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 Somerset Council says the developer has withdrawn the plans, following strong local objections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

Thursday 18th December

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has warned that delays in ordering 30 new medium lift helicopters for the RAF is putting the future of Somerset’s defence industries at risk. Somerset's farmers are being urged to convert more cow manure into biogas to heat homes. A new visitor centre has opened at Ham Hill country park...and more
Wednesday 17th December

Parcel business, Evri, has been criticised by Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke over what she claims have been ‘widespread delivery failures’. Demand for mental health support provided by South Western Ambulance Service is running at record levels. A nine-year-old Somerset boy has completed 100 days of litter picking for charity...and more
Tuesday 14th December

New data shows that crime in the Avon and Somerset police area is at an all-time high. Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard has issued a warning to prospective pet owners ahead of Christmas. The owner of four pubs in Somerset has warned that many could be forced to shut unless the government reconsiders business rates...and more.
Monday 15th December

Toolstream in Yeovil has been put into administration, threatening the jobs of dozens of employees. NHS Somerset has issued a last chance call for people to get a flu jab after hospital admissions increased by 76% in a week. Police are investigating the theft of a bike valued at £7,000 in Sherborne... and more
Friday 12th December

The Chief Executive of Somerset Council, Duncan Sharkey, has admitted to making mistakes in cutting jobs. Yeovil MP Adam Dance is supporting a Lib Dem initiative to introduce a new ‘Farm First’ training scheme. Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has launched an appeal to help buy a second helicopter... and more.
Thursday 11th December

A man has appeared in court in connection with an attack in Wincanton. A member of Somerset Council, jailed for 26 months for taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest, may not have to stand down as a councillor. NHS Somerset has announced that changes to stroke services at Yeovil Hospital will "go live" in the spring of next year...and more
Wednesday 10th December

Avon and Somerset Police say 62 drivers were arrested in the first week of the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign. A reindeer farm near Yeovil thinks it may have to close after being told it needs a Zoo licence. Father Christmas has made a special delivery of presents to Charlton Farm Children's Hospice in Somerset...and more
Tuesday 9th December

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset has criticised the government for axing the role. Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Ilminster in which a woman was seriously injured. Residents of Freedom Avenue in Yeovil are raising funds for charity with a big display of Christmas lights...and more.