Glastonbury Transparency Project

17/06/2026

Updated🚨 THE PLAYBOOK NEVER CHANGES — KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON TOR LEISURE

A local resident has called this out accurately — and this follows a pattern we’ve seen before across Somerset when publicly owned land is quietly moved toward disposal.

✅ Step 1: Maintenance is reduced or withdrawn
Vegetation is allowed to grow unchecked, basic upkeep declines, and manageable issues are left to escalate.

✅ Step 2: The problem is reframed
Overgrowth and neglect are then presented as evidence that the land is “unsafe”, “unusable”, or too expensive to maintain — despite these being consequences of inaction, not inherent problems.

✅ Step 3: Legal protection is removed or denied
Officially, sites are ruled “not an Asset of Community Value” — stripping them of safeguards that would help prevent sale.

✅ Step 4: The land is reclassified
Once unprotected, it is labelled “surplus to requirements”, even where it serves a clear community purpose.

✅ Step 5: Disposal follows
Sold, repurposed, or developed — often with limited transparency and almost no meaningful local input.

📌 THE FACTS ABOUT TOR LEISURE
Tor Leisure is council‑owned public land, designated for recreation and community use — our playing fields, open green space, and recreation ground. It is exactly the kind of land that should be protected for future generations and, if possible, secured in trust.

Note: We do not yet have formal confirmation it already has legal trust status — that is exactly what we are now checking and working to secure.

This photo shows what it looks like when properly cared for. Hemlock is toxic but easily managed — its presence points to a maintenance issue, not a valid reason to abandon, re‑zone, or dispose of this land.

📜 OFFICIAL COUNCIL RECORDS PROVE HOW IT WORKS
We have accessed Somerset Council’s own public registers — the Community Right to Bid unsuccessful nominations and the Asset Register — and they tell the full story:

• Rejected protection, every time — Dozens of sites across the county are ruled: “Assessed as not meeting the tests to be considered an Asset of Community Value”
• Same reasons, same outcome — Former school playing fields, village halls, nature reserves, and open space are all turned down, even when used daily by locals
• No protection = no defence — If a site is not listed, not held in trust, and not registered with Fields in Trust, the council can label it “surplus” and dispose of it with only 6 weeks’ notice
• Tor Leisure is not listed — It does not appear in the public register as protected, which means it is currently exposed to this exact process

📊 SAME PATTERN ACROSS SOMERSET — AND THE WHOLE UK
Since 2023, Somerset Council has sold £77.2 million worth of public assets under its Asset Disposal Programme. As confirmed in The Glastonbury Ultimatum:
✅ No independent valuations on most sales
✅ No public consultation before disposal
✅ External auditors found: “Procedures not followed — statutory requirements breached”

And this is not unique to Somerset:
✅ Across England, councils have sold over £12 billion of public land and assets since 2010
✅ 30,000+ hectares of high‑grade farmland and green belt have been lost to data centres, industrial parks and housing
✅ The same playbook applies everywhere: neglect → deny protection → sell off

We have already seen this trajectory at Bride’s Mound, Horsey, and Somerton — neglect first, protection denied, then gone.
🛡️ OUR GOAL: LONG‑TERM PROTECTION
Right now, Tor Leisure is used and valued by the community — but we first need to confirm exactly what legal safeguards exist.

If formal protection is missing, we will work to put it in place:
• Asset of Community Value — gives the community the right to bid and delays sale
• Fields in Trust — permanent legal protection for recreation use
• Community Trust ownership — land held forever for local benefit

In short: Being held in trust is our goal, not a claim about current status. We want Tor Leisure protected so it can never be sold, neglected, or re‑zoned without full community agreement.

👀 WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT TOR LEISURE
• Reduced or inconsistent maintenance
• Claims of “safety risks” or “unaffordable upkeep”
• Any mention of review, “rationalisation”, or “future options”
• A formal decision that it “has no community value”

✍️ WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Ask your local councillor: “Will you confirm and strengthen legal protection for Tor Leisure?”
• Send the ready‑made FOI request below to get the facts in writing
• Keep using the space — active community use is the strongest defence
• Sign The Glastonbury Ultimatum — demand transparency and stop the sell‑off

🔗 Sign here: https://c.org/LvQRsSfBJh

Public land belongs to us — not to be neglected, re‑zoned or sold behind closed doors.


