running a study to test whether hypnosis could benefit patients. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is looking to recruit patients who’ve undergone surgery to take part in the trial to check if it helps with their pain and overall recovery.

Local councillor, Oliver Patrick, has lodged a formal objection to permanently closing Chinnock Hollow which links East Chinnock and Odcombe. Somerset Council says it couldn’t justify spending £2.7 million to reopen the road that was shut in 2021 following a landslide. The Council has applied for an order to keep the road permanently closed. Councillor Patrick believes it could be safely reopened with reduced width, temporary traffic lights and concrete barriers to protect road users.

The railway line between Yeovil Junction and Axminster will be closed for five days next month. From Monday, November 6th to Friday, November 10th, a replacement bus service will operate between the two stations. A second 16-day closure between Yeovil Junction and Salisbury will take place from Saturday, November 26th to Sunday, December 10th. Network Rail says the closures are needed for engineering work to take place.

A Wincanton butcher is aiming to win big on the new series of Big Brother that has re-launched on ITV. Tom, who’s 21, and works at Andrew Barclay Butchers in Wincanton is one of the housemates on the reality TV show, hoping to take home the £100,000 top prize.

More from News

Thursday 17th April

The father of a one-month-old baby boy in Chard is to stand trial for the murder of his son. New figures show that just under 1300 crimes were reported to the Police in Yeovil during the final quarter of last year. A night in a prison cell is offered at Shepton Mallet Jail to those who want to be alone this Easter...and more.
Wednesday 16th April

Big changes are being made to where taxi ranks in Yeovil are located. Farmers are being told to keep an extra lookout for people acting suspiciously following the latest livestock theft near the Devon and Somerset border. Channel 4’s Location Location Location is coming to Somerset, with anyone looking to buy a property locally invited to apply to be in the show...and more
Tuesday 15th April

A 36-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in Yeovil. Yeovil Labour Club has had its drinks licence revoked. NHS Somerset has been taking its physiotherapy team around the county to cut waiting times for patients. A men-only cooking course has been launched in Sherborne with all ingredients and equipment provided free of charge...and more
Monday 14th April

A new banking hub has opened in Crewkerne. South Western Ambulance is asking people to only dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency over the Easter weekend. £1.8 million is being spent improving walking and cycling routes around a major new housing development at Up Mudford in Yeovil...and more
Friday 11th April

Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident in Yeovil in which a man riding an e-bike was injured and later died in hospital. Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says the number of false alarm calls it receives is on the increase. A new micro-pub opens in Chard next week...and more
Thursday 10th April

Yeovil MP Adam Dance is calling for more targeted support for schools in Somerset. Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident near Wells in which a cyclist died. Plans have been approved to convert a former care home in Yeovil into a house of multiple occupation...and more
Wednesday 9th April

A man from Yeovil has been jailed for stabbing another man in a pub in the town. Work is underway to help minimize the flood risk at Chard Reservoir. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-six new homes at Sparkford. A new Town Crier is needed in Glastonbury...and more
Tuesday 8th April

Work is underway to demolish the Glovers Walk Shopping Centre in Yeovil. A Yeovil man has appeared in court charged with drink driving for a third time. Somerset Council has paid £35,000 in compensation for failing to deliver the right support to children with special educational needs. Another shop in Yeovil town centre is closing for good today...and more