News from across the Council

Unpaid carers in Somerset are invited to join Somerset Council, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Community Council for Somerset (CCS) for a free drop-in event in Bridgwater.  Following a successful drop-in for unpaid carers that was held in Minehead, the…

Somerset is supporting this year’s national campaign for Stalking Awareness Week, 21 – 25 April, aimed at raising awareness about stalking, challenging common myths, and providing vital information to support those affected.   The initiative, which is backed by many organisations…

Your views have helped shape the way that planning applications will be validated in the Somerset Council area. From the 1 April 2025 all applications will need to use the updated and consolidated checklist which can be found here It…

Children across Somerset have found out which secondary school they will be attending from September 2025 on National Offer Day. This year, the Council received 4,743 secondary school applications compared to 4,772 in 2024. In total, 92.43% (4,384) of children received a place…

The Easter weekend means changes to recycling and rubbish collections across Somerset. Collections that would usually happen on Good Friday, 18 April, will take place on Saturday 19 April instead. There are no collections on Easter Monday, 21 April, and…

Tourism in Somerset and Exmoor is set for a major boost with the release of The Salt Path next month. Minehead, Porlock, Porlock Weir and stretches of the Exmoor coast all feature heavily in the film adaptation of Raynor Winn’s…

Somerset Council has completed the sale of C Block of County Hall in Taunton to Prime plc. Prime, a specialist developer of health and care property, intends to redevelop the 4,600 metre building to provide new key worker accommodation for…

Bridgwater’s Victoria Park Community Centre has played host to its first ever Skillshare event aiming to help residents reduce waste. The event brought together community members, local organisations and the general public on a day to collaborate and share sustainable…

A Major milestone in the regeneration of Yeovil has been reached with the start of demolition work on Glovers Walk by Somerset Council’s contractors. It is one of 4 key development sites in the town earmarked for major investment as…

Plans to transform Bridgwater Docks have taken an important step forward with Somerset Council’s appointment of design consultants for the project. The project is one of 11 schemes that fall under the umbrella of Bridgwater Town Deal that received £23.2million…

Work is starting on Somerset Council’s major scheme to strengthen Chard Reservoir’s barrier and help protect the dam from extreme future flooding events. The project, part funded by Somerset Rivers Authority, involves building a ‘wave wall’ to reduce the risk…

Somerset’s Pringles poppers can now recycle their empty tubes from the kerbside thanks to new style design that finally stacks up. Packaging for the popular snack has long been a thorn in the side of crisp-loving recyclers because of its…

Somerset Council and its waste collections contractor, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, are asking residents to help keep their crews safe. The plea comes following a spate of kitchen knives being found in the bright blue bag for recycling. In…

Somerset Council is undertaking a formal review into the local government and electoral arrangements for Langport and Huish Episcopi. The Community Governance Review (CGR) has been triggered following a valid petition from people living in both existing local council areas,…

The Somerset Corporate Parenting Board has unveiled its new strategy, co-written with children in care and care leavers. This strategy outlines Somerset Council’s guidelines and aims to ensure that children and young people in care are nurtured to grow and…

Unpaid carers in Somerset are invited to join Somerset Council, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Community Council for Somerset (CCS) for a series of drop-in sessions throughout 2025. The first of the series is set to take place on Monday…

More than 50 tonnes of plastic bags and wrapping has so far been recycled in Somerset Council’s trial collections. Somerset is 1 of 10 councils taking part in the national, Government-backed FlexCollect trial and the latest figures show that 51…

Somerset Council is urging visitors to Ham Hill to tread carefully and keep pets on leads when exploring the popular plateau fields at the south end of the site, to protect endangered and vulnerable ground-nesting skylarks. As we enter the…

Two consultations linked to dog controls in the south Somerset area have been launched by Somerset Council and are now live for public feedback. The Council is proposing to extend two existing orders; the first relates to a dog exclusion…

Cyclists and pedestrians are being urged by Somerset Council to be considerate and give each other space on multi-use paths in the county. The Council is reminding cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and other users of shared paths across the county…