📌 PINNED — FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
Copy, paste, fill in your details and send to: [email protected]

Subject: Freedom of Information Request – Tor Leisure and Asset Management

Dear Somerset Council,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information:

1. Tor Leisure, Glastonbury
• Confirm the current legal status: formal trust, Fields in Trust registration, statutory dedication, or Asset of Community Value listing? If none, explain what protections exist.
• Current maintenance plan, schedule and responsible party.
• Inspections, risk assessments and reports from the last 24 months covering vegetation, invasive plants (including hemlock) and general condition.
• Confirm if the site is under review, marked as surplus, or being considered for disposal, lease or change of use.
• All internal notes, emails and decisions from the last 12 months regarding its future.

2. Devolution of Assets
• Copy of the Decision Report dated 19 March 2026: “Devolution of Assets and Services to Street Parish Council”, including appendices.

If any part is exempt, please release what you can and explain why.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Full Name]
[Your Address / Postcode]
[Your Email Address]

16/06/2026

📢 IMPORTANT: FROM LOCAL IMPACT TO GLOBAL SCALE — WHAT WE ARE REALLY FACING

A resident living just 1 mile from the Horsey site shares what they have uncovered — and it goes far beyond one local development:

📍 LOCAL CONCERNS — HORSEY / NORTH BRIDGWATER

✅ Found by accident — no local MP or councillor has mentioned it publicly, even though they regularly complain about traffic, congestion and antisocial behaviour
✅ If approved: 3.5 years of heavy construction traffic chaos, plus permanent noise, light pollution and massive water demand
✅ “No planning application yet” does NOT mean it’s not happening — MPs and councillors can still raise objections and demand answers right now
✅ Ashley Fox MP appears to be waiting for formal plans to be submitted before speaking up
✅ Parish councils have already acted: Bridgwater Without and Bawdrip Parish Councils have submitted strong formal objections over flood risk and HGV traffic
✅ There IS hope: Around 75 similar data centre projects across the US have been postponed or cancelled this year — purely due to public pressure

🖥️ WHAT THIS SITE IS ACTUALLY FOR

This is not for general internet use, streaming or email.
✅ It is designed for heavy‑duty AI training — which uses far more power, water and cooling, and creates significantly more noise than standard data centres
✅ Erin Brockovich is already campaigning against this exact type of development in the US

🌍 THE BIGGER PICTURE — IT’S PART OF A GLOBAL TREND

✅ Data centre construction has exploded over the last 5 years — part of an unprecedented global investment rush
✅ SpaceX’s recent IPO valuation is built almost entirely around its plans for AI infrastructure
✅ Hardly reported anywhere: SpaceX has filed with the FCC to launch up to 1 million satellites specifically designed as “orbital data centres”
✅ To keep this system running: 200,000 replacement satellites would need to be launched every single year
✅ They will be placed in what scientists call the “Dead Zone” — 600km to 2,000km altitude — chosen to capture constant solar energy, but with huge hidden costs

⚠️ THE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS — WHAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US

Because there is almost no atmosphere at this height:
✅ Failed satellites become permanent, uncontrollable space junk, remaining trapped in orbit for decades or centuries
✅ The pollution is simply moved from our land and water to a far more fragile part of our planet — and the damage is far worse

Scientists from University College London (UCL), Princeton University and other leading institutions confirm the risks:

1. Extreme High‑Altitude Warming
• Rocket exhaust injects black carbon (soot) directly into the stratosphere
• It stays there for up to 4 years, absorbing heat high above the clouds
• Princeton research confirms this black carbon does not behave like ground pollution: it amplifies the greenhouse effect, and has a warming impact up to 500 times more powerful than the same emissions at Earth’s surface — 12 times stronger even than reflective aerosols
• It traps heat where it can do the most harm, altering our climate system from the top down

2. Ozone Layer Destruction
• Hundreds of rocket launches every year leave chemical trails that break down ozone molecules
• This could stall or even reverse 40 years of progress in repairing the ozone layer that protects us from harmful UV radiation

3. Toxic Metal Rain
• To make space for new satellites, 200,000 old ones will be burned up in the atmosphere annually
• That equals 29 tonnes of metal debris incinerated every single day
• It falls back as aluminium oxide and toxic chemicals, creating an artificial “mirror” effect that could alter how Earth regulates its own temperature

4. End of the Night Sky & Astronomy
• At full deployment, 1 in every 15 points of light we see will be a satellite, not a star
• Their brightness will blind ground‑based telescopes, stopping us from tracking asteroids or exploring space

💬 CONCLUSION
This is not just about one field in Somerset. It is about a massive shift in how our world is being built — and the true costs are hidden from public view. We are not talking theory here — the plans exist, the science is clear, and the risks are proven.

