Somerset Council have restarted the Community Governance Review (CGR) process and are seeking views on whether:
Huish Episcopi should retain an independent parish council or merge with Langport
A merged parish council should have wards
The number of councillors a merged parish should have
You can respond to the consultation here, and I would encourage you to do so regardless of your views on the merger. The consultation closes on Friday 14th August, so make sure to take two minutes before then!
What happened to the first CGR?
Somerset Council exceeded the time limit for concluding a CGR and were forced to abandon it. They could have left it there, but instead decided to restart the process from scratch, so here we are.
There are some notable moments from the first CGR that are worth sharing:
63% of respondents from Huish Episcopi said NO to a merger at the second stage of consultation
Somerset Council’s officers recommended NO MERGE
Somerset Council’s Constitution and Governance Committee decided to overturn that recommendation and proceed towards a merger, before Somerset abandoned the attempt after running out of time to ratify the decision of the committee
Ansford and Castle Cary - a similar case
In February 2026, Somerset’s Constitution and Governance Committee considered evidence from the CGR for Ansford and Castle Cary. 64% of respondents from Ansford said no to a merger, and Somerset listened (agenda item 6).
Councillor Tim Kerley (Liberal Democrat, Somerton) is reported as saying:
“Having set through a similar one in Langport and Huish Episcopi, I see the arguments are pretty much the same. The difference here is the local population haven't been taken with the argument, and I think we have to respect that.”
Is a one percent difference in responses against a merger truly the dividing line between a local population being ‘taken with the argument’ or not? I’ll let you decide that one.
Does Huish Episcopi contribute to local services and facilities?
I have seen many claims that Huish Episcopi does not contribute towards local services and facilities over the past two years. Well, let’s take a look at those past two years and see where we stand.
The figures lay bare the contributions made by Huish Episcopi residents, via their parish council, to keep shared services and facilities running. For perspective, Huish Episcopi Parish Council’s average budget across 24/25, 25/26 and 26/27 is around £100,000. This equates to roughly 39% of Huish Episcopi’s total budget for the three year period being used to fund shared services and facilities, not including any further spending across what remains of 26/27 or smaller grants awarded between April 2024 and June 2026.
Why is Langport so keen to merge with Huish Episcopi?
Somerset’s report from last year shows that 94% of Langport residents support the merger. Why?
The residents of Langport stand to gain financially from a merger, through a significant reduction in their precept, the component of council tax bills that is levied by town and parish councils.
Having hundreds of pounds returned to your pocket is a sufficient enough incentive for any other factors, positive or negative, to be excluded from consideration. Nobody can blame the residents of Langport for supporting the merger with such an outcome available to them.
Is a merger the only way to reduce council tax in Langport?
This is ultimately for Langport Town Council to decide. However, residents of Huish Episcopi should understand some of Langport’s key expenses as they decide whether the merger is the only way to reduce council tax in Langport. Additionally, under a joint council, Huish Episcopi residents would become liable for funding these.
Langport’s budgeted wage bill is £56,936 this year - 39.6% of its total expected spend. Huish Episcopi’s projected wage bill is £16,500, or 13.7% of total expected spend.
Langport Town Council maintains a physical presence at the Town Hall, whereas Huish Episcopi Parish Council has no office. This year, it is expected to cost Langport Town Council £4,850 in rent and utilities, £2,120 in business rates and £600 for telephone and broadband services.
Independence is agency
Huish Episcopi Parish Council can currently choose what to support in Langport. Significant support is given, as shown earlier, but it is through choice. In the event of a merger, there will no longer be an effective mechanism to prevent the flow of funds from Huish Episcopi to Langport where there is negligible benefit for Huish residents.
A merged council is likely to see Langport as the ‘centre’ of the parish, as it is largely seen now. Funds are nearly always directed towards what is perceived as the centre of any urban area, for the ‘benefit of all’, while the periphery receives little direct attention. This risk is disproportionately felt by residents of Huish Episcopi, while residents of Langport can be confident that the new council will invest time and money in their neighbourhood.
Devolution: the double edged sword
Often touted as a benefit for local areas, devolution comes with significant challenges too. To get it out of the way, it is worth mentioning that the government’s devolution programme does not provide additional powers to town and parish councils.
Where this gets interesting is when we look at devolution more locally, specifically since Somerset Council came into being in 2023. By November of that year, the leader of Somerset began a devolution programme as part of a range of measures to tackle the severe financial difficulties the council was (and still is) facing.
This devolution programme involves town and parish councils being invited to take on responsibility, and in some cases ownership of assets, for locally delivered services. Naturally, this is more suited to urban areas that can raise their precept, by less than an astronomical amount, to absorb the cost of delivering devolved services and/or maintaining additional assets.
We can see the impact of this programme above on the precepts of Bridgwater and Yeovil, as just a few examples. Huish Episcopi, by comparison, has largely been able to escape devolution pressures.
The separate nature of Huish Episcopi and Langport is a structural barrier to meaningful devolution in our area. Langport does not have enough residents to take on responsibility for funding services without a very large increase in the precept, while Huish Episcopi does not have significant services delivered by Somerset within the parish.
By merging the two parishes, both of these problems are solved. The per-household precept increase will be more manageable if spread across the combined population, and Huish Episcopi residents would become liable to fund them.
Contrary to the ‘larger voice’ argument made in favour of the merger, it in fact alters the conditions to where ‘our voice’ is the only thing preventing devolution. It is likely that many councillors would be tempted by the additional responsibilities and be eager to take them on.
The knock on consequence of this type of devolution is that the parish would require an increased number of staff, or have to pay external contractors (or even Somerset Council!), to deliver these services, which can only mean precept increases.
We should remember that Somerset Council’s savings from devolution do not reduce their portion of your council tax bill. You end up paying more overall to receive the same services as before.
If we cannot retain an independent parish council, what is the next best option?
A combined parish with wards, without question. Warding splits a parish into defined electoral areas, ensuring dedicated representation for residents within each ward.
This is particularly important in an area such as ours. Huish Episcopi contains a number of hamlets such as Wearne and Pibsbury, and with no wards they are likely to have no voice whatsoever.
How should I respond to the consultation?
That is up to you! You may agree or disagree with what I have written above. You may have more questions or want to talk to friends, family and neighbours. Regardless of differences, the future of Huish Episcopi should be decided by its residents, in as informed a capacity as possible.