The Future for Taunton Town Centre

Somerset's County Capital
Heart of the South West of England

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For more
information visit
the Project Taunton website

Taunton's Vision for the Future. A Positive Way Forward

Over the next 25 years Taunton will see significant new development, all predominately within the town centre. This opens up opportunities for businesses, visitors, residents and the future. Should you be part of it?

Economic studies have shown the significant potential of Taunton to provide new and diverse job opportunities. The estimates indicate that up to 10,000 new jobs could be created in the town over the next 20 years. In order to maintain the current balance of commuting, and ensure Taunton provides for a ‘sustainable’ balance of housing and employment growth, this would give rise to a need for a further 7,000 homes over the same period. In turn the spending power of these new residents, workers and businesses has the potential to support new investment in retail, leisure and cultural facilities.

The town centre framework provides for around 600,000 sq ft of employment floor space (with potential for longer term growth on the Safeway site), hotel and conference facilities, approximately 2,000houses/apartments, over 300,000 sq ft of new retail floor space alongside new cultural, leisure and community facilities.

The proposals set out by the Taunton Vision group stretches across the whole of Taunton creating a wide expanse of civic space and facilities. These proposals include but not limited to:

development of over 40ha of land within the town centre
new quality designed links via high quality pedestrian routes covering: uses and activities, form and scale, streets and spaces, and access and movement
Improved links for cyclists and pedestrians
A new east-west link to allow existing streets around the town centre to be used for promoting more sustainable forms of transport;
new marina and weir development

new cultural quarter
new leisure facilities
development of the River Tone's frontage for retail and residential use
improved transport strategy
development of Somerset Cricket Ground to International level
new housing developments including community centre, local shops etc
development of new primary and secondary schools
new civic spaces
increase in town profile for Regional Assembly status

The proposals seek to strengthen the core retail area – providing around 250,000 sq ft of new floor space as well as apartments, a small bus station and multi-storey car parking. High Street would be improved as a link between the town centre and Vivary Park, opening up views of the gates from the town centre. The retail scheme would create a strong link between East Street and High Street. It would provide larger shop units to meet the demand from national retailers wishing to be in this part of Taunton. This could include provision for a new department store. The Crescent car park area would strengthen the retail link between High Street and Bath Place and include provision for a multi-storey car park and a local bus station.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

Tangier is an important area, providing the transition between the town centre / cultural quarter and the learning/research focus at SCAT and Musgrove Park. It provides opportunities for smaller scale business growth, for student or key worker housing and for high quality housing along the river front. It is therefore a natural ‘mixed-use’ environment.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

The new theatre/cinema proposal is located on the north bank of the Tone. This will provide a significant attraction at the top of North Street to balance the thin retail activity around East Street/High Street. It also provides a prominent river front location for the Brewhouse Theatre to maximise passing trade and hence viability. The cluster of historic buildings around Castle Green, including the Castle and Hunts Court can provide a focus for wider cultural activity within Taunton. This will provide a direct link from the north bank of the Tone through Castle Green to Bath Place and the retail proposals. The proposals for the cultural quarter assume that the Inner Relief Road (IRR) does not proceed. If the IRR is constructed it is likely that Lidl, Poundstretcher and Safeway will remain in their existing locations (see the the Project Taunton website for more information. click here).

The area between the station and the cricket club is the prime location for new office development in the town centre. It is capable of delivering up to 500,000sq ft of new floor space in a high quality, distinctive town centre environment. It will provide opportunities for attracting the Regional Assembly or other high profile activities to Taunton. The area will be mixed use in character providing for a mix of affordable townhouses and apartments, whilst the river front will be a focus for a new hotel, bars and restaurants attracted by the new workers and residents.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

If the Brewhouse Theatre is to expand it cannot do so through refurbishment or extensions to its existing building. In order to provide the size and quality of theatre facilities which Taunton expects in the future, it is therefore necessary to consider demolition and rebuilding. Our proposals provide a new location for the Brewhouse which would allow it to continue operating at its current location until the new facility is available. In its place will be a mix of leisure and speciality retailing which will complement the new cricket ground.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

The cricket club wishes to stage international cricket in Taunton. This requires an increase in seating capacity and an increase in the size of the playing area. The proposals enable it to do this whilst remaining at the heart of the town centre. At the same time the redevelopment provides the opportunity to make this important facility more accessible to the town’s residents, allowing it to be used for other sporting and non-sporting activities throughout the year.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

An east-west link road will provide strategic access to the Firepool site. This may allow existing streets around the town centre to be used for promoting more sustainable forms of transport, for example bus priority measures.

For more information visit the Project Taunton website www.projecttaunton.co.uk

:: Taunton Information

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Thinking of the Children

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Christmas Shopping Hours

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	Taunton's History
	Taunton has over 1000 years of interesting and mixed history and most can be seen viewed or visited throughout the Town Centre. But before you visit why not take a look at our brief history of Taunton covering the most poignant times in Taunton's past.
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