Three projects that can revitalise town
Your correspondent, Nigel Walker, raises an interesting question about how Midsomer Norton can most successfully emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
As I see it, there are three critical development projects that will define the future prospects of our town.
The redevelopment of the Welton, Bibby and Baron factory site, with a hotel, shops and potentially up to 200 homes.
The High Street Action Zone aims to revitalise the Town Hall and The Island, creating a new public space for markets, arts and cultural events, improve pedestrian access across the town, as well as providing a scheme to repair historic shopfronts.
Finally, the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone, on the western edge of Midsomer Norton, which once developed could create 1,700 new jobs and 54,000 square metres of commercial space.
All of these projects pre-date the pandemic, but if coordinated effectively they could see Midsomer Norton reinvigorated at a time our community needs it the most.
However, get these projects wrong and the 200 homes suggested for the centre of town will deliver congestion rather than regeneration.
The Action and Enterprise Zones certainly make for compelling window dressing, but B&NES needs to learn the lessons of the past if it wants to avoid another Norton Radstock Regeneration debacle.
Indeed, a science park or manufacturing facility located at Old Mills could be a godsend, but if the council chooses to locate retail space at the site that could signal the end of Midsomer Norton High Street.
Politicians are very good at announcing initiatives like these, so much so they’ve announced them more than once, but now is a time for action not words!
Peter Marwood Midsomer Norton