Castle Cary is a small market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 kilometres) north west of Wincanton and 8 miles (12.9 kilometres) south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill as well as on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. The Town Council has duty for local concerns, consisting of setting a yearly mandate (neighborhood rate) to cover the council's operating costs and also producing annual make up public scrutiny. The Town Council evaluates regional preparation applications and also works with the local cops, area council policemans, and neighbourhood watch teams on matters of crime, security, as well as website traffic. The Community Council's function likewise includes starting jobs for the maintenance and repair of community centers, along with speaking with the area council on the upkeep, fixing, and also improvement of freeways, drainage, walkways, public transportation, as well as street cleaning. Preservation matters (including trees and provided buildings) and environmental concerns are the duty of the area council. The community drops within the Non-metropolitan area of South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wincanton Rural District. The district council is in charge of regional planning and also structure control, regional roads, council housing, environmental health, markets as well as fairs, reject collection and recycling, burial grounds as well as crematoria, leisure services, parks, as well as tourist. Somerset County Council is accountable for running the largest as well as most costly neighborhood services such as education, social solutions, collections, main roads, public transportation, policing as well as fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and also strategic planning. The town remains in the Cary selecting ward. This stretches southern to the North Cadbury parish, and also south west to Babcary. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 5,502.