News in Shepton Mallet

Businesswomen in Shepton Mallet are being invited to join a free networking group.

Business Women in Somerset is a community of businesswomen who pride themselves on the support, wealth of business knowledge and making genuine connections.

Wessex Water is providing more financial help from today (October 5) for Shepton Mallet community groups in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Wessex Water Recovery Fund aims to strengthen communities following the Covid-19 outbreak, with an emphasis on local rather than national projects.

Shepton Mallet Library will be kicking off National Libraries Week with an innovative new scheme.

From tomorrow (October 5) iPads will be available to job seekers looking for an extra bit of help in their quest for employment.

Despite coronavirus restrictions, there will be a Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Shepton Mallet this year, though there will not be a parade or church service.

The Shepton Mallet branch of the Royal British Legion held their annual meeting this week, and the plans for Remembrance Sunday were put in place.

Local groups could sell electricity to their neighbours if new rules on the energy market are approved.

Residents' co-operatives or village hall committees could get a better price for surplus energy from their solar panels by selling it locally, rather than via the National Grid.

Temporary traffic lights are scheduled to be used for roadworks on the A371 through Croscombe next week.

The lights are due to be in place on Wednesday (October 7) and Thursday (October 8) on Long Street, in the area around Long Street House.

Mendip District Council has rejected calls to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism – claiming it is already doing enough to protect people from abuse.

Mendip was asked in February to adopt the widely-recognised definition of anti-Semitism set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

A reshuffle has taken place at Mendip District Council after the Liberal Democrats assumed outright control for the very first time.

The council was run by the Conservatives between 2003 and 2019, but shifted to no overall control (no party having a majority) in May 2019 as the Tories lost ground in the local elections.

The East Somerset Railway in Cranmore has welcomed a new addition to its fleet of locos with the arrival of GWR Small Prairie 5542 2-6-2T which was formerly based at the South Devon Railway and the Gloucester and Warwick Railway.

Built in 1928 and withdrawn from service with British Rail in December 1961, 5542 spent 14 years at a Barry Scrapyard before moving to the West Somerset Railway in 1976.

With the festive season in sight, Dobbies Garden Centres have announced their Christmas events offering for 2020 in the Shepton Mallet store.

This year's programme has a focus on bringing together communities, and with social distancing measures in place.