We are not being told the full story — but we will get it. And when we say let’s fight, we mean it properly: we use real, established law — Freedom of Information, planning rules, public trust duties, and our democratic rights. No weird sovereignty claims, no freeman jargon, no made‑up rules — we hold them to their own system.

Common sense hasn’t disappeared — it’s just been pushed aside by profit, big salaries, endless consultant bills, and targets that serve investors, not local people. But we know what’s happening now, and together we can stop these plans — here at home and across the globe.

🔗 SEND YOUR FOI REQUESTS & GET FULL DETAILS HERE:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122155800152968848&id=61579065462196

✍️ Sign the Ultimatum:
https://c.org/LvQRsSfBJh

✊🌱

16/06/2026

🤡 THE “JUST A LITTLE RULE” LADDER
It always starts so reasonable… then creeps further and further.
Same pattern every time — and right now we see it on our land too:

✅ Keep kids safe online → Only block bad stuff → Need ID to comment → Scan your face just to browse
✅ Cleaner air → Only old cars → Permit to enter town → Car won’t start without approval
✅ Protect health → Tax junk food → ID to buy sugar → Your shopping tracked
✅ “Manage water” → “Unused land” → Farmland marked “surplus” → Build data centres on our Levels
✅ “Save energy” → Smart meters → Remote control → Heating off if your score is low

What could possibly go wrong? 😏

⚠️ OUR ULTIMATUM ✍️ https://c.org/LvQRsSfBJh
This land is held in trust for all Somerset residents — it is NOT surplus.
We demand:
🔹 No re‑zoning of Grade 2/3a farmland for industrial data centres
🔹 Full, open consultation — not decisions made behind closed doors
🔹 Protection of our food security, flood defences and heritage first
🔹 No linking of this infrastructure to unaccountable Digital ID or mass‑monitoring systems

If these conditions are ignored, we will escalate formally, raise legal challenge, and build public opposition until this plan is stopped.

📩 SEND YOUR OBJECTIONS & MESSAGES TO:
📧 Somerset Council Planning: [email protected]
📧 Chief Executive: [email protected]
📧 Leader of Council: [email protected]
📧 Bridgwater Without Parish Council: [email protected]
📧 Historic England: [email protected]

Objection — Horsey Express Data Centre — Land held in trust

15/06/2026

🚨 ULTIMATUM + PETITION + NATIONAL ALLIANCE

📢 Petition milestone:
We are now at 1,381 supporters — only 119 more to reach our next goal!
Demand accountability & transparency from Somerset Council — keep sharing, every signature counts.

📜 Ultimatum status:
Signed by 688 Glastonbury & local residents
Silence = legally creates grounds to challenge all decisions made after that date
Reported to:
• Serious Fraud Office — C42DDCB05AADBE8
• Avon & Somerset Police — RAC‑REZBV
• Sarah D**e MP, Secretary of State, NAO, Ombudsman

🤝 FULLY ALIGNED — JOINING FORCES NATIONALLY
We are now working with National Residents for Civic Accountability
Exact match to GTP values & work:
✅ Resident‑led — no political party ties
✅ Ring‑fenced legal fund — only for advice, Judicial Review, statutory challenges
✅ Built only on official documents: FOIs, minutes, audits, Hansard, statutory instruments
✅ Fights the same pattern: hidden reserves, suppressed audits, land‑sale budgets, rushed reorganisation, missing impact assessments

🔗 National network details:
sites.google.com/view/nationalresidentscivicaffairs/home

Next steps:
📩 Everyone send both letters — this is how we make them listen
👥 Building a reliable action team for ongoing protection
📅 Public meeting planned — details coming soon

Local evidence → national legal blueprint — together we hold power to account.

Sign the ultimatum here 👉 https://c.org/LvQRsSfBJh

15/06/2026

📢 WHAT WE’RE DEMANDING — & WHAT COMES NEXT

✅ OUR PRINCIPLES

“Surplus” should never mean land that feeds us, protects our water, or holds our heritage.
Land held in trust for Somerset belongs to Somerset people — not to be quietly re‑zoned or sold off without full, local consent.

