Have your say

Somerset Council ran this survey with Exmoor National Park Authority and North Devon Council.

We wanted to understand local housing needs across Exmoor.

We asked people to take part even if they did not need housing now.

Overall, we received 381 responses:

357 households currently living in Exmoor National Park covering over 40 parishes across the whole of Exmoor.

• 14 households had previously lived in Exmoor National Park
• 8 households had never lived in Exmoor National Park

Of the 357 households currently living within Exmoor, 170 are looking to move in the next five years:

• 44 as soon as possible
• 27 within the next 12 months
• 43 within 1-3 years
• 56 within 3-5 years

Of the 357 households which responded to this consultation, 71 expressed they wanted to live in an Exmoor parish to carry out paid work. Of these, 7 currently live outside Exmoor.  

We are reviewing your feedback which will help inform housing in Exmoor National Park.

We asked what you thought about the draft Somerset Adult Social Care Strategy for 2026 to 2029.

We used different ways to gather feedback so more people could take part.

We asked about your experience of getting care and support in Somerset, and what could make services better.

We received 116 responses to the online consultation.

• 94 responses were from people who use services, carers, or Somerset residents.
• 8 responses were from health and care providers or professionals.

You told us about the challenges of getting support.

You told us what works well and what needs to improve.

You told us what would help you live the life you want.

We read all your feedback.

We will use your feedback to update the strategy.

We will keep involving people and professionals as this work continues.

This will help make sure services meet the needs of our communities.

Find out more about Somerset's Adult Social Care Strategy here.

We asked for your views from 21 January to 17 March 2026 on proposals that aimed to improve access for people who walk, cycle and ride horses in five locations across Somerset.

• We sent letters to residents near the proposed changes.
• We contacted local Councillors, Parish, City and Town councils.
• We shared letters and maps online for each location.
• We invited feedback to help shape future decisions.

We received 662 responses through the consultation from residents, landowners, businesses, visitors, Town and Parish councillors and other organisations via the online consultation survey, emails, letters and by phone. This is broken down below for each location. The majority of the responses (560) were from residents.

• 218 responses about Burcott Lane - Wells
• 85 responses about Neville's Batch - Gurney Slade
• 254 responses about Comeytrowe Road - Taunton
• 58 responses about Touches Lane - Chard
• 47 responses about Downend Road - Puriton

We reviewed the responses to inform which locations to progress.

Locations that received over 50% of responses against the proposals to suggest a lack of community support will not proceed to the next stage. This was the case for Gurney Slade with 88%, and Puriton with 70%.  

The remaining schemes in Wells, Taunton and Chard will be developed further, informed by the comments received. An update will be issued to key local stakeholders that include local Councillors and appropriate Town, City and Parish Council stakeholders in 2027 to inform of next steps, with a revised timetable on the development and potential delivery of the proposals. This will include engaging with local stakeholders and communities to refine proposals prior to any subsequent trial being put in place.