Somerset Council is our new unitary council that took over in April 2023 from Somerset County Council and Somerset West and Taunton Council.
Town and parish councils are smaller local councils. They can provide or support local facilities, such as allotments and playing fields, and also provide additional representation for their communities, alongside Somerset Councillors.
Services provided, with links, are given below. Also see community and other public services.
Finding service information, reporting problems, placing orders and making enquiries is often easiest to do on the new Somerset Council website. The website is still being improved and more content will be added. If needed, there is a single phone number to call Somerset Council: 0300 123 2224
Somerset Councillors for the Upper Tone Division are: Cllr Dave Mansell and Cllr Gwil Wren. We cover Wiveliscombe town and the parishes of Ashbrittle, Bathealton, Bradford-on-Tone, Chipstable, Fitzhead, Halse, Langford Budville, Milverton, Nynehead, Oake, Sampford Arundel, Stawley, and Wellington Without.
Contact details for all Somerset Councillors.
Somerset Council services (click on links for details and contacts) include:
COUNCIL TAX AND BENEFITS
ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND WASTE
- Climate and ecological emergency, including projects, funding and strategies.
- Environment and food safety, including dog control, environmental health, pollution, noise and nuisance.
- Fly-tipping: report on public land to council, report on private land to police.
- Flooding information and advice.
- Litter and street cleaning.
- Planning, including applications, building control, enforcement and plans. Also see: Planning Portal – do you need planning permission.
- Planning, buildings and land, including biodiversity, building your own home, heritage, landscape, trees and hedges, phosphates and street names.
- Recycling and waste collections (order bins and report missed collections).
- Recycling Centres (nearest at Taunton and Wellington) and waste disposal.
- Guidance on waste reduction and reuse, hazardous waste and business waste.
HOUSING
- Housing support, including council and social housing, affordable housing, housing options, multiple occupation homes, and advice and grants.
- Homefinder Somerset.
- Homelessness advice and assistance.
- Refugee resettlement.
- Also see home assistance under community services.
SOCIAL CARE, EDUCATION, FAMILIES AND HEALTH PROMOTION
- Adult social care, including carers, care homes, help to live at home, safeguarding, and Somerset Lifeline.
- Children’s services, including adoption, fostering, early years childcare, safeguarding, social care, and child protection, health and wellbeing.
- Education, including adult learning, special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and school transport.
- Health, safety and wellbeing, including mental health, smoking and sexual health.
- Also see education and special needs under community services.
TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
- Apply for a Blue Badge – national parking concessions for people with severe walking difficulties who travel as drivers or passengers. Also for people who are severely sight impaired and for people with hidden disabilities including autism and mental health conditions.
- Roads, travel and parking, including buses, community transport, gritting, parking, permits, rights of way (report a problem), road safety, roadworks, street lighting and travel.
- Report problems on the road, including potholes, overgrowth and blocked drains.
- Road sweeping.
- Roadworks and travel – live updates.
- Transport strategies, policies and plans, including buses, cycling, parking, road safety, trains and walking.
- Also see transport under community services, including for local service providers and reporting accidents and incidents on the road.
OTHER SERVICES
- Births, ceremonies and deaths.
- Business, economy and licences, including advice and support, commercial land and properties, markets and street trading, regeneration, town centres.
- Civil contingencies, including emergency response.
- Council and democracy, including complaints, council meetings, elections and Local Community Networks.
- Heritage and museums – South West Heritage Trust.
- Jobs and careers with the council.
- Leisure and tourism, including arts and entertainment, parks and open spaces, sport, community centres and village halls, heritage, community safety and volunteering.
- Libraries.
- Somerset intelligence, including statistics and research on Somerset.
- Trading standards.
–
Parish and Town Councils
Parish and town councils represent their areas and can provide additional local services to those provided by Somerset Council.
As Somerset Councillors, Dave Mansell and Gwil Wren cover the following parishes in the Upper Tone division:
- Ashbrittle Parish Council
- Bathealton Parish Council
- Bradford-on-Tone Parish Council
- Chipstable Parish Council
- Fitzhead Parish Council
- Halse Parish Council
- Langford Budville Parish Council
- Milverton Parish Council
- Oake Parish Council
- Nynehead Parish Council
- Sampford Arundel Parish Council
- Stawley Parish Council
- Wellington Without Parish Council
- Wiveliscombe Town Council
Wellington and Wiveliscombe Local Community Network
Local Community Networks are area boards connecting the new Somerset Council to town and parish councils, community organisations and other partners, such as the Police and NHS. These started in summer 2023 and should evolve over time, with the aim of addressing local priorities. There are 18 LCNs in Somerset, with ours called the Wellington and Wiveliscombe Local Community Network.
–
