| Ash | |
Holy Trinity Church, Ash |
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Ash
Ash shown within Somerset |
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| Population | 616 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ST474206 |
| District | South Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TAUNTON |
| Postcode district | TA12 |
| Dialling code | 01935 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Yeovil |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Ash is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated 1 mile (1.6 km) from Martock and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 617.[1] The parish includes the hamlets of Milton and Witcombe.
Ash has a primary school which was awarded outstanding in 2008 Ofsted report and titled the best primary school in the uk.
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The name, from the Old English aesc means "place with/near ash tree(s)."[2]
The parish was created in 1895 from the north eastern quarter of Martock.
The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Yeovil Rural District.[3] The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Entertainer Belinda Evans was born in 1978 in Ash, and is a soprano singer. She has a BA(Hons) in Music, and also has a postgraduate diploma. In 2003 she found fame by singing the national anthem before every England game at the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup in Australia.
Evans was one of the ten finalists in the BBC series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, and has made her West End debut as Swing in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Phantom of the Opera.