🎯 WHAT WE STAND FOR

🌾 LAND FOR FOOD FIRST — Grade 2/3a “Best & Most Versatile” farmland (including the Horsey / Express Distribution Park site) never labelled “surplus”

🏡 COMMUNITY BEFORE SALE — any disposal must prove clear public benefit, full consultation & no loss of food‑growing or green space

🏛️ REAL LOCAL CONTROL — bigger wards & fewer councillors do not equal “better local government”

🔍 FULL TRANSPARENCY — no hidden specs, no last‑minute changes, no over‑redacted FOI or heritage answers

💧 PROTECT OUR LEVELS & RIVERS — Parrett, Tone & Brue catchments, floodplains & sacred sites are non‑negotiable

🌿 NATURE & PEOPLE TOGETHER — farming that works with soil, bees & water, not against them

🚩 WHAT COMES NEXT — ACTION PLAN

📩 Keep sending Freedom of Information requests — every separate email counts
Copy‑paste templates here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122155800152968848&id=61579065462196
Send to: [email protected]
(Tip: send 2 separate emails — one for Horsey, one for Asset Disposal)

📝 Plan‑level pushback — formally object to Horsey / Express Distribution Park; reference Grade 2/3a land, food security & flood risk

🏘️ Parish & Town Council action — ask them to adopt “Food‑First / Community‑Land” policies

📜 Strengthen protection — register more land as Assets of Community Value (ACV); build support for Community Land Trusts

🗳️ Hold representatives to account — ask every candidate & councillor:
“On whose authority is land held in trust for residents sold or re‑zoned away from food & community use?”

✍️ ADD YOUR NAME — STAND WITH SOMERSET
These demands grow stronger with every resident behind them. Agenda 2030, digital roll‑out and large‑scale development are not abstract — they shape our fields, villages and daily choices. Sign our resident‑led statement / ultimatum to say: we want decisions made close to home, and land kept for the common good.
👉 Sign here: https://c.org/GPzky8hXhZ

📢 OUR SHARED MESSAGE

LAND FOR FOOD — NOT FOR SALE
This land feeds us — it was never theirs to sell, nor to change into something that harms our home & health. 🧱🌿🛡️

15/06/2026

🌾 Food isn’t just groceries — it’s our lifeblood 🥕🐄
Rooted deep in Somerset’s fields, villages and Levels 🚜💧

Yet more and more, the choices shaping that land are made far away — by people who never walk our lanes, work our heavy clay, or feel our soil under their boots 👢🌱

Here we see precious farmland quietly labelled “surplus”, then sold off or earmarked for huge data centres & big developments — wrapped in polished words like strategic change, net‑zero, or Agenda 2030 🏗️📊

⚠️ What’s rarely said out loud…
This same centralised push steers farming toward heavy, chemical‑reliant systems 🧪🚫
• Broad‑spectrum pesticides & herbicides
• Artificial fertilisers building up year‑on‑year in soil, water & food

These chemicals don’t stop at field edges — they drift into hedgerows, run straight off into the Parrett, Tone & Brue, spread across the Levels & enter our drinking‑water zones 🐟🐝🌿
Harm to bees, birds, fish & the tiny life that keeps soil alive 🌍💔

📉 Grants & rules = locked‑in paths
Many schemes tie support to digital tracking, carbon spreadsheets & one‑size‑fits‑all rules 📉💻
Nature‑friendly growing? Often treated as an afterthought or luxury — not the foundation it should be 🌻🚜

🏛️ Since April 2023 — Somerset as one big council
✅ Wards much larger
✅ Fewer councillors
✅ Grand plans roll out without a local vote

Terms like “15‑minute neighbourhoods” & “digital‑first” sound helpful — yet they strip away what makes Somerset ours:
Independent family farms 🧺 | Tight‑knit parishes 🏡 | Freedom to grow for this land & weather ☔☀️

💡 Real care for the land…
…isn’t dreamed up in distant offices or locked in data centres 🏢💾
…doesn’t rely on chemicals or spreadsheets 📉❌
It’s learned in wind & rain, over generations — by people who know every hedge, floodplain & field corner 🧭🗺️

