Taunton Town Council (TTC) held an extraordinary full council meeting on 15 April 2025, chaired by the Mayor of Taunton, Councillor Vanessa Garside.
During this meeting, councillors considered the future of the provision of electrical supply for street traders in Taunton town centre. This provision was previously provided by Somerset Council as part of their licensing service. As they seek to make savings a decision was made by Somerset Council to remove the electricity supply on 1 April 2025, but later agreed to continue to supply electricity as a short-term measure.
Taunton Town Council councillors were asked to consider three options:
- Do nothing and let Somerset Council resolve the situation
- Provide support in the short term by making a contribution towards electricity to Somerset Council, allowing them to resolve the situation moving forward, which could include traders seeking alternative power sources.
- Invest in the Town Centre by implementing a pay as you go system for electricity use.
The street traders were invited to share their views with councillors as part of the meeting.
After carefully considering the matter Councillors have endorsed Option 3. Taunton Town Council agrees in principle to invest in the Town Centre by implementing a payas-you-go electricity supply system for street traders.
A final report will be submitted to the May Full Council meeting to set out the total capital and revenue costs, proposed funding sources and staffing arrangements. The final decision on implementation will be made following consideration of the report in May 2025. Somerset Council will be contacted to confirm they will maintain the supply in the interim.
Councillor Tom Deakin, Leader of Taunton Town Council said:
“We are delighted to invest in our town, creating a vibrant town centre is one of the key objectives of our corporate plan and securing the future of street trading in Taunton is a huge step towards that goal.
Investing in this infrastructure will ensure we are future proofing the supply and allow us to meter the traders for their individual electrical supply. We look forward to working closely with our traders moving forward.”