PLANS to regenerate one of Somerset’s market towns have been pared back significantly after councillors voted to cut the budget by more than 50 per cent.

South Somerset District Council pledged to revitalise and redevelop Wincanton town centre as one of three flagship regeneration projects – the others being in Chard and Yeovil.

The council committed £2million towards regenerating Wincanton in early-2020, with a master plan being developed, grant funding for local events being provided and various improvements to the public realm being planned.

But members of the district executive committee agreed on Thursday morning (February 17) to significantly decrease the budget, arguing that public money was no longer needed to improve a key building on the High Street.

As of February 2022, the council had set aside a total of £5,673,000 for the regeneration of Wincanton – which included a possible stake in the redevelopment of the grade two listed White Horse pub.

The pub, which dates back to 1665, has been subject to numerous different attempts at redevelopment, including a proposed pizzeria in 2017 and a more recent proposal to convert it into 14 flats.

Since the regeneration budget was agreed, the building has been sold to a private developer and “no longer requires public intervention”, with plans to redevelop the site expected to come forward in the coming months.

Partly as a result of this, the committee voted to reduce the budget by £3,280,764 – a cut of nearly 58 per cent.

Of the remaining budget of £2,392,236, just under half (£1,100,000) is allocated for the construction of the public realm elements, with a further £180,000 for signs directing motorists from the A303.

The public realm elements comprise:

  • A “light touch de-clutter” on the western side of Carrington Way, with an improved crossing, new planted areas in front of the library, wider pavements and two new on-street parking bays
  • Wider pavements on the central section of High Street to give pedestrians more room and encourage road users in both directions to slow down
  • Safer crossing points for pedestrians in the Market Place, along with more planted areas and improvements to existing historic buildings

In light of high inflation in the construction industry (which has resulted in additional funding being agreed for the Yeovil Refresh programme), the council has built a ten per cent contingency into its budget.

Wincanton regeneration project manager Pam Williams promised that three schemes to improve the public realm which were agreed in September 2021 would proceed as planned – and would be finished before the new unitary Somerset Council formally takes control in April 2023.

Chard & Ilminster News: Development Opportunities Put Forward Within The Wincanton Regeneration Scheme. CREDIT: South Somerset District Council. Free to use for all BBC wire partners.

She said in her written report: “As well as the launch of a grant programme to support improvements to historic buildings, the [regeneration] programme  will, subject to the final sign-off from Somerset County Council’s highways team,  proceed with the three public realm enhancements at Carrington Way, Central High Street and Market Place – including a long-awaited scheme to improve pavement widths in the centre of the High Street.

“Local government re-organisation (LGR) means that commitments cannot be entered into which will extend beyond March 2023, unless they have LGR Board approval.

“As a consequence, the final year of Wincanton’s project is targeted towards those projects which can be wholly delivered by March 2023.”

Following approval by the district executive committee, the Wincanton regeneration funding proposals will come before the full council for final approval as part of its annual budget-setting meeting on February 28.