ALMOST 20 years ago to the day, Taunton planners announced their "masterplan" for the town's future, which was set to be complete by 2050.
The Taunton Vision Scheme was at the time developed by urban design group Terrence O'Rourke, who were enlisted by the South-West Regional Development Agency, the then Somerset County Council, and Taunton Deane Council.
Development plans were revealed in the following week, and promised a 500 to 700-seat theatre and arts complex, along with new shops, restaurants, and 2,000 homes and appartments.
The overall aims of the Taunton Vision Project were to:
- Respect the character of the town
- Realise the potential of the town
- Put the river at the town's heart
- Maximise living in all parts of the town
- Bring young people back into the town
- Manage traffic
- Get it right for residents first
'Manage traffic' was one of the goals set by Taunton planners in 2003. (Image: Archive)
The new developments were set to take place over 40 hectares of land in the town centre and along the river, which was hoped to create over 3,000 new jobs and 500,000 square feet of retail space.
At the time, a Terrence O'Rourke spokesperson said: "Taunton's a strong town centre with a robust economy which isn't making the best use of its strengths.
"We've been impressed by the sheer size of the opportunity development sites in Taunton as well as the potential quality of the sites and the amount of river frontage.
"It's imperative that these sites aren't wasted, so priority uses must be identified and the best use possible made of them."
Experts also said that the River Tone would become the focus of the town centre.
So, 20 years on from the announcement of Taunton's 2050 vision, how are things going?
So far, we haven't seen any evidence of a new theatre and arts complex to replace The Brewhouse, but we have seen the opening of a new living space along the river.
The Coal Orchard development opened in November 2022, and opened space for riverside living, shops, work and leisure space.
Almost eleven months on, not a single shop has opened in the multi-million pound development.
In July 2023, a Somerset Council spokesperson said they were "confident" contracts for the first units at Coal Orchard would be signed in the near future.
One success of the Taunton Vision Project so far has been the expansion of the Somerset County Cricket Club ground, now known as the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Since 2015, upgrades to the ground have meant it's now up to the technicial specification to host one-day international cricket matches.
In June 2023, it was revealed that the Taunton-based cricket ground would continue to host international cricket for a further seven years.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues on the long list of yet-to-be-resolved aims from the Taunton Vision Project, is the traffic in the town.
On top of twice daily rush-hour gridlock, plus a seemingly infinite network of roadworks, road traffic collisions have been a problem for Taunton in recent years.
According to crashmap.co.uk, 231 crashes were recorded in Taunton between 2021 and 2016 alone, including 23 'serious' incidents.
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