South Somerset was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of 370 square miles (958 km2) ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It had a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district was Yeovil.
On 1 April 2023, the district was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council, a unitary district for the area previously served by Somerset County Council.
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History
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil, adopting the South Somerset name in 1985. It was formed by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Chard, Yeovil, along with Crewkerne and Ilminster urban districts and the Chard Rural District, Langport Rural District, Wincanton Rural District and Yeovil Rural District.
The district covered the whole of the Yeovil constituency, and part of Somerton and Frome. The district was governed by the South Somerset District Council, last elected in the 2019 South Somerset District Council election.
Abolition
On 1 April 2023, the district council was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council, a unitary authority for the area previously served by Somerset County Council.
Elections for the new council took place in May 2022. It ran alongside South Somerset and the other district councils in the county until their abolition.
Towns
Its main towns included:
Bruton
Castle Cary
Chard
Crewkerne
Ilminster
Langport
Milborne Port
Somerton
Wincanton
Yeovil
Wards
The electoral wards included: Camelot and Wessex.
Major roads
A30
A37
A303
A357
Railway stations
Bruton (Heart of Wessex Line and Reading to Taunton Line), Great Western Railway
Castle Cary (Heart of Wessex Line and Reading to Taunton Line), Great Western Railway
Crewkerne (West of England Main Line), South Western Railway
Templecombe (West of England Main Line), South Western Railway
Yeovil Junction (West of England Main Line), South Western Railway
Yeovil Pen Mill (Heart of Wessex Line), Great Western Railway
Heritage Railways
Chard branch line, former Great Western Railway line between Chard and Taunton
Yeovil Railway Centre
Education
County schools (those which are not independent) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county were operated by Somerset County Council (now Somerset Council).
For a full list of schools see: List of schools in Somerset