THE building that housed West Somerset Council will not be sold off – despite its being too small to hold most meetings there.

When Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWAT) was officially formed in April, it took over both Deane House in Taunton and West Somerset House in Williton, the previous councils’ bases.

The main chamber in Williton is too small to host full council meetings, or any meetings which attract a large public attendance – meaning residents have to go to Taunton to have their voices heard.

But the council has said it has no plans to sell off the building as a result, and is looking at other ways to get around this problem.

Concerns were raised in June when a full council meeting, with a controversial issue of public interest on the agenda, was moved to Taunton at short notice due to “a lack of tables and chairs” in Williton.

When the new council was created, a commitment was made to hold at least one in every three meetings in Williton, although this was “subject to agenda items and anticipated attendance levels”.

The council said it was looking at whether West Somerset House could be refurbished or have its furniture replaced to enable more meetings to be held there.

A spokesman said: “There are no plans to sell West Somerset House.

“We have committed to holding some meetings at different venues where appropriate – for example, the planning committee, where it would be helpful to attendees if a meeting was held locally.

“We did hold full council meetings at alternative venues during the refurbishment of Deane House, and it is something we may consider again in the future.”

The council dismissed suggestions that the current situation was creating a “democratic deficit”, and said it was working on other means of getting the public engaged.

The spokesman added: “We are installing new AV equipment in Deane House that will enable us to live-stream meetings in the future, and allow members of the public to engage with council meetings in a different way.

“However, this will not suit all residents of the district and does not allow for public comments.

“We will review the situation with meeting venues as we come to the end of the first year.”