WEST Somerset councillors voted by an overwhelming majority this week to merge with Taunton Deane Borough Council, despite being urged by local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger to delay their decision until after he meets with Prime Minister Teresa May next week.
At Wednesday’s special council meeting, chairman Cllr Bruce Heywood said the decision was “the most important since the council came into being 42 years ago”.
Urging councillors to act in a “statesmanlike manner,” he added: “Let’s make it an occasion we’ll always remember.”
Presenting the recommendation for a merger, council leader Cllr Anthony Trollope-Bellew said joining with Taunton Deane Borough Council “will ensure our community is best placed for the future”.
“It is a very sad day indeed but the situation is as it is,” he said. “West Somerset is a very special case, unique, but we are not just here as a voice to represent the feelings of the people of West Somerset, our main purpose is to deliver services.”
Full report in the Free Press