SOMERSET County Council’s chief executive Pat Flaherty dropped in to Ilminster recently to listen to concerns from local residents.

Following his appointment as CEO last year, he had indicated his intentions to meet more people face to face, and he visited the town at the invitation of county councillor Linda Vijeh.

Highways came high on the list of topics for discussion. Ilminster businesses remain very concerned about the impact of continued road closures, along with issues in relation to flooding caused by blocked and broken drains, and parking within the town.

Those living in outlying communities also raised the impact on small businesses of the roll-out of superfast broadband.

Speeding, and the impact of increased HGV traffic in the village of Donyatt, were also raised.

Cllr Vijeh said: “While we can accept that Pat may not have the answer to everything at his fingertips, I think that everyone welcomed the opportunity to be able to meet him and to be able to raise those local issues which affect local people.”