Leader of Bridgwater Town Council Brian Smedley (Bridgwater Westover) has called for discussion on a position paper for the Unitary Devolution pilot based on his councils’ legacy  ambitions for the demise of Sedgemoor and the creation of a vast new Somerset Unitary. He explains “The old Bridgwater Borough Council is well remembered as the most popular, hands on locally representative council we’ve ever had here, with a history stretching way back to its first Mayoralty in 1468. Bridgwater is rightly identified on our signposts as ‘historic’ throughout the centuries, leading on changes that saw Bridgwater as the first town to petition against the slave trade in 1785, the only British town to vote against the Munich agreement in 1938, the site of the country’s first Art Centre in 1946 and the popular developments of the 1950s and 60s including the social house building programme and the increase in leisure facilities. In 1974 this ‘People’s Borough’ was brought to a crashing end with the advent of Sedgemoor District Council who assumed all its powers, gained some new ones and widened its area to a 100,000-range including as far away remote parishes as Cheddar and Burnham. After 1974 Bridgwater had almost no powers apart from being able to choose a ceremonial mayor. That changed for the better in 2004 when the Labour Government responded to the Town’s petitioning to create a Town Council. Since then, until now that 3^rd tier authority has existed in Bridgwater, the closest level of local Government to the people, and remains the only Labour run town council between Bristol and Exeter. Now, with the Unitary decision going in favour of Somerset County and the abolition of Sedgemoor District imminent, Bridgwater Town Council’s ambition is to return to a position as close to that pre 1974 level of service delivery as we can. We see the possibility of devolution of powers as a result of unitary as the latest opportunity to achieve this.” 

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