Home > About Yeovil
About Yeovil

Introduction
Often overlooked by outsiders for business, Yeovil offers excellent opportunities for profitable growth in the South West. Well positioned on the A303 corridor, Yeovil has a plentiful supply of greenfield opportunities for new build business development as well as an ever growing stock of existing business premises to rent. Yeovil has a local business culture which embraces both larger employers (e.g. Agusta Westland & Honeywell) as well many entrepreneurial businesses serving local, regional and national markets.

Lifestyle
Yeovil offers an excellent retail offering with many planned developments to both the existing Quedam Centre as well as other sites within the town centre, all of which will contribute to local business development opportunities. Yeovil has a 10 screen Multiplex Cinema, a 450 seat Theatre as well as public and private fitness and leisure clubs. Surrounding villages & towns offer a vast range of housing opportunities, all nestled within the stunning South Somerset countryside. Yeovil has a large District Hospital (http://www.somerset.nhs.uk/es/) right in the centre of the Town, which incorporates a Private Medical Wing.

Population Statistics
Yeovil - 41,000
District - 155,100 (2004)
Growth - 1991-2001 - 6.5%

Planning
Yeovil is designated an SSCT (Strategically Significant Town or City) in Draft RSS10
Local Plan adopted 27th April 2006
Local Development Framework (LDF) at Early stage of development

Housing
Local Plan allocates 1,900 new homes for Yeovil up to 2011
Draft RRS10 requires 320 new homes per year

Communications

Rail

Paddington From 1H:35M from Castle Cary (17 Miles)
Waterloo From 2H:21M from Yeovil Junction

Road/Air

Centre Airport Ferry
J 25 of M5 (Taunton) 26M    
Exeter 55M 46M (EXT)  
Bristol 41M 44M (BRS)  
Bournemouth 47M 44M (BOH)  
Southampton 74M 75M (SOU)  
London (SW1) 133M 120M (LHR)  
Weymouth     29M
Poole     43M
Portsmouth     93M
Plymouth     95M

 

Employment Statistics
Draft RSS requires provision for 9,100 new jobs until 2026
Local Plan allocates 20 Ha (50ac) of greenfield land for new build business parks
Current Stock of 8.5 Ha (21 ac) of consented greenfield land for immediate development
Unemployment rate 1.1% (Jun 06)
High skill base workforce - Electronic Engineering, Computing, Design & Manufacture, R&D

Education
Yeovil College (www.yeovil.ac.uk/) offers a wide range of vocational and academic courses with Higher Education delivered in association with Exeter and Bournemouth Universities.
Yeovil is host to a number of other vocational training facilities run by Paragon & ITE (www.dorsetapprentices.co.uk/) and Somerset County Training (www.somerset.gov.uk/sct/default.asp).
Yeovil and it's wider area have a wide range of excellent state schools (http://schools.somerset.gov.uk/ & http://www.dorset-lea.org.uk/dsw/index.htm) as well as fee paying  schools (www.isc.co.uk/)

Further Information
More information can be gained from the following sources: