News in Shepton Mallet

A local supermarket has teamed up with a Shepton Mallet retirement community, to extend its doorstep food delivery service to its homeowners.

Following a successful trial, McCarthy and Stone's Holmcroft Court in Charlton Road can now order their groceries over the phone using a Morrisons dedicated telesales line.

Following the latest spike in coronavirus cases, the new Government restrictions and the expected length of time that these will be applied, the Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival organisers have taken the decision to pause the event for 2021.

Plans were underway for a festival with a different shape and style to take account of social distancing but with the latest news it's clear that the restrictions would make any of the face-to-face elements of the festival extremely difficult and could impose unnecessary risk to the public.

Fly-tipping incidents in Somerset rose by more than 50 per cent during the first three months of lockdown.

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) has published statistics comparing fly-tipping levels during the early lockdown to the same period in 2019.

A consultation is being held to get the views of Shepton Mallet residents before a planning application for 133 homes in the town is submitted.

Redrow Homes want to build the development on the edge of town to the south of Old Wells Road, and are seeking the public's thoughts before submitting their application to Mendip District Council.

It is the last three days of the exhibition Into the Light with Joanna Briar and Angela Morley at Pilton Cider in Shepton Mallet.

Open 11am to 5pm until Sunday September 27.

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for information following two burglaries in Shepton Mallet that police believe are linked.

Both incidents took place overnight between 6.15pm yesterday (Wednesday September 23) and 1.15am this morning in the Charlton Road area.

A teenager has been banned from entering parts of Shepton Mallet and Wells after being made subject of a criminal behaviour order by magistrates.

The 15-year-old from Wells, who cannot be named as he is a juvenile, has been responsible for several incidents of antisocial behaviour across the two areas.

Shepton Mallet residents will soon have to pay more to have their waste collected – including their garden waste.

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) will be raising the fees it charges for residents to have bulky items collected at the kerbside – as well as the cost of disposing of certain items at the county's recycling centres.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the health of the population of Somerset, Care UK has invested around £300,000 in an upgrade of the Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) at Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre.

The CSSD is used to effectively decontaminate equipment used at the hospital. It is accredited by the British Standards Institute which not only guarantees the quality of the service, but also allows Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre to explore opportunities to offer the service in the future to other hospitals, clinics, dentists – even beauticians and tattoo parlours, anywhere which uses equipment which needs to be decontaminated after each use.

If you are a grassroots community group based in Shepton Mallet, grants are available up to the value of £2,500 from the Somerset Fund.

Based at the Bath and West Showground, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset Community Foundation (SCF) manages the fund and is encouraging applications from smaller charities and community groups that run on less than £100,000 per year.