Taunton Deane was a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

status in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. Its council was based in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District,

Taunton Rural District Taunton was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of Taunton Deane district. The ...

, and Wellington Rural District. Taunton Deane was granted

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

in 1975, perpetuating the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

alty of Taunton. The district was given the name of an alternative form of the Taunton Deane Hundred. In September 2016,

West Somerset West Somerset was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the English county of Somerset from 1974 to 2019. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the List of English dist ...

and Taunton Deane councils agreed in principle to merge the districts into one (with one council) subject to consultation. The new district would not be a unitary authority, with Somerset County Council still performing its functions. In March 2018 both councils voted in favour of the merger and it came into effect on 1 April 2019, with the first elections to the new council in May 2019. The new district was known as

Somerset West and Taunton Somerset West and Taunton was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 2019 to 2023. It was established on 1 April 2019 by the Somerset West and Taunton (Local Government Changes) Order 2018. The council replaced the Taunton Dean ...

Governance

The district was governed by Taunton Deane Borough Council, and had periods of both Conservative and Liberal Democrat control, as well as times under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

. At the final election in 2015, the Conservatives gained an increased majority on the council.

Settlements

Settlements in bold have a

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

or a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

over 2,500. * Ash Priors - Ashbrittle * Bathealton - Bickenhall -

Bishop's Hull Bishop's Hull is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, in the western suburbs of Taunton. It includes the areas of Rumwell, Rumwell Park, Roughmoor and Longaller and is close to the River Tone. The parish, which includes the hamlet o ...

Bishops Lydeard Bishops Lydeard () is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, north-west of Taunton. The civil parish encompasses the hamlets of East Lydeard and Terhill, and had a population of 2,839 persons as recorded in the 2011 census; th ...

Bradford-on-Tone Bradford-on-Tone is a village and civil parish in Wellington, Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone south west of Taunton. The parish, which includes Tone Green and Hele, has a population of 622. The village is centred on the meeting o ...

Burrowbridge Burrowbridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Parrett and the A361 road on the edge of the Somerset Levels. It is located southeast of Bridgwater, and has a population of 508. History The name probab ...

Cheddon Fitzpaine Cheddon Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Quantock Hills north of Taunton. The village is situated near the Bristol and Exeter Railway, the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, and the River Tone and has ...

- Chipstable - Churchstanton - Combe Florey - Comeytrowe - Corfe - Cotford St Luke - Cothelstone -

Creech St Michael Creech St Michael is a village and civil parish in Somerset, three miles east of Taunton. The parish straddles the M5 motorway and includes several scattered settlements. The village of Creech St Michael and the hamlets of Charlton, Creech Heath ...

- Curland * Durston * Fitzhead * Halse - Hatch Beauchamp *

Kingston St Mary Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills north of Taunton. The village has a population of 921. The parish includes the hamlets of Yarford which includes the grade II Cutl ...

Langford Budville Langford Budville is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near the River Tone north-west of Wellington, Somerset, Wellington, from Wiveliscombe and west of Taunton. The parish includes the hamlets of Bindon, Lower Chiple ...

- Lydeard St Lawrence * Milverton * North Curry -

Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope of Norton Camp, a large hillfort that s ...

- Nynehead * Oake -

Orchard Portman Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton. The village has a population of 150. The parish includes the hamlet of Thurlbear and the nearby Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Site of Special Scie ...

- Otterford * Pitminster * Ruishton * Sampford Arundel -

Staple Fitzpaine Staple Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton. The village has a population of 189 and is within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish includes the hamlet of Badger S ...

- Staplegrove - Stawley -

Stoke St Gregory Stoke St Gregory is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about east of Taunton. The village is on a low ridge of land between the River Tone to the north and West Sedgemoor to the south. The 2021 census recorded the parish's popu ...

Stoke St Mary Stoke St Mary is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south east of Taunton. History The earliest recorded mention of Stoke St Mary is in a Saxon charter dated 854 AD, when a West Saxon king gave the clearly defined lands ...

- Thornfalcon - Tolland -

Trull Trull is a village, Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish, which includes Dipford and Staplehay, has a population ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

- West Bagborough - West Buckland -

West Monkton West Monkton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Taunton. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlets of Monkton Heathfield, Bathpool, and Burlinch and the western parts of Coombe and Walford, Somerset ...

- Wiveliscombe

Parishes

Part of the former Taunton Municipal Borough is unparished.

Demography

The town of Taunton (which for population estimates includes the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

- or former

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

- plus the neighbouring parishes of

, Comeytrowe,

, Staplegrove,

and

) had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. Taunton formed part of the larger

of Taunton Deane which also includes the town of

and surrounding villages. Taunton Deane had an estimated population of 102,600 in 2001. The figures below are for the Taunton Deane area.

Education

County schools (those which are not

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county were operated by

Somerset County Council Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

, or are independent of the council and run as

academies An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. For a full list of schools see:

List of schools in Somerset A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

References

External links

Taunton Deane Borough Council

Taunton Deane Tourist Information
{{Commons category, Borough of Taunton Deane, Taunton Deane Former non-metropolitan districts of Somerset Former boroughs in England Somerset West and Taunton