About Somerset Council

The new Somerset Council

In July 2021 the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government approved the business case for a single unitary council for Somerset. Since then, staff from across five councils: Somerset County Council and Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset District Councils, have been working together to develop the structure and services of the new Somerset Council.

The new council has built on the strengths of Somerset’s councils and local knowledge, while having scale to have a greater impact on the issues that most affect the lives of Somerset’s people.

• A stronger voice – A single council has given Somerset a stronger voice when for competing for funding and new jobs, to stand-up for business, support our infrastructure and encourage growth in our county’s economy. We’re also developing our vision for our regional platform through the Heart of Wessex devolution proposal to truly build on our strengths in sectors such as defence, digital, life sciences and clean energy. Devolution will help ensure the success of these sectors in kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
• Better serve our communities – Local people will have real power to influence decisions about their area through the Local Community Networks (LCNs) established across the county. They will decide what’s most important for their locality and work together with other stakeholders and public services to agree how best to achieve it.
• Greater investment in services – Financial sustainability is at the heart of the new council as we deliver an Improvement and Transformation Programme driving improvements which ensure long term financial sustainability and continue to innovate the way we deliver vital services.
• Simpler access to services – We’ve been making accessing council support more straightforward for residents, communities, and businesses as well as working much more closely with key partners where it most makes sense.

The unitary council for Somerset will give us the scale to match our ambitions, to innovate and look afresh at how the public sector should be providing services to, and with, our communities for years to come.