Castle Cary is a tiny market town as well as civil parish in south Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) north west of Wincanton and also 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 establishing a yearly precept (local price) to cover the council's operating costs as well as producing yearly represent public scrutiny. The Town Council evaluates neighborhood planning applications and works with the neighborhood authorities, area council policemans, and also neighbourhood watch teams on issues of criminal activity, security, as well as web traffic. The Community Council's duty additionally includes launching jobs for the repair and maintenance of community facilities, along with consulting with the area council on the upkeep, repair service, and also enhancement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, as well as street cleansing. Preservation issues (including trees and detailed buildings) and environmental problems are the responsibility of the area council. The community falls within the Non-metropolitan area of South Somerset, which was based on 1 April 1974 under the City Government Act 1972, having formerly become part of Wincanton Rural District. The area council is in charge of regional preparation and also structure control, local roads, council housing, environmental wellness, markets as well as fairs, refuse collection as well as recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure solutions, parks, and tourism. Somerset County Council is in charge of running the biggest and also most expensive local services such as education, social solutions, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing as well as fire services, trading criteria, garbage disposal and also calculated preparation. The town is in the Cary selecting ward. This stretches southern to the North Cadbury church, and south west to Babcary. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 5,502.