Chair of Somerset Council Mike Best hosted a heartwarming and uplifting evening of celebration to recognise Somerset’s unsung community heroes.

More than 130 people gathered for the annual Chair’s Awards ceremony – and those unable to attend will be visited by Cllr Best who will present their award.

Somerset Council is reconsidering its position on the sale of Saxonvale, Frome, as proof of funding from Mayday Saxonvale Development Ltd to complete the purchase of the site has not been forthcoming.

An Extraordinary Executive meeting consisting of a single item agenda will take place at Frome Town Hall on 24 October to consider alternative routes to dispose of the site.

Somerset Council’s Libraries service is relaunching its Winter Coat Exchange scheme, designed to support the community by providing access to warm coats for anyone in need.

Now in its third year, the scheme has been increasingly successful with 2,470 coats donated and 2,086 taken last winter. The excess donations were given to the charity RAFT – Refugee Aid From Taunton.

Somerset Council and SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK are thrilled to announce the winners of its first-ever Food Waste Story Writing Competition, held in partnership with local author Ben Pulletz and his eco-conscious character, ‘Luna the Globetrotter’.

Somerset children have shown creativity and imagination in a story competition, aimed to get young people thinking about the benefits of food waste recycling and to use their creativity to inspire others to recycle.

Calling all Somerset schools: Somerset Council needs your help in naming 2 gritting vehicles – new to the fleet – this year.

Winter is only round the corner and Somerset Council and its highways contractor Kier are gearing up for the season, making sure the gritters are ready for whatever weather comes our way.

Rough sleeping is the most visible form of homelessness. It’s typically associated with sleeping outside but also refers to sleeping in a place not designed for living, such as an empty building or a car.

Outreach workers from the Council and its partners go around the county regularly to identify people who are sleeping rough with the aim to support them to find permanent accommodation.

Volunteers are being asked to step forward to help keep open the Ilminster-Chard Shared Path, also known as the Cycleway or The Stop Line Way.

The call has come from the Crewkerne and Ilminster Local Community Network (LCN) Active Travel Working Group, one of the network of groups established by Somerset Council in partnership with communities.

Somerset residents are being encouraged to make a simple but powerful pledge this autumn – to support friends, family members and colleagues who are thinking about quitting smoking.

Smokefree Somerset has launched the ‘What’s Your Why?’ Pledge, a community driven campaign that encourages open conversations, shared motivation, and practical support to inspire loved ones to take that first step towards a healthier, smoke-free future.

Every community is affected by the widespread problem of domestic abuse, which impacts both individuals and their families. Solicitors often find themselves on the front lines, navigating sensitive and complex cases where the stakes are incredibly high.

To better equip legal professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to support clients experiencing domestic abuse, Somerset Council has launched the Domestic Abuse Toolkit for Solicitors.