MORE than £400million is being invested in capital projects such as schools and roads without extra borrowing, Somerset County Council’s cabinet heard on Monday.

An update on approvals of capital spending – spending on buildings and structures rather than running costs – showed that the current programme amounts to more than £410m.

This includes spending on schools in Bridgwater, Taunton and Yeovil; road safety schemes, work on footways, bridges and Rights of Way across Somerset.

The cabinet meeting also heard that the council’s current capital projects are being delivered almost entirely on budget, with an overspend of just 0.1%.

The meeting also highlighted an approval of £200,000 which will go towards the part purchase of the former St Augustine of Canterbury School site in Taunton, which recently became redundant following the creation of Taunton Academy.

The former school site will be used to provide additional early years and special school places along with a production kitchen for the provision of school meals.

Cllr David Huxtable, cabinet member for resources, said: “This represents a huge amount of investment that will bring benefits to people across the county.

"Even in the current financial climate, it is vital that we continue to look to the future and make sure we have the schools and infrastructure we really need.

“We are investing in the things that are important to our residents, and the fact that such a large amount of work is being delivered within budget in the vast majority of cases is something our staff should be proud of.”