The pressure for change and the need to build more homes to address local housing needs is felt across Somerset. There is a need for the local authority to ensure that the quality of all new development is sensitive to the unique context and local character, incorporates the principles of placemaking and ensures viable resilient neighbourhoods.

Somerset Council, which came into being on 1 April 2023, brings together the services previously provided by the four district councils in Somerset (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset) alongside the services provided by Somerset County Council. It aims to build a greener, more sustainable Somerset, and is seeking to achieve a step change in the quality of new development.