Introduction
We welcome petitions and recognise that they are one way for people to raise concerns and bring issues to our attention.
Each council can decide how it manages petitions. This page explains Somerset Council’s Petition Scheme and how we deal with petitions.
What is a petition?
We treat the following as a petition:
- Any communication that is clearly identified as a petition
- Any communication that asks the council to take action and includes 50 or more signatures from people who live, work or study in Somerset
A petition with 5,000 or more signatures (individually or collectively) is treated as a large petition.
If we receive a petition about a local issue, especially one that affects a particular ward, we will tell the local councillor or councillors.
How to submit a petition
You can submit a petition by post, email or in person at one of our offices.
You can also create an e-petition. E-petitions must follow the same rules as paper petitions. E-petitions are usually open for 28 days. The Monitoring Officer may agree to a different timescale where appropriate. We will check an e-petition before publishing it online. If we cannot publish it, we will contact the petition organiser and explain why.
You can present a petition at a Council meeting by placing it on the front table.
Completed petitions need to be given to the Council for the attention of the Monitoring Officer at the following address:
Somerset Council
County Hall
The Crescent
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 4DY
Submit a petition online
When you submit a petition to Somerset Council, we will:
- Acknowledge receipt within 3 working days.
- Let the Petition Organiser know within 10 working days if the petition is not valid and explain why.
- If the petition is valid, tell the Petition Organiser within 20 working days of acknowledgement how the petition will be dealt with.
If your petition relates to a council consultation or another specific matter, please make this clear when you submit it. This helps us make sure the petition is considered alongside the original issue. See the Somerset Council Petition Scheme document below for further guidance.
What your petition must include
Your petition must include:
- A clear statement explaining what the petition is about. It must relate to a responsibility of Somerset Council and appear on every page of the petition.
- A clear statement explaining what you want Somerset Council to do. This must also appear on every page of the petition.
- The name of each person supporting the petition, shown in a way that identifies them.
- For paper petitions, the signature of each person supporting the petition.
- The name and contact details of the Petition Organiser, or someone they have nominated to receive correspondence. This can be a postal address or email address.
You may also include the addresses of people supporting the petition. This is optional but can help the Council understand the level of local support or opposition to an issue.
The Council’s Petition Scheme can be found here:
To submit your petition online, you can complete this Online Form
If you would like to submit an e-petition to Central Government, please visit Central Government e-petitions
Petitions about council governance
Under the Local Government Act 2000, local electors can petition the Council to hold a referendum on changing the Council’s form of governance.
A petition must be signed by at least 5% of local government electors in the district. In accordance with the above regulations, the number that is equal to 5% of the number of local government electors shown in the revised register of electors having effect on the 15 February 2025 is 22,588.
This figure will have effect for the purposes of determining the validity of petitions presented from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The number, equal to 5% of the local government electors for 2026, will be published within 14 days of the 15 February 2026. If this number is less than 22,588, the number to be used for verification purposes in relation to any petition submitted for the period beginning on the date of publication of the lower number until 31 March 2026 shall also be that lower number.
Recent petitions
Previous Petitions
- 19 – Petition Received at Cabinet Meeting on 03.10.2022 – Against the Adoption of Public Space Protection Order Glastonbury – Redacted [4.85MB]
- 18 – Petition to Save the World One Field at a Time, Save Easthill Field NOW 15.02.22
- 17 – Petition Part 1 requesting a solution to problem of pigeons in Shepton Mallet – Redacted [10.25MB]
- 17 – Petition Part 2 requesting a solution to problem of pigeons in Shepton Mallet – Redacted [1.81MB]
- 16 – Petition to stop the Introduction of Sunday Car Parking Charges in Shepton Mallet – 163 signatures received 25.06.19 redacted [2.35MB]
- 15 – Petition for Motion to Declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency 25.02.19
- 14 – Against Somerset Councils using Glyphosate Weedkiller 01.12.18 – 82 names – Redacted [16.79MB]
- 13 Petition received 20.06.18 to protect the riverbank and footpath at River Frome [12.23MB]
- 12 – Sunday Car Park Charging in Frome 21.05.18 [4.4MB]
- 11 – Narrowing of the B3139 in Chilcompton – Redacted [15.57MB]