News in Shepton Mallet

Somerset Community Foundation (SCF), which is based near Shepton Mallet, would like to support community groups that can help to reduce loneliness and spread Christmas cheer through food and festive activities.

Christmas can be a difficult time for some of our neighbours, and this year will be a tough Christmas for many more in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

There is still time to book tickets for live events at Cedars Hall or to register for live-streaming for this year's Wells Festival of Literature.

There are usually tickets available every day for Cedars Hall, especially as some people are now restricted in their travel.

This week it's the second annual Shepton on Show, a unique event grown in Shepton Mallet.

The evening gives local businesses and organisations, whether on or off the High Street, the opportunity to market themselves in a fun, vibrant and theatrical way.

Dobbies' Covid-safe Halloween Spooktacular is taking place from Thursday October 29 to Saturday October 31 in the Shepton Mallet store.

Families can enjoy a spine-tingling time of tricks and treats, and the Halloween event is the perfect excuse for children to don their best costumes and get into the spirit.

Organisers of one of the post popular areas of the Glastonbury Festival have received more the £60,000 from the government to help the arts organisation survive the coronavirus crisis.

Shangri-La Glastonbury Ltd has been given £61,059 from the Culture Recovery Fund, which is an investment to ensure cultural and creative organisations have a sustainable future and continue to bring joy to local communities and international audiences.

Somerset's new era of recycling has moved a step closer through an upgraded depot at Evercreech that will handle thousands of extra tonnes of material each year.

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is just days away from the launch of Recycle More, its much-trumpeted changes to recycling which will see a wider range of items collected at the kerbside every week.

CPRE Somerset, the countryside charity, have announced the winner of their 2020 photography competition - Reasons to be Cheerful.

They launched the competition in April just after lockdown was announced and invited people to send in images of their local green spaces and countryside or even their garden and to share what kept them going during those uncertain times.

Temporary traffic lights are planned to be used on the A361 through Shepton Mallet next week.

The lights are scheduled to be in place on Friday (October 23) and Saturday (October 24) near to the leisure centre on Charlton Road, so BT can replace a telegraph pole.

The pupils at Ashcott School thoroughly enjoyed a virtual visit to their classroom from the author Abi Elphinstone this term.

Each participating child received a personalised and signed copy of Abi's latest book Jungle Drop. All this was provided by the Wells Festival of Literature.

Shepton Mallet Town Council has today (October 15) published its first town plan, which is a document that sets out the strategic vision for the council for the next four years.

Based on input from hundreds of community members over the past 12 months, the plan explains what the council will be focussing on and investing in.