News in Glastonbury

Rider Emily Gulliver, from Millfield Prep School in Edgarley, has won the 128cm Championships Final as part of the England side competing at the Scottish Harbo Home Ponies 2021.

Held at the SNEC (Scottish National Equestrian Centre), 11-year-old Emily played a key role in the team of four, going double clear in both her rounds at both 1.05m and 1.10m and competing against top riders from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

A campaign aimed at helping Glastonbury residents tackle unscrupulous loan sharks has been launched.

The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) teamed up with the Mendip Neighbourhood Policing Team, Mendip District Council and the Pluss organisation to deliver a series of community-based events in the Mendip area recently.

Organisers of The Bath & West Country Festival are putting the finishing touches to the event, which gets underway this Friday (27th).

Running from 27th-29th August, the Festival retains the Main Ring, Main Lawn, Woodland and Countryside Arena, which regular visitors will recognise from the Royal Bath & West Show. New features include Lakeside Farm, which offers interactive farming fun for the family with a Sheep Show and Dog & Duck Show; and Canine Corner, featuring a show from Pawsability, Great British Dogs, and a Fun Dog Show.

Post-GCSE students from Glastonbury who are yet to decide on what course to undertake from next month are being encouraged to consider the new T-level qualifications.

T-levels are new courses which started in September 2020, they follow GCSEs and are equivalent to three A-levels.

Residents and businesses in Glastonbury are being offered solar panels at a special discount rate, thanks to an initiative from the town council and a local company.

Sunlit Solar, supported by Glastonbury Town Council, are offering a 10 panel 3.7kW system from £4,000.

Somerset councillors have warned that attempts to quickly redraw the county's electoral boundaries could lead to widespread "gerrymandering".

Work is under way to create a new unitary authority to replace Somerset County Council and the four district councils by April 2023, following a decision by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in late-July.

Local archaeologist David Etheridge recently discovered an unrecorded bunker in North Devon from the Second World War.

The programme manager for the Foundation Degree (FdA) in History, Heritage and Archaeology at Strode College in Street was sitting on the beach on holiday eating fish and chips, when he noticed a concrete structure at the foot of the cliffs. He set off to explore and realised it was part of a ruined bunker guarding the beach.

Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis has been speaking about how much he's enjoyed the Worthy Pastures campsite this summer.

In this interview with the Glastonbury Festival press office team, he also talks about his hopes for Glastonbury 2022 and why Van Morrison probably won't sing his favourite song at the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza on September 4.

Somerset County Council's Public Health department is launching Phase 2 of its Summer Safety campaign encouraging residents and visitors to commit to keeping our county safe this summer.

Following the easing of many Covid-19 restrictions, people are returning to a more normal way of life and this includes enjoying everything our beautiful county has to offer. However, coronavirus is still very much in circulation and our numbers are rising, so Public Health leaders at Somerset County Council are recommending visitors and residents continue to follow key advice to stay as safe as possible this summer. This includes:

Plans to deliver new social housing on Norbins Road Car Park in Glastonbury are progressing with a formal planning application expected by October.

Mendip District Council's cabinet voted in November 2020 to deliver up to 160 new low-cost homes across five sites in the district in a partnership with Aster Housing.