THE stalled regeneration of a Somerset theatre could get back on track by selling off one of the council’s flagship commercial investments.

Somerset Council announced in October that it would be putting its £30m revamp of the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil town centre on hold to reassess the business case in light of high inflation and interest rates.

The council, which declared a financial emergency in early-November, is currently exploring ways to plug a £87m funding gap for next year – including the sale of some of its surplus land, property and commercial investments.

Former council leader David Fothergill revealed at a meeting on Wednesday (December 6) that money from the sale of one such investment – a battery energy storage facility near Taunton – could be “recycled” back into the Octagon project.

The council has not directly confirmed this assertion, but said an announcement about the project’s future would be made early in the new year.

Mr Fothergill – who served as Somerset County Council leader between 2017 and 2022 – raised the issue at a executive committee meeting held in Shepton Mallet on Wednesday morning (December 6).

Somerset County Gazette: The battery storage facility near Taunton.The battery storage facility near Taunton. (Image: Daniel Mumby)

He said: “There was some debate at a previous executive meeting about recycling the funds from the sale of the battery park back into the Octagon Theatre. I just wonder if that’s still the intention?”

The council’s commercial investments (which include its battery energy storage sites near Taunton and Fareham) were discussed in confidential session by the executive when it met on October 4 – the same meeting where the Octagon’s fate was decided.

Deputy leader Liz Leyshon responded: “We had a confidential item at an earlier meeting. I’m very happy to catch up off-line on that.”

Since the Octagon project was put on hold, Yeovil Town Council voted in principle to financially support its regeneration – though no funding has yet been committed.

Ms Leyshon said work to re-examine the scope and cost of the Octagon project was ongoing, with a view to the council publishing its preferred option for moving forward early in the new year.

Somerset County Gazette: An artist's impression of the revamped theatre.An artist's impression of the revamped theatre. (Image: Somerset Council)

She said: “There is a great deal of work going at the moment in the back offices between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Arts Council of England (ACE) South West and our officers on the possibility of a revised option for an Octagon project that would ensure its future as a flagship venue for Somerset.

“That is very delicate work and it is being pursued with all the partners, including Yeovil Town Council.

“We would hope that we will be able to make an announcement on that work within the next few weeks.”