Castle Cary Proposes Merger with Neighboring Ansford Parish Amid Rapid Growth Thursday, September 18, 2025 castlecary ansford somerset parishcouncil localelections governance boundarychange housinggrowth community consultation Castle Cary, a rapidly growing town in Somerset, is considering merging with its neighboring parish, Ansford, ahead of the upcoming local elections—pending resident approval of the proposals. Over the past decade, Castle Cary … Read More
Pupils Feel Safer as Kewstoke Primary School Shows Clear Improvement Following Ofsted Review Wednesday, September 17, 2025 kewstoke ofsted safeguarding attendance behaviour governance education improvement primary inspection Kewstoke Primary School in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, is demonstrating encouraging progress after a troubling Ofsted report last October found the school had serious weaknesses. The latest monitoring visit on April 23, … Read More
‘Shocking waste of public money’ over WECA exit payments Tuesday, September 16, 2025 weca governance exitpayments publicfunds audit localgovernment politics finance scandal accountability The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has come under fire for spending nearly half a million pounds in one year on exit payments for senior staff, a sum condemned by a councillor as “a completely shocking waste of … Read More
WECA Spent Over £475K on Staff Exit Payments in Dan Norris’ Final Year as Mayor Sunday, September 7, 2025 weca governance exitpackages staffturnover dannorris mayor audit procurement politicalrelations helengodwin The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) allocated nearly half a million pounds to exit packages and settlements for senior staff in Dan Norris’ final year as mayor. According to the 2024/25 interim annual report by … Read More
WECA Seeks New Communications Director with Salary Up to £138,000 and Bus Ticket Perks Thursday, August 7, 2025 weca communications salary publicsector transport recruitment governance devolution politics procurement The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is currently recruiting a new Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, offering a substantial salary range of £102,000 to £138,000, depending on experience. Remarkably, … Read More
Somerset Council ‘Betting the House’ on Transformation to Avert Financial Crisis Wednesday, August 6, 2025 somerset council transformation bankruptcy budget austerity localgovernment restructuring publicservices governance Somerset Council is taking a high-stakes gamble on the next phase of its transformation programme to prevent an effective bankruptcy. Established in April 2023, the newly formed council inherited legacy systems and staff from … Read More