THE first of April was no joke for Wellington, it was an historic day for the town and many of the roughly 15,000 residents who would not have been born the last time Wellington Park was owned by people they can hire and fire at elections.

Wellington Park is rightly looked upon as a ‘jewel in the crown’ for the town, but for more than 50 years since a reorganisation of local government it has been owned by councils based in Taunton.

And in Wellington, we all know where councils based in Taunton liked to spend their, our, money - not in Wellington.

Now, as the town council begins to resemble the pre-1974 Wellington Urban District Council, the park has been passed back into local councillors’ hands.

Ironically, it has done so because of the financial ineptitude of a Taunton-based council, an authority which is constantly battling to avoid insolvency.

There has been some kick-back, however, with social media warriors complaining the town council has had to increase council tax by 27 per cent to cover the cost of the park and other open spaces.

One wonders where those warriors were when the council held open-to-the-public meeting after meeting to discuss the issue.