Taunton's street food vendors urge council not to turn off electricity
Over a thousand people have signed a petition calling for a solution
Last updated 17th Mar 2025
Street food vendors in Taunton are calling on the council to keep the power on, after the local authority warns it cannot afford to maintain their electricity supply.
Over a thousand people have signed a petition calling for a solution, with eight local businesses on Fore Street now under threat of closure.
Somerset Council says at a cost of more than £30,000 per year, keeping the power on is financially unsustainable.
"It's been incredibly stressful," said Alex Frost, owner of Super Juice.
"We've just come from a long winter and coming into our season so we need to be open, we need to be trading for our business to survive."
If Alex is unable to find a source of electricity before the end of the month, she will have to cease trading in Taunton.
"We're more than happy to pay for the power that we use but we cannot survive without access to it.
"We all know that the council is struggling financially but they can charge us what they need to charge us - that's not the issue here. The issue is they're not giving us the option."
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said in a statement:
"We are sorry for any stress this is causing, and we will continue to work with traders to provide support. The Council is investigating alternative options and we will continue to explore these with Taunton Town Council.
"Unfortunately, we have had to take a number of actions to address critical financial issues and this is one of them.
"Supplying and maintaining electricity in this way, a service Somerset Council inherited from Somerset West and Taunton Council is a significant cost each year. In 2023/24, costs totalled £30,791.
"The regular traders involved, who get an electrical supply provided and paid for by the Council’s licensing function were first contacted about the decision in September 2024.
"We understand traders are willing to pay for the electricity but the current system needs upgrading in order to measure usage and bill them separately – it is not possible to take on the considerable cost to do that at this time and not justifiable considering the cuts to services the Council is having to make.
"Just to continue running with the service as it is, could mean a £200 rise in grant and renewal fees charged to traders across the whole of the County, which would be unreasonable.
"Those trading in the vicinity of the Market House have also been notified of our intention to cease the provision of an electricity supply due to the pending sale of the Market House from which their supplies are serviced."