Bristol-area councils add beach, library and mobility access schemes while facing service and legal pressures

North Somerset Council is upgrading Weston-super-Mare's Campus Library with longer opening access and modern facilities, the North Somerset Times and Weston Mercury reported [1][12].

It is also trialling a new feature on Weston-super-Mare beach aimed at making the seafront more accessible, according to the same outlets [2][5].

Somerset Council is launching a rural active travel toolkit to help communities develop and deliver their own active travel schemes, the council said [10]. A new off-road mobility scooter is available for hire at Ham Hill Country Park, also from Somerset Council [11].

The North Somerset Times and Weston Mercury reported that North Somerset Council cancelled a planned Weston-super-Mare event after hundreds of residents queued at similar sessions [3][6]. The council was ordered to apologise after sending a woman a bill for three years' council tax with no explanation, the outlets reported [4][7]. A North Somerset mother says she is being forced to subsidise her disabled son's supported living costs from her own savings after council charges, according to the North Somerset Times and Weston Mercury [14][15].

The Somerset County Gazette reported that Somerset Council has paid £369,882 in relation to asbestos-related claims over 12 years, with hundreds of buildings with asbestos-containing materials [8][9]. It had its decision to refuse plans for 150 homes near the A303 confirmed by housing secretary Angela Rayner, the Somerset County Gazette said [16]. It approved plans to convert the final vacant section of a former pub into a hair salon and office space [18].

Five candidates will contest the vacant Somerset Council seat in the Frome West division by-election on 3 September, representing the Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Conservative Party, Labour Party and Reform UK, Somerset Council said [13][17].