Accessibility and active-travel projects rolled out as Somerset councils face service pressures and legacy costs

North Somerset Council is upgrading Weston-super-Mare's Campus Library with longer opening access and modern facilities [1][12]. It is also trialling a new feature on Weston-super-Mare beach aimed at making the seafront more accessible [2][5].

Somerset Council is launching a rural active travel toolkit to help communities develop and deliver their own active travel schemes, from large-scale multi-user paths to smaller improvements [10]. The council has also introduced an off-road mobility scooter for hire at Ham Hill Country Park, working in partnership with Disability Together [11].

Separate reports have highlighted service pressures and liabilities at both authorities. North Somerset Council cancelled a planned Weston-super-Mare event after hundreds of residents queued at similar sessions [3][6]. The council was also ordered to apologise after it sent a woman a bill for three years' council tax with no explanation [4][7]. Somerset Council has paid £369,882 in relation to asbestos-related claims over 12 years, with hundreds of buildings containing asbestos-containing materials [8][9].

Somerset Council also said five candidates will contest the vacant Frome West council seat in a by-election on 3 September [13].