Remember to Book your place at Somerset Parishes Conference 2026
The Somerset Parishes Conference 2026 will take place on Thursday 8th October at The Canalside Conference Centre, near Bridgwater.
Owing to venue capacity, and that Somerset boasts more than 273 city, town, and parish councils, tickets are restricted to two representatives of each local council. Councillor delegates will be prioritised, and in order for councils to benefit fully from the conference, we encourage a clerk or officer to accompany the councillor delegate.
Event Details:
The Conference will commence with registration, coffee and networking, followed by an opening address from our honoured guest, Sir Mohammed Saddiq, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset.
Following the SALC AGM there will be a guest panel of speakers, workshops, and a marketplace exhibition throughout the day. In parallel with the AGM, the Somerset branch of the SLCC is running an information session that’s open to all officers.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided, with dietary needs catered for via your booking. Thanks to our sponsors and exhibitors, lunch and refreshments will be provided at no cost to delegates from member councils.
Parking at the venue is limited, so please car share where possible. We will aim to organise priority parking for Blue Badge holders who notify info@somerset-alc.org.uk
To avoid disappointment, book your place via SALC’s website.
Introducing Somerset’s Star Council Awards 2026!
We are excited to introduce Somerset’s “Star Council” Awards at our Somerset Parishes Conference 2026. We invite member councils to join together on Thursday 8th October to recognise and celebrate:
- Somerset’s Council of the Year
- Somerset’s Councillor of the Year
- Somerset’s Young Councillor of the Year
- Somerset Nature & Climate Response of the Year
- Somerset Project of the Year
- Somerset Clerk of the Year.
Nomination instructions are available on the SALC website: Introducing Somerset’s Star Council Awards 2026
Conference workshops:
Learn from subject expert advisors and fellow councils with practical experience:
12 noon to 12:45
- Community Health & Wellbeing: Evaluation with Hayden Bird, University of Lincoln
- Somerset Community Makers with SALC’s Community Health and Wellbeing Officer, Fodo Higginson and partners
- Standards: Behaviour with SALC CEO, Ewan Jones and Somerset Council Deputy Monitoring Officer, Scott Wooldridge
- Cloudy IT: subject TBC
13:45 to 14:30
- Community Health & Wellbeing: Celebrating Parish Community Health & Wellbeing projects, with Fodo Higginson and Silja Vornanen
- Flood Resilience with Somerset’s Council Head of Climate & Natural Environment, James Divall and the Environment Agency’s Operations Manager, Piers Hooper
- Local Devolution and Community Assets with Somerset Council’s local devolution lead, Jess Kemmish and Senior Community & Parish Development Officer, Emma Plummer
- Parish Online: Exploring Ordnance Survey’s New National Geographic Database in Parish Online with Chris Mewse
Following your booking, we will send you an email asking you to prioritise which workshops you would like to attend in each of the morning and afternoon slots.
Conference sponsors:
SALC is grateful to our event sponsors: Somerset Council, Parish Online, and CloudyIT, as well as all our exhibitors for enabling us to put on the Somerset Parishes Conference 2025 at zero cost to city, town and parish council delegates.
Marketplace Exhibitors: Parish Online | Parish Online operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise providing mapping software, websites, GOV.UK email and cloud office tools to help a Local Council. | Cloudy IT | CloudyIT is a leading provider of cutting-edge digital solutions designed specifically for local councils across the UK. | Somerset Council | Information on how parishes can get more involved in supporting local fostering, the “My Community” resilience programme, and other local initiatives led by our unitary authority | Aubergine | Aubergine is the UK’s leading specialist in fully compliant, accessible websites, including .gov.uk domain-ready websites designed specifically for parish and town councils. | CCLA Investment Management | CCLA is one of the leading investment managers for local authorities, charities and faith-based organisation in the UK. | Scribe | Cloud Software for Managing Parish, Town and Community Councils with super easy to use products to manage financial accounts, cemeteries, venue and facility bookings, assets or allotment management. | Clear Councils Insurance | Clear Councils is part of Clear Insurance Management, one of the UK’s largest Independent Insurance Brokers. We are insurance specialists for Councils, Charities and Not-For-Profit organisations. | Eden Project | At the Eden Project, we have a vision of a thriving planet where people and communities actively care about nature, each other and the places where they live. In 2026, we are launching a new Nature Connections campaign to support people across the UK to spend more time in nature. | Eibe Play Ltd | Eibe has been crafting high-quality playground equipment for over 50 years. We specialise in designing durable, sustainable, and safety-focused playgrounds that inspire creativity, movement, and social interaction. | Gallagher | The community team of Gallagher provides specialist council insurance, and our expertise and knowledge of the sector enables us to create bespoke insurance solutions designed to meet the specific needs of each local council. | Tozers LLP | Our fixed-fee Legal Advice Service provides your council with expert legal guidance on any and all legal issues which you may encounter. | Unity Trust Bank | Unity Trust Bank was esablished over 40 years ago to offer transactional banking, lending and a range of deposit accounts to customers including around 3,000 local councils in the UK. | Wicksteed | Wicksteed proudly leads the way in UK play, designing and manufacturing in the heart of the UK. With one of the widest ranges of playground equipment, we bring play to life for schools, communities and town and parish councils too. | Proludic | Proludic has over 35 years of experience in the design and creation of play areas. Equipment is supplied for children of all ages and for all play environments, including parks, playgrounds, leisure attractions and residential areas. | Wellers Solicitors | Wellers Solicitors is a Surrey based law firm with over 40 years of experience supporting
Town, Parish and Community Councils throughout England and Wales. |
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SALC Annual General Meeting
All papers for the SALC AGM will be added to the SALC website homepage, and issued by email on 14th September 2026.
Will you help shape SALC’s services by joining our board of directors?
The Somerset Association of Local Councils Ltd (SALC) is seeking expressions of interest from councillors serving on councils in membership of the association.
If you are keen to help shape SALC’s service and forge partnerships across Somerset, we are keen to hear from you.
Six director vacancies will be up for election at the AGM, covering each of the four Somerset areas. Each directorship is for a period of 3 years, falling vacant in 2029.
To find out more about what it means to become a SALC company director, including the role description and time commitments, email Ewan at ceo@somerset-alc.org.uk
Conference Programme:9am | Arrival, Networking and Marketplace | 9:45am | Opening address: Mohammed Saddiq, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset | 10:00am | SALC AGM (Hollinsworth Hall) and SLCC Somerset Branch Workshop (Maunsel Room) | 10:45am | Conference opening and panel, chaired by Ewan Jones, SALC Chief Executive: - Paul White, Founder, All about the Place: Community Leadership
- Hayden Bird, Lincoln Institute for Rural and Coastal Health, University of Lincoln: Community Health & Wellbeing programme evaluation
- Theo Butt-Philip, Somerset Council Lead Member for Transformation, Human Resources and Localities
- Duncan Sharkey, Somerset Council Chief Executive: Somerset vision
- Justin Griggs, NALC Head of Policy and Communications: progress in Westminster
- David Hall, Head of Government Services, CloudyIT
- Chris Mewse, Managing Director, Parish Online
| 11:30am | Coffee, Networking and Marketplace | 12noon | Morning Workshops | 12:45pm | Lunch, Networking and Marketplace | 1:45pm | Afternoon Workshops | 2:30 pm | Community Governance Reviews and Elections: Somerset Council | 2:45 pm | Tea, Networking, and Marketplace | 3:15 pm | Star Council Awards, presented by Loretta Whetlor, SALC Chairperson | 4:00 pm | Conference Close |
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