CHRISTMAS is traditionally a quiet time for local government.

Across the county, offices will be closing up for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, with councillors and officers alike heading to their respective families for all the usual festivities.

But once both the bank holidays are behind us, 2019 promises to be a very busy year for Somerset.

There are a lot of things which are expected to come along in 2019 but for which specific time-scales have not been provided.

The people of Chard, for instance, will be hopeful for progress on the demolition of the former ACI buildings as part of a wider regeneration scheme – and with it, positive steps towards securing a new swimming pool.

But there are a decent number of events or milestones which we can expect in the new year.

Here’s a rundown of everything that we currently expect to happen in Somerset local government for the next 12 months (all dates listed below are the most recently reported time-scales and are subject to change).

JANUARY

January 7 – Taunton Deane Borough Council will appoint its chosen contractor for the regeneration of the Coal Orchard site on Taunton’s riverside.

January 11 – Mendip District Council will hold a public exhibition in Frome to get feedback on its proposed regeneration of the town’s Saxonvale site.

January 14 – Pay-on-exit parking will finally be launched at several town centre car parks in Taunton, following a delay for further testing.

January 14 – South Somerset District Council will begin a month-long public consultation on its proposals to regeneration Wincanton town centre.

January 15 – A six-day planning inquiry will begin in Taunton into plans for 200 homes on Langaller Lane in Creech St Michael, which were refused by Taunton Deane Borough Council.

Mid- to late-January: The first details of £15M of proposed savings by Somerset County Council will be published and discussed by the relevant scrutiny committees.

January 22 – A four-day planning inquiry will get under way in Yeovil over plans for 65 homes on Station Road in Milborne Port, which were turned down by South Somerset District Council.

January 31 – Somerton residents can attend a public exhibition showing the designs of their town’s new primary school.

Late-January – A report will be published into the different options for reforming local government in Somerset – including the possibility of a unitary authority for the whole county

FEBRUARY

February 1 – The deadline for residents to give their feedback on the designs for the proposed tidal barrier over the River Parrett in Bridgwater.

February 4 – Work will begin on the regeneration of the Coal Orchard site in Taunton, spanning five phases and due for completion by September 2020.

Mid-February: Somerset County Council will set its budget for the coming year, confirming any rise in council tax and approving any savings proposals. The five (soon to be four) district councils will set their budgets around the same time.

February 24: A public consultation on the future of maternity services in and around the Royal United Hospital in Bath (including those in Frome and Paulton) will end.

MARCH

Early- to- mid-March: A £19.2M project to upgrade Junction 25 of the M5 will get under way, beginning up to two years of disruption for motorists.

Early- to mid-March: The Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will decide whether its staffing levels are sufficient to reopen inpatient wards at Chard and Dene Barton community hospitals.

March 14 – The Somerset Waste Partnership will announce its contractor for the Recycle More initiative, which will be rolled out from March 2020.

Mid-March: the district councils enter purdah ahead of the local elections – meaning they cannot announce any new spending or new policies until the elections are over.

Mid-March: A report on the future of travellers sites in Taunton Deane will come before the full council, following residents’ complaints about camping near the Kingston Stream in Taunton.

March 29: The UK leaves the European Union.

March 31: Community access could end at a number of leisure centres which were formally operated under contract by 1610 Leisure Ltd. The buildings will be transferred to the neighbouring schools.

Late-March: Highways England will announce its preferred route for the dualling of the A358 between the M5 near Taunton and the Southfields roundabout near Ilminster, where the road joins the A303.

APRIL 

April 1 – Somerset West and Taunton Council officially takes control, replacing Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council.

Late-April: Up to 13 libraries will become run by community library partnerships by this date, following decisions taken by Somerset County Council in late-2018.

MAY

May 2: Elections will be held for Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset West and Taunton Council, and South Somerset District Council.

Early- to mid-May: Further public consultation will be staged on plans to pedestrianise East Street, Hammet Street and St James Street within Taunton’s town centre.

Late-May: A project to improve car parking, public transport links and public access at Bridgwater railway station is expected to finish.

Late-May: West Somerset Railway could begin to run services direct from Taunton to Minehead as part of a 60-day trial if funding from Great Western Railway is granted

JUNE

Late-June: Work on the Yeovil western corridor will finish with the completion of improvements to the Preston Road roundabout.

JULY TO DECEMBER

Late-July: South Somerset District Council will publish the results of its review into car parking provision across the district.

Late-July: Any agreed changes to maternity services to the RUH catchment area will be implemented from this date.

August 1: Somerset West and Taunton Council’s new leisure service contractor will begin operating leisure centres and swimming pools across the district, following the expiry of the existing GLL contract.

Early-September: Interim funding for the two park and ride sites in Taunton will run out. The existing Gateway and Silk Mills sites will close unless a viable commercial service can be installed before this date. 

Late-September: Free car parking in Wincanton will end (assuming nothing in the South Somerset car parking review changes this). 

Late-September: The first flats on the Coal Orchard site in Taunton will be available for public viewing.

October: Work on the Colley Lane Southern Access Road in Bridgwater will be completed.

December: A new rail franchise will begin on the  cross country route via Taunton and Bridgwater. Sedgemoor District Council has lobbied for more stops at the latter station.