Liberal Democrat-run Somerset Council has now adopted its Economic Prosperity Strategy 2025–2045, setting out long-term aims to grow the local economy. But while the Conservative Opposition recognises the need for a strategic direction, councillors have raised concerns about gaps in the document and doubts about the Council’s ability to follow through.
Councillor John Cook-Woodman, the Conservative spokesperson for Economic Development, Planning and Assets, said: “It’s extremely important we have an economic strategy in Somerset, and I welcome this. I would like to mention the tourism side of it. It’s a very, very important industry in Somerset." He added:
If we're looking to lift people from economic inactivity into employment, tourism provides very good entry-level jobs. It’s a great conduit into work.
He also highlighted the importance of caravan holidays and the hospitality sector, which “brings money into Somerset and makes the businesses thrive.”
Councillor Lucy Trimnell said she was concerned that farming and agriculture had not received the attention they deserve saying:
Farming and agriculture get a mention, but probably not the full recognition that I felt that it needed compared to its significance to the economy.
Quoting a 2021 NFU article, she said food production is worth over £500 million to Somerset and employs around 19,000 people. She also raised a warning about the use of farmland as phosphate mitigation for housing developments, saying this risks “dismantling farms” and “removing them from the economy.”
Councillor Bob Filmer focused on whether the Council is in a position to deliver what it has promised. Referring to employment sites and planning, he said: “We talk about accelerating employment sites, businesses, we talk about the delivery of housing. We make reference to the local plan and implementation of that. It’s not just implementing the plan, it’s actually delivering on the ground.” He called for greater acknowledgement of the Council’s role in highways infrastructure and planning decisions, warning that:
There may be a lot of businesses that want to come to Somerset, but if we can’t deliver at speed, they’ll go somewhere else.
Opposition Leader Councillor Diogo Rodrigues raised concerns about the limited focus on Somerset’s town centres and the omission of local evidence behind some of the conclusions in the document. “This document sets out broad ambitions, but it’s light on the practical detail needed to reverse decline in some of our communities,” he said. Referring to Bridgwater, he noted that footfall had fallen by 400,000 year-on-year, compared to a reported rise in Taunton, and called for the Council to better explain what’s working in some Towns and not others, and why. “When local people measure economic success, one of the things they think about is: is our town centre thriving, or is it not?”
Councillor Rodrigues added:
The Council cannot afford to overpromise and underdeliver. We’ll judge this strategy by the results it produces, and we’ll keep challenging the Liberal Democrat administration to deliver for every part of Somerset.