Healthy soil + clean rivers + safe food = one whole story 🤝🌾💧

When control moves too far away, we lose more than acres — we lose food security, rural character & quality 🌽🍎

✅ The answer is right here
🔗 Short supply chains 🚛➡️🏠
❓ Ask: How & where was this grown?
🤝 Stand together — remind leaders:

🗣️ THIS LAND FEEDS US — it was never theirs to sell, nor to change into something that harms our home & health. 🧱🌿🛡️
🤝 How you can help right now
🔁 Share this post — help more people understand what’s happening locally
🔎 Check the planning register: somerset.gov.uk/planning — search Horsey / Express Distribution Park

✉️ SEND YOUR OWN FOI REQUEST — full copy‑paste templates here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122155800152968848&id=61579065462196

🗣️ Ask your local councillor: “On whose authority is land held in trust for residents sold or re‑zoned?”

🌾 Choose local, short‑supply food — keep control & value in our community

📌 Update 15 June 2026
A resident‑led statement is supported by 1,379 local residents — we invite everyone to submit their own Freedom of Information requests. Replies due within 20 working days. If answers are incomplete or ignored, formal next steps follow.

📩 Send requests:
(Tip: split into 2 separate emails — one for Horsey, one for Asset Disposal)

🏷️ Follow & share

15/06/2026

📢 HELP US GET ANSWERS — SEND THESE TWO SHORT FOI REQUESTS

Somerset: Horsey Data Centre & Council Land Sales

When many residents send the same clear request, it shows strong community concern and makes it harder to delay or narrow the scope.

✅ SEND 2 SEPARATE EMAILS — stops “too broad” delays
Send to: [email protected]
✉️ EMAIL 1 — HORSEY / BRIDGWATER DATA CENTRE

Subject: Freedom of Information — Horsey / Bridgwater Data Centre (Express Distribution Park)

Dear Information Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide all recorded information held by Somerset Council — including information held on the Council’s behalf by contractors, consultants, agents or development partners — relating to the Horsey / Bridgwater data‑centre proposal (Express Distribution Park, north of Bridgwater, M5 J23):

• Title, ownership & legal status records
• Officer reports, notes, committee/cabinet papers, minutes & decision‑making records
• Consultation records: dates, consultees, responses & how objections were considered
• Risk assessments, equality impact assessments, flood risk, biodiversity, grid connection, water use, cooling, carbon & EIA/screening documents
• Correspondence with developers, government bodies, operators & consultants
• Valuations, disposal method, draft agreements & recorded terms

Please provide information in electronic, machine‑readable format. If anything is withheld, state the exact FOIA exemption + public‑interest reasoning where applicable.
If part is considered too broad, advise how to narrow it — process the rest in full.
Respond within 20 working days.

Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Your full address]
[Your email]
Please do not include my personal details in any public disclosure log

✅ ✉️ EMAIL 2 — SOMERSET ASSET DISPOSAL PROGRAMME

Subject: Freedom of Information — Somerset Asset Disposal Programme (from April 2023)

Dear Information Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide all recorded information held by Somerset Council regarding the county‑wide Asset Disposal Programme, as at June 2026:

• Full current list of assets formally marked surplus or approved for disposal
• Policy, criteria & guidance used to define “surplus” & prioritise sales
• Any assessments recorded on: trust status, Local Plan/Green Belt, Assets of Community Value, flood risk, equality, rural/community impact
• Number of disposals completed & pending since 1 April 2023

Please provide information in electronic, machine‑readable format. If anything is withheld, state the exact FOIA exemption + public‑interest reasoning where applicable.
If part is considered too broad, advise how to narrow it — process the rest in full.
Respond within 20 working days.

Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Your full address]
[Your email]
Please do not include my personal details in any public disclosure log

🤝 CALL TO ACTION — HELP US GET ANSWERS

Every email counts — please send yours today, then ask 2–3 neighbours to do the same.
Together we can uncover the full picture behind large‑scale development, land sales & the direction of council decision‑making across Somerset.

ALSO — ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR COMMUNITY ULTIMATUM
Agenda 2030, digital roll‑out and large‑scale change aren’t just words — they shape our fields, villages and future. Stand with 1,380+ residents demanding: land for food first, real local control, and no irreversible plans without public consent.
👉 Sign the ultimatum here: https://c.org/GPzky8hXhZ

15/06/2026

📢 UPDATE 15 June 2026: Help us get answers — send these requests

A resident‑led statement covering the Horsey data‑centre proposal and the full county‑wide Asset Disposal Programme is supported by 1,379 local residents.

