A POPULAR pub in Yeovil town centre will be getting a new outdoor seating area after plans were approved.

JD Wetherspoons operates the William Dampier pub at the corner of Central Street and Middle Street, at the bottom end of Yeovil town centre.

The company applied in late-March to create an outside seating areas for its customers, removing part of the service yard which backs onto the town’s bus station and the vacant Glovers Walk shopping centre.

Somerset Council has now given these plans the green light, with the new area expected to be up and running within the next few months.

The William Dampier takes its name from the eponymous English explorer, naturalist and pirate, who was born in East Coker and was the first Englishman to explore parts of Australia (as well as the first person to circumnavigate the world three times).

The pub’s new outdoor area will measure around 185 sq m, bound by a concrete wall and with two pergolas being installed along with a new fire escape.

The company secured permission for a similar facility in November 2019, but due to the coronavirus pandemic these changes were never implemented.

A spokesman for Nineteen47 (representing the developer) said: “The demand for beer gardens and other forms of external seating have risen exponentially, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, with many of these spaces becoming critical to the viability of the hospitality sector while restrictions were placed on indoor capacity.

“Since then, many have retained a preference to sit in an outdoor setting, particularly during the sunnier months.

“The application site is south- and west-facing and will therefore benefit from prolonged periods of sunlight during the trading hours of the public house.

“This will introduce a new offering to the public house and support the continued viability of a business which remains operational despite the recognizable struggles of other businesses in the surrounding area.”

The area around Middle Street has seen numerous shops shutting their doors in the last few years, alongside the council’s ongoing Yeovil Refresh programme which is making to improvements to the appearance of the town centre.

The council confirmed in mid-May that it intended to purchase Glovers Walk and the bus station site to drive forward a new programme of regeneration, which could deliver new homes and commercial space at the bottom of Middle Street.

Neither Avon and Somerset Police nor Yeovil Town Council objected to JD Wetherspoons’ plans – though the latter requested that the facility be closed after 9pm to prevent noise disturbance for local residents.

Somerset Council approved the plans through the delegated powers of its planning officers, rather than a public decision by its planning committee south (which handles major applications in the former South Somerset area).

Mickey Green, the council’s executive director for climate and place, said: “The proposal represents an acceptable change of use of a small portion of the existing service yard, and would provide for a permanent external seating arrangement for this well-established public house situated in Yeovil’s town- centre.

“It is not considered such which would harm the vitality and viability of the town centre.

“The proposal would cause no harm to the character and appearance of the area; and would not adversely effect residential amenity or highway safety.”