A COMMUNITY development officer looks set to be recruited by Wellington Town Council to help local people who are in need of support.

The council’s community committee voted in favour on September 16 of supporting the new role following fears from town clerk Dave Farrow that existing services could fall by the wayside in the coming months.

Mr Farrow is concerned that the One Team group which provides an effective means of agencies working closely together to support vulnerable communities and reduce overall demand on the public sector services could go because of the ongoing financial crisis at Somerset Council.

And he has similar fears about the future of the Connect Somerset group which is also set-up to support the local community.

“We set out a vision document in 2022 to make Wellington a safe and secure community and we can only do that by putting in recourses,” said Mr Farrow.

“I have been asking Somerset Council for about a year now as to what is going to happen to the One Team and Connect Somerset.

“My anxiety tells me that Somerset Council will stop providing non-statutory services. The reality is that when you are faced with a financial emergency you look first at the non-statutory services - so there is a real risk as to whether these will continue in the future.

“There could be a reduction in One Team services and, the worst case scenario, is that they could go all together – we just don’t know what way it is going.

“If we keep waiting to see what Somerset Council does in providing support for Wellington and Rockwell Green – we will be waiting for some time and too late for us to make a decision.”

Mr Farrow spoke about the role being a part-time position, but councillors quickly suggested that it should be a full-time post given the amount of work likely to be carried out.

Cllr Justin Cole said: “The quicker we get involved in this the better and will help to stop problems further down the line. The town clerk has realised this and I think we should back it.

“It’s an important area and I think this could be a full-time role. The need is there and we should invest in it.”

The Mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, said: “I think we should look towards having a full-time role. The work on this is going to get more rather than less.”

Committee chairman, Cllr Catherine Govier, said: “If the community support officer is based here they will be able to build relationships and trust with the community.”

Mr Farrow said: “My concern is getting money in the budget for this role so we have somebody in the post by April 2025.”

Councillors were told Mr Farrow would like to have somebody in the post by April 2025, while a report indicated that a full-time role would receive a salary of up to nearly £37,000 a year.

A final decision will be made by the full council.