We are asking the public to submit formal Freedom of Information requests to Somerset Council — full copy‑paste templates here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122155800152968848&id=61579065462196

This follows a consistent pattern seen across England — including Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Hampshire & Solent, Sussex & Brighton:
→ merging smaller councils into large, single authorities
→ fewer elected representatives, much bigger wards, less local voice
→ official alignment with long‑term frameworks including UN Agenda 2030 / Sustainable Development Goals
→ embedding terms like “15‑minute neighbourhoods”, “digital‑first”, “integrated data” across all plans — never debated as one whole package
→ ongoing sale of farms, offices and community‑focussed land labelled “surplus assets”
→ building unified digital systems linked to national standards and future integration
→ longer election cycles, no local referendum on major restructuring; changes hard to reverse once built

This is not unique to Somerset — it is the standard model being rolled out across England.

✅ Unitary merge = bigger, fewer reps
✅ Agenda 2030/SDGs in official plans
✅ Land/assets sold as “surplus”
✅ Digital/data alignment underway
✅ No local referendum on the big changes
Quick summary

Somerset Council follows this same national pattern: merged from six councils into one unitary body in April 2023, cutting councillors from ~350 to 110 and creating much larger wards. Official plans openly align with UN Agenda 2030 / SDGs, using terms like “15‑minute neighbourhoods”, “digital‑first”, “integrated data” — embedded across strategies, never debated as a single package. There is an ongoing asset‑disposal programme selling farms, offices and green‑edge land to fund change, no local referendum held on reorganisation. Elections are now 4‑year terms (next: May 2027), no delay announced — decisions are more centralised, further from residents.

💡 Important — Somerset is already fully merged
Unlike areas where reorganisation is still being debated or delayed, Somerset became one single council in April 2023. That means the “next stage” — asset sales, digital roll‑out, delivery of Agenda 2030‑aligned plans — is moving forward without further structural change. Groups like National Residents for Civic Accountability focus here on holding the new council to account: “On whose authority are these sales & changes made?”
📋 Key details — official site & public records

✅ Reorganisation: exactly the “big council” model

• April 2023: 5 districts + County Council → 1 Somerset Council — same “merge & centralise” as Greater Essex / Norfolk‑Suffolk
• Representation: ~350 → 110 councillors
• Wards: ~11,500–14,500 residents vs ~4,000–6,000 before
• Official line: “simpler, more strategic local government” — no public vote held

✅ Agenda 2030 / SDGs — explicit alignment

• Our Somerset Plan 2021–2030 — directly cites UN SDGs
• Key terms: 15‑minute neighbourhoods, net zero, digital‑by‑default, integrated data, strategic infrastructure
• Embedded in housing/climate/transport/digital — never debated as a single “Agenda 2030” proposal

✅ Assets & land sales — “surplus” policy

• Asset Disposal Programme — updated March 2026
• June 2026 challengeable sales:
Downs Farm (Donyatt) | Thorne Marsh ~92 acres (Castle Cary) | Forton ~92 acres (Chard) | Splatt (Spaxton) | Firepool (Bridgwater) | Saxonvale (Frome — back May 2026) | Roughmoor Enterprise Centre (Williton) | Fiveways / Cornhill (Bridgwater) | Huish Park (Yeovil — ongoing) | Packsaddle Fields (Frome — ACV/inquiry) | North Parade Car Park (Frome — below affordable‑housing target)
• Policy: “Dispose of surplus assets to fund transformation”
• Principle: Land/property held in trust — sale must prove public benefit & proper consultation

✅ ⚠️ BRIDGWATER / HORSEY — massive data‑centre resubmitted

• ~129 ha / 319 acres, north Bridgwater / M5 J23 — screening Feb 2026, full EIA next
• Scale: 250 000 m² floorspace, 500 MW ≈ 125 000 homes; buildings up to 28 m
• Aligns with Digital Somerset / One Somerset — no operator/job/data‑use figures published
• Challenge now: search “Horsey data centre / Express Distribution Park” — note planning ref when live

✅ Elections & terms

• Next election: May 2027, 4‑year fixed terms (previously 3‑year)
• Unlike Essex mayoral delays — no 2‑year postponement announced
• New structure = no fresh mandate vote before major plans roll out

