South Somerset District Council is to share part of its central building with Somerset County Council in a bid to cut costs and drive joint working.

The agreement will see the county council lease part of the office in Yeovil, transferring its adult and children services to the new building by the end of the year.

Both councils will adopt flexible working patterns to make the most of the space.

Cllr David Huxtable, Somerset County Council cabinet member for resources, said: ‘We are committed to working more effectively with our partners to create a smaller, leaner and more customer-focused public sector in Somerset.

‘We are working hard to reduce the amount of money we spend on offices and welcome this opportunity to work more closely with our colleagues at the district council.’