A FORMER council headquarters in Williton will shut its doors for ten weeks to allow for vital refurbishment to take place.

West Somerset House, on Killick Way, served as the headquarters of West Somerset Council until its abolition in April 2019, and the joint headquarters of Somerset West and Taunton Council until its own abolition in April 2023.

The new unitary Somerset Council currently shares the building with Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which relocated from its base on the A39 Priest Street back in March 2021.

After considering selling off the building in September 2023, the council confirmed in March that it would remain home, with the library and other services being brought in to residents could access multiple services under one roof.

The council has now announced that the building will close on Christmas Eve and remain shut for ten weeks to allow this relocation and refurbishment to take place.

West Somerset House has been under-utilised for a number of years, with the number of public meetings being held there declining after the abolition of West Somerset Council.

The main chamber was deemed to be too small to host full council meetings, or any meetings which attract a large public attendance – meaning residents have to go to Taunton to have their voices heard.

Somerset West and Taunton Council stated in September 2019 that it had no desire to sell the building as a result of these shortcomings, adding it would “review the situation” regarding when and where meetings were held.

Since Somerset Council officially took over, no in-person meetings have been held at West Somerset House – with all meetings of its planning committee west (which deals with major housing developments in the former West Somerset area) taking place in Taunton and being live-streamed via Microsoft Teams.

The building will close on Christmas Eve at 3pm, with the current customer service point reopening in the library on Monday, January 2, 2025.

This service point will operate within the library every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm, with the facility being closed on Tuesday, Saturdays and Sundays.

The refurbishment is expected to take ten weeks – and when the building reopens in early-March 2025, the customer access point, the library and the local children’s centre will all be under one roof.

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts, portfolio holder for communities, housing and culture, said: “We’re pleased to be bringing our services in Williton to one place.

“The refurbishment of West Somerset House will provide residents with a modern place to access our services.

“Our customer access points provide assisted digital access to our online services.

“The access point will be open five days a week for residents, and they can contact the customer service team via a video assistance link (VAL) with the same questions that they would have raised in person.

All five of Somerset’s customer service points – located in Bridgwater, Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Williton and Yeovil – will all close for Christmas from 3pm on Christmas Eve and reopen on Monday, January 2, 2025.