The towns where you pay £300 more in council tax

On the outskirts of towns across Somerset are streets where you will pay £300 a year less in council tax than your near neighbours.

If you live just over the boundary of the town council, and in a smaller parish council's catchment, your bills are likely to be significantly lower.

That is the situation in Yeovil, Taunton and Bridgwater, where the town councils have put up their share of council tax to pay for services they are taking on from Somerset Council, as it tries to avoid going effectively bust.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring parishes of Trull, Yeovil Without and Wembdon have not had to pick up this tab, but their residents often live within walking distance of the town's facilities.

A Band D household in Wembdon is getting an overall council tax bill for £2,337 for 2025-26 while the equivalent home in Bridgwater Town Council's area will be £2,666.

So how do people left paying the higher council tax contributions feel about this?

Jenna Salter lives in the Bridgwater Town Council area and said she "wasn't expecting" the much higher bill that arrived at her home this week.

"We're quite worried about it," she said. "We're not sure how to pay it and not fall into debt, and then fall into further holes."

Ms Salter, like others the BBC spoke to, does not feel she is seeing any return for the higher council tax being charged by Somerset Council and the town council.

"It's not like it's been looked after. The three parks around my street are destroyed and the anti-social behaviour around it is still just as bad.

"It doesn't feel like there has been any care given to the people."

Somerset Council was given exceptional permission by the government to raise its share of overall council tax by 7.49% for 2025-26.

It is calling on the government to fix what it called a "broken" system of local government funding, which sees it spend 75% of its budget on adult and children's social services.

"I get what they are saying about the child social care and stuff like that," said Ms Salter. "But everything still seems like it's overworked and there's such a wait for things to be put into place to help things get better."

She said whether it was the NHS or special needs support in schools, the answer was always: "I'm sorry, we can't do anything. We've not got the time. The waiting list is 18 months.

"We don't see the benefit of what they're putting it up for."

On a sunny day, there was no shortage of people wanting to talk to me about their council tax bills, which are just arriving in the post.

Rosemary Walford said it felt unfair people down the road in Wembdon paid less council tax than town council residents like herself.

"I had my bill yesterday and it's gone up £13 a month on a Band A property, a one-bed flat."

"It's disgraceful because it was £120 a month for the year just gone. So's its £133 now.

"I knew they were putting up more than anybody else because it's been on the local news.

"I live in a council property and my rent's gone up as well, so it's a double whammy," Rosemary told me.

Terry Baker and his wife had walked into town from their home in south-east Bridgwater.

He said he was expecting their higher bill, which had gone up by about 10% overall.

"Bridgwater Town Council has gone up a lot, 38%, and I'm not sure why - but there's nothing I can do about it now," he said.

Bridgwater Town Council's portion of overall council tax has nearly quadrupled in the past two years, as it has expanded to take on services Somerset Council said it could no longer afford.

Town council leader Brian Smedley said the authority was "committed to preserving jobs, maintaining services, and protecting the assets that our community relies on".

The increase, he said, ensured "that our parks and gardens remain open, our streets stay clean, and our community buildings remain active".

However, Mr Baker added he and his wife were "well insulated" from the higher bills.

"I've got three pensions and no mortgage - that makes the difference. We've had to watch our money in the past but I think now it's happy days."

Standing in a shop doorway, I spoke to one woman who said she simply would not be paying the extra council tax being asked of her.

"I do direct debits and I'm going into my bank and I am not changing my direct debit from last year.

"Last year it was £139 a month - this year it's £178 a month. I can't afford it.

"My water bill's gone up £200 as well.

"I've lived here all my life. I'm trying to run a business - that's not very good at the moment so I've got a part-time job just to make ends meet," she said.

Leon Baker was visiting Bridgwater from Burnham-on-Sea with his friend Valerie Stone.

"You don't seem to be getting anything out of it. They don't clean the roads properly," he said.

I put to him that Somerset Council said it was having to spend a lot of money on adult social care and children's social services.

"Why should we have to pay - why don't the parents pay for them?" he added.

A point that was echoed by his friend, Ms Stone.

"What do we get? We don't get the streets cleaned, emptying the bins - sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. If they can't get through for vehicles they don't empty.

"Why is the council got into such a state?" she asked.

The friends were at least relieved to hear their annual council bills in Burnham and Highbridge were, on average, about £200 a year less than their counterparts in Bridgwater.

One local debt advice charity is warning more people are likely to go into debt from next month due to the higher council tax as well as other utility bills, which are going up from April.

Taunton Area Debt Advice, which covers most of the western half of Somerset including Bridgwater, said it needed more volunteers to train as advisers in anticipation of more people needing their help.

Dr Janet Gillett, chairperson and debt advisor, said: "As debt advisers, we have a very special privilege of walking with someone as they transition from being in financial difficulties into freedom from debt.

"We aim to take the weight off their shoulders and provide them with a plan, make arrangements and negotiate agreements. We provide hope."

If you or someone you know has been affected by issues raised in this BBC article, you can find information and support on the BBC Action Line pages.

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