THREE new enterprise centres to encourage businesses will be opened in Somerset under the county council’s new business plan.

The council already supports five centres across the county, supporting more than 50 businesses with affordable and flexible premises.

With each of these five premises now reaching their capacity, the council has been on the hunt for new sites in rural areas.

Three new centres will be built in Bruton, Wells and Wiveliscombe to fill the need.

The new centres have been built into the council’s business plan, which came before the policies and place scrutiny committee in Taunton on Tuesday morning (May 22).

The planned centres come under the council’s wider aim to “create the climate for enterprise and innovation that businesses need to grow and collaborate.”

The five existing centres – in Dulverton, Frome, Highbridge, Minehead and Wheddon Cross – provide a total of 52,000 sq ft of business space, and are currently operating at 93 per cent capacity.

The council said that it was difficult to estimate how many businesses the new centres would be able to accommodate, since it would depend on the demands of the individual users.

A spokesman said: “These centres are there to provide suitable, affordable and flexible space, particularly in rural areas, because this has been found to be a key barrier to small businesses setting up or expanding.”

The new Wells Technology Enterprise Centre will be based on the Cathedral Park business park, opposite the Morrisons supermarket on the A371 East Somerset Way.

The building will provide 12 offices, meeting rooms and mixed use space for businesses, along with five industrial units.

Construction is set to be completed by summer 2019, with a view towards businesses moving into the building in the autumn.

The Wiveliscombe Enterprise Centre will be built on the former Karro Foods site on Sandys Moor.

Work will begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year, though it will not be ready for occupation until early-2019.

This facility will provide ten offices, meeting rooms and seven industrial units.

Bruton’s enterprise centre will be built at an unconfirmed location on the A359 and is currently in the early stages of planning and design.

The council’s business plan – including the new enterprise centres – will be signed off by the cabinet on June 11.