TAUNTON Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council will cease to exist next year.

It has been confirmed the new combined council - named Somerset West and Taunton Council - will become the official authority from April 19.

Elections for the new councillors will take place in the month following, where an estimated number of 58 members will be elected, 26 fewer than the current amount across the two councils.

The Structural Change Order (SCO) to create the new council was signed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire MP.

The leaders of the existing councils, John Williams (Taunton Deane) and Anthony Trollope-Bellew (West Somerset), said they were ‘delighted’ by the progress.

They said: “This has been a long – and not always easy – process. We both have long affiliations to our respective areas and we remain proud to have led Taunton Deane and West Somerset through some turbulent times.

“Our focus is – and always has been – on our people: our residents, businesses, partners and our staff. The single new, modern and fit-for-purpose council will enable us to make savings of at least £3.1m for the taxpayer and help us to protect services people value, cut red tape, reduce duplication and keep council tax bills low.

“It means that our One Team of officers will, in future, be serving a single council and that will deliver significant financial and efficiency benefits as staff will no longer have to divide their time between two separate councils.

“While savings are important, this is also about being stronger together. Our shared, single team of staff has increased our capacity and made us more resilient. We need that resilience and purpose to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.”

They stressed the new council was not a ‘merger’ of the two current ones.

“This is about creating a new council that puts local people first and is fit for the 21st century. It won’t be a bolt-together or merger of the old. Council boundaries and names do not create identity – after all the current councils are not even 50 years old. Identity lies in our people, our landscape and our character.”

Until the new council comes into being, a shadow council will be in place. Its role is to ensure the safe transition from the two existing councils – Taunton Deane Borough and West Somerset – to the new council in April next year.

The shadow council consists of all 84 members of the two existing councils and is an entity in its own right.