CONSIDERING the parlous state of the retail sector, it should not come as a surprise that the retail giant Next has pulled out of Firepool (What Next for Firepool?, County Gazette, May 10).
But it is still disappointing news for Taunton.
Even more concerning is the news that Taunton Deane Borough Council’s (TDBC) development partner St Modwen is selling its stake in various shopping centres such as London and Birmingham to focus on industrial/logistics development as the more profitable option.
Ten years of inactivity is far too long. Is it time to re-evaluate our development partner and focus on our county town’s priorities?
READ MORE: Next pulls out of Firepool development
If Waitrose, Next and now St Modwen can see shopping centres are no longer profitable investment opportunities, why can’t the Tory leadership at TDBC?
It is essential to reconsider the future of the Firepool site and ensure that we get it right.
The fact that the leader of the council Cllr John Williams was unaware of Next’s decision should concern us all, unless Cllr Williams has another rabbit under his hat!
Cllr Williams claims that Next did not communicate their decision to withdraw from Firepool development, maybe they did but he was not listening, a little like when the majority of TD’s taxpayers did not want him to merge with the failing council of West Somerset and yet he along with the rest of the Tories at Taunton Deane pushed it through the council, costing the taxpayers millions of pounds to find that his Tory colleagues at the County are planning a Unitary authority with all six councils in Somerset!
READ MORE: Firepool timeline and what happens now...
The leader of council should not forget that the economic case which led to the sizeable grant from the Department of Transport for the new ring road was based mainly on the assumption there would be well paid office jobs on Firepool site, not part-time jobs in the hospitality and retail sectors.
If we are serious about the future of our County Town, we should raise our game and look at growth industries and innovation to create quality jobs in an attractive environment, rather than remaining wedded to what was viable 10 years ago. This Tory administration is living in the past.
What we need urgently is a forum of the local business community, including architects, estate agents, developers, academics, financers, together with cross party councillors and Taunton Deane senior officers to form an action group and come up with a solution, from concept to implementation. The status quo is not acceptable.
CLLR HABIB FARBAHI
Liberal Democrat
Taunton Deane Borough Council
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