Wednesday 27th March

Wednesday, 27 March 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Twenty-mile-an-hour speed zones are being introduced in fifteen areas across Somerset, including on roads in Chard and Ilchester. Plans to build fifty new houses at Broadway near Ilminster have been scrapped. Two people have appeared at Yeovil Magistrates Court charged with multiple drug offences...and more.

Twenty-mile-an-hour speed zones are being introduced in fifteen areas across Somerset, including in Chard and Ilchester. In Chard, the twenty limit will apply in Henson Park, Fairway Rise, Middle Touches, Lower Touches and Touches Meadow. In Ilchester, it will apply in Lyster Close, Limington Road, Almshouse Lane and West Street.

Plans to build 50 new homes at Broadway near Ilminster have been scrapped. Developers, Harrison Brown had planned to build the houses between Pound Road and Paulls Lane. Somerset Council says the developer has withdrawn the plans, following strong local objections

Two people have appeared at Yeovil Magistrates Court charged with drug offences. Edriss Ahmadi of Shackleton Road and Antonio Castanheira of no fixed address were each charged with three counts of possession with intent to supply cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin, and one count of possessing criminal property. Ahmadi was remanded into custody while Castanheira was released on court bail. Both are due to make a second appearance at Yeovil Magistrates’ Court on Monday, April 15th.

Somerset Council has been awarded £316,000 from the government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund. It's the second instalment of ring-fenced money from Sport England and will be used to install new energy efficiency measures in four Somerset leisure centres, including Chard Leisure Centre and Goldenstones in Yeovil.

Ilminster Town Council says two trees in the town are to be cut down due to fungal disease. An Ash tree in Britten’s Field and a Willow tree on Canal Way will be felled after they were found to be infected with Ash Dieback.

The main road linking Chard with Forton will be closed for four days next month. Forton Road will be closed from Monday, April 8 to Friday, April 12 for Wessex Water to install new water meters.

More from News

Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more
Tuesday 3rd March

A woman from Ilminster has been jointly charged with another woman after a man’s body was found inside a car in Cornwall. Somerset businesses, involved in the supply chain for Leonardo, have welcomed the news that the Leonardo factory in Yeovil is to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Plans have been submitted to build thirty-two homes in Milborne Port... and more
Monday 2nd March

The Leonardo factory in Yeovil has won a multi-million pound contract to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. A doctor, who previously worked at Yeovil Hospital, has appeared in court charged with illegally accessing NHS computers. A new Construction Innovation Centre has opened at Yeovil College... and more