|
News roundup
|
|
|
Selling properties, increasing Council Tax further, and reducing services are among options being considered as Somerset Council faces up to a £100m funding blackhole.
Latest budget figures which go before Somerset Council’s Executive on 8 November are expected to show an estimated £70m increase in expected adult social care costs for 2024/25.
Somerset Council has signed a new eight-year contract with Kier Transportation Ltd to deliver core maintenance across its road network.
The £225m agreement covers key maintenance works – including road repairs, drainage, verge cutting and winter service, such as gritting and other emergency functions in adverse weather.
 Somerset Council’s fleet of 23 gritters is ready to be mobilised across 900 miles of road as soon as the temperature drops below zero this winter.
Last year our gritter fleet went out on 67 occasions when freezing temperatures were forecast.
|
|
|
North Taunton Woolaway construction site
Homes England has awarded £5m grant from the Affordable Homes Programme to Somerset Council to support the North Taunton Woolaway Project.
The grant allocation is the first of its kind, following the new regeneration flexibilities to the Affordable Home Programme agreed with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) earlier this year.
Image courtesy of HM Government
The UK government has launched the It All Adds Up campaign, a public information campaign to highlight no and low-cost actions that will cut down on energy usage and bills. These are actions that can offer financial savings this winter.
Follow the Government's helpful tips on easy, effective ways to conserve energy in your household. These small easy actions could add up to big savings on your energy bills.
Reminiscence Learning, based in Wellington
Somerset Community Foundation, in partnership with Somerset Council and NHS Somerset, recently awarded over £150,000 in grants to 44 local community groups in the latest round of Cost-of-Living grants this summer.
The grants will help groups across the county cope with rising energy bills and offer more support to people in Somerset who are struggling to make ends meet.
|
|
Demolition work is due to start next week on the Taunton Recycling site following the major fire which has closed the site since early October.
Specialist equipment is expected to arrive over the weekend, with demolition of the badly damaged Material Recovery Facility (MRF) due to start on Monday (30 Oct).
The MRF adjacent to the public recycling area is beyond repair and the recycling site is not safe to open until it is demolished.
|
Fireworks night is just around the corner and Somerset Council is reminding everyone, to stay safe, reduce waste and follow the advice of the fire service.
Fireworks night is a fun time of year, with parties and back garden displays of bright lights and rockets. It is important that residents take care, celebrate fireworks night safely, and reduce waste where possible.
|
Noise equipment has been seized from a property in Bridgwater, using powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The occupant was warned on several occasions by Somerset Council’s Environmental Health, to keep noise to a reasonable level. However, all warnings were completely ignored, and disturbance was caused to others.
|
The Somerset Local Pantry Network (SLPN) has won FareShare South West’s Social Impact Award for Community and Sustainability.
Food charity FareShare South West launched their Social Impact Awards this year, and SLPN have won the Community and Sustainability category for the innovative ways the network utilises food for community resilience.
|
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) are the legal way in which Somerset Council can prosecute dog owners for a series of dog control issues, such as failure to pick up dog poo, dogs on leads and places where dogs are not allowed such as Childrens’ play areas.
Somerset Council launched a consultation today (27 October), closing on 17 November 2023, seeking the views of residents and businesses about the proposed changes to PSPOs in relations to dogs in the Somerset North area (ex-Sedgemoor), which are due for renewal in December 2023.
|
Somerset Council is continuing to work alongside businesses and organisations in Watchet to boost visitor numbers and support the local economy following the closure of the B3191 Cleeve Hill.
It has provided £30,000 of funding to the Watchet Task Force comprising members of the Town Council and Chamber of Trade, to promote the town through a range of initiatives and events.
|
Work to upgrade the children’s play area in Ninesprings, Yeovil Country Park, will begin on Monday 30 October.
The £220,000 refurbishment will see play equipment that has reached its end of life replaced with more inclusive and accessible equipment that offers greater play value.
|
|
|
|
|
