More than £2.7m of public money will be spent on purchasing and demolishing a vacant Somerset shopping centre as part of ongoing regeneration plans.

As part of the Yeovil Refresh regeneration programme, South Somerset District Council (and its successor Somerset Council) attempted to bring forward disused brownfield sites within the town centre for redevelopment, including the Glovers Walk shopping centre on Middle Street and the former cattle market off the A30 Reckleford.

The government provided £9.75m from its future high streets fund towards the Yeovil Refresh, part of which was focussed on unlocking these sites for mixed use redevelopment through co-operation with private landowners.

But a lack of progress in these negotiations, coupled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, prompted officers to rethink back in August 2022 and ask the government if some of the funding could be redirected to other sites within the town.

Following an agreement with the newly-renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Somerset Council has now published a breakdown of how much of the remaining funding will be spent on regenerating each of the four sites which have been earmarked within the town centre.

The future high streets fund grant was originally awarded in December 2020, with the government providing a total of £9,756,897 towards the Yeovil Refresh budget (which eventually exceeded £24m through other grants and borrowing).

Of this grant, £4,784,378 was allocated for public realm improvements (including the ongoing work at The Triangle, where a new amphitheatre is being constructed) and £4,972,519 was set aside for development schemes.

The four sites which will be redeveloped using this grant funding are:

The Glovers Walk shopping centre

66 Middle Street (near the new amphitheatre and outdoor LED screen)

96 Middle Street (opposite the William Dampier pub)

Grimsby Corner on Wyndham Street

The council announced in late-April that it would be spending up to £1m to demolish the now-vacant Glovers Walk site, and confirmed in mid-May that it was in the process of purchasing the land for redevelopment.

The shopping centre, bus station and part of the adjoining land on Lower Middle Street was put on the market in late-October 2023 at a guide price of £1.75m.

Under the council’s plans, the site will be flattened to “form a temporary, ‘meanwhile’ use” while a master-plan for the location (funded by Homes England) is completed.

This will then lead to further public consultation on plans to deliver a mixed use redevelopment on the site, including new flats and commercial space.

The council has now confirmed that the “acquisition, demolition and the provision of a meantime use” at Glovers Walk will cost £2,728,019 – just under 55 per cent of the remaining future high streets fund grant.

Officers confirmed on Thursday (August 15) that the contractor for the demolition works had been officially appointed, in order to meet the government’s deadline that all contracted associated with the remaining future high streets fund grants had to be in place by September 30.

Ian Timms, project manager for the Yeovil Refresh programme, said: “This
project presents a major opportunity to clear this brownfield site for future uses.

“The demolition will enable the creation of a short-term ‘meantime use’ which will enable development of a longer-term plan.

“Initially some of the space will become a public open space to support this meantime activity making the area accessible to the public. This is likely to include planting and greening of the area.

“In the longer term, development plans will be needed for the site, and with the
presence of other council assets such as the former Wilko building in Middle
Street,this presents a wider strategic opportunity consider how this area of the town might develop.

“This could include increased residential space, a range of commercial and business uses, cultural space and leisure activity.”

The demolition is expected to begin in the autumn and take up to six months to complete – during which time the pedestrian route from Yeovil bus station through the shopping centre will be closed off.

Mr Timms said a diversionary route would be in place throughout the demolition work, which would be “as short as possible and clearly marked” to ensure the bus station could continue operating.

The other three sites in question will see “affordable residential accommodation for young professionals, key workers and student apprentices” created above the existing ground floor commercial space in the town centre.

At 66 Middle Street (the former Turquoise Kitchen restaurant), the council will spend £502,000 to deliver 18 flats along and bring the ground floor commercial space back into use (before marketing it to a suitable tenant).

At 96 Middle Street (between the 94 Club and the Kaspa’s restaurant), Abbey Manor Developments put forward plans in June 2020 to demolish the existing premises and replace it with a ground floor commercial outlet with nine flats across the first and second floors.

A decision on these plans has been repeatedly delayed by the phosphates crisis, which has held up the delivery of around 18,000 homes across Somerset since Natural England issued its legal advice in August 2020.

Once planning permission is in place, the council will provide £301,500 from the government grant to make this development come forward swiftly.

At Grimsby Corner (at the western end of Wyndham Street), Acorn Homes secured permission in late-January to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with a block of 48 flats.

The council will contribute the remaining grant of £1,440,500 to deliver 43 affordable flats on this site, working alongside the developer.

All of the remaining future high streets fund grant must be spent by April 2025.

The council will shortly begin the construction of several ‘missing links’ within Yeovil’s active travel network, making it easier for people to walk, cycle and wheel into the town centre.

While this forms part of the Yeovil Refresh, this element of the programme is being funded by a separate grant of £1.2m provided by Active Travel England (part of the Department for Transport).