✅ Digital & data — centralised systems

• Digital Somerset / One Somerset: single sign‑on, shared data, unified ID
• Council: “aligned to national standards & future‑proofed for wider integration”
• Concerns: centralised data, large‑scale infrastructure, reduced local control
📌 Exact document paths — somerset.gov.uk

🔹 Unitary reorganisation → Creating Somerset Council: The Unitary Transition
Home → Council & democracy → How the council works → Unitary reorganisation

🔹 Agenda 2030 / SDGs → Our Somerset Plan 2021–2030
Home → Communities & living → Our Somerset Plan

🔹 Asset disposals → Asset Disposal Programme / Surplus Land & Property
Home → Council & democracy → Property, land & assets → Selling land & buildings

🔹 Digital strategy → Digital Somerset / One Somerset
Home → Council & democracy → Strategies → Digital

🔹 Elections → Councillors & elections — timetable
Home → Council & democracy → Elections & voting
💬 What do you think?
Have you noticed bigger wards, fewer reps, “digital‑first”, land sales, or the Horsey proposal locally? Do decisions feel closer or further away now? Share your observations below.

✍️ Sign the Ultimatum here: https://c.org/GPzky8hXhZ

This petition & ultimatum will be formally delivered to Somerset Council Headquarters once enough signatures are gathered — to ensure it carries full legal standing before decision‑makers.

📜 THE GLASTONBURY ULTIMATUM ⚖️ TRANSPARENCY OR ACCOUNTABILITY — ADDRESSED TO SOMERSET COUNCIL

14/06/2026

⚠️ FINAL WARNING: Councillor Liz Leyshon — Somerset Councillor for Street

You hold public office and are bound to protect our community and heritage. On 23 March 2026, we formally served you and Somerset Council with a Notice of Statutory Breach & Material Misrepresentation — you were fully notified.

Your public promise:
“…remove the path on top of the mound and restore a sympathetic surface… inclusive access while preserving sacred landscape.”
❌ What happened instead — without fresh consent:
✅ Original plan: Gentle, low‑impact footpath, max 100 mm excavation, no heavy works — Scheduled Monument #1006147, Beckery Chapel & cemetery
✅ Changed (May 2025): Re‑branded multi‑use / utility road, 175 mm dig, DTp Type 1 road‑stone + lean concrete + impermeable membrane
✅ No amended Scheduled Monument Consent shown — Historic England never approved this heavier, deeper spec
✅ Site facts: Remains lie 100–300 mm below ground; hard barriers trap water, destroy drainage, transfer load directly onto graves
✅ Council’s own FOI reply 17 Feb 2026: “No legal advice exists that a ‘Utility Route’ overrides protections” — yet they claimed otherwise
✅ Finance red‑flags: Beckery Construction collapse £686 k owed; £420 k “shadow payments” unexplained; rushed works to meet Town Deal deadlines

The law:

• Under Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979, deeper/engineered works are statutory breaches unless formally re‑approved

• Planning 2023/1440/FUL only permits “shallow scrapes, marking footprint” — never heavy‑road build

• Chapel walls & earliest burials occupy exact same zone — you cannot separate them

We ask one clear question:
“Has Historic England formally approved 175 mm depth, Type 1 stone, concrete & membrane for this burial zone? If not — why proceed?”
🔴 DEMAND:
✅ Immediate Stop Notice
✅ Release amended consent or admit none exists
✅ Independent review + full financial disclosure
✅ No more rushing heritage protection aside for deadlines

Escalation path:
Local Ombudsman → NAO → Historic England → Planning Inspectorate → Judicial Review if needed

This is not “improvement” — it is irreversible change to a nationally protected, sacred site.
From today, you are on public record — responsibility is yours if damage continues.

📄 Key evidence:
• Historic England SM 1006147: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1006147
• FOI 21348941 / 19940713
• Written Scheme of Investigation May 2025
• SMC S00244685 | Planning 2023/1440/FUL

✍️ Sign the Ultimatum: https://c.org/GPzky8hXhZ
(Delivered formally once signatures reached)



Liz Leyshon Somerset Councillor for Street

List entry 1006147. Grade Not Applicable to this List Entry Scheduling: Beckery Chapel and cemetery (site of). May include summary, reasons for designation and history.