BUSINESS have questioned a council’s investment in a new hotel on the Firepool site in Taunton, saying money should help the town centre.

Taunton Deane Borough Council has committed to borrowing £16 million of public money to invest in a new 120-bedroom hotel at the south-eastern corner of the site, following the approval of plans to regenerate the area.

The viability of this decision has been questioned by local residents and the Somerset Chamber of Commerce, which has called for the council to invest in the town centre instead of the hotel.

Meanwhile, a petition has been set up calling on the council to scrap the current plan and start again.

The council has responded that the investment has been properly scrutinised and will deliver a valuable long-term revenue stream.

Plans for the redevelopment of the Firepool site – including office space, a cinema, retail and up to 200 homes – were approved by the council’s planning committee in mid-March.


READ MORE: Council will borrow £16 million for new Taunton hotel plan


But the project took a hit in May when your County Gazette reported that clothing giant Next was “no longer interested” in coming to the site.

The Somerset Chamber of Commerce has stressed that any proposals to redevelop the site must be a mixture of business, leisure and retail, and must not undermine or damage the town centre.

Interim chief executive, Chris Langdon, said: “As the options for this site are being considered, it is very important that the council properly consults and takes accounts of the viability of businesses that have already heavily invested in Taunton.

“I question whether public sector funds should be utilised in ways that results in unfair competition with private sector investment – perhaps the answer is some positive collaboration.”

Taunton Chamber of Commerce president, Nigel Pearce, added: “We’ve had a long-term interest in the Firepool site and are in regular contact with all parties, including the council and businesses within the town centre.

“Obviously any commercial enterprise needs to provide a viable return on investment, but it must not compromise investment into the high street and town as a whole.”

The proposal to invest in the hotel was approved by the full council on April 10, following two confidential sessions on late-March and early-April where the amount of investment was discussed.

Local resident Tony Sutcliffe raised the issue again at a meeting on April 24, stating that there was an “uncanny resemblance” to a council-backed hotel project in Bournemouth.

He said: “There is a similar project in Bournemouth, where their council is borrowing up to £70M of tax-payers money to support a hotel complex near the Bournemouth International Centre in a contract with the Hilton Hotel chain.

“Are councillors aware that in Bournemouth, there has been a two-year delay in the project, that building work has failed to start and that there is a real risk that the project could be shelved altogether?

“Bournemouth City Council, on its own admission, did not consult with Poole about the contract it has entered into and therefore has de facto pledged the new merged council to fulfil its obligations and share its risk with its new council.

“Did Taunton Deane fully consult with West Somerset? Has it pointed out the risks that the obligations could spill over onto the balance sheet of the new council before it has even started?”


READ MORE: What Next? Clothing giant pulls out of Firepool plan


The Bournemouth Echo reported that neither Poole nor Christchurch councils were consulted on Bournemouth hotel proposals, with the three councils due to merge in April 2019 as part of a reorganisation of Dorset local government.

Taunton Deane Borough Council said that the hotel was “a key part of our plans for the regeneration of Taunton town centre”, and that “lengthy and robust procurement” had taken place before reaching the stage of having a preferred operator.

A spokesperson said: “The proposal was extensively reviewed and debated by the corporate scrutiny committee, which recommended approval to the full council. Again, at this council meeting it was debated at length before being approved.

“This was before the Secretary of State made his decision on the creation of a new, single council. However, leading members of West Somerset Council have been consulted on the plans and they fully support both the business case and the proposal.

“This kind of hotel will be a huge asset, bringing significant money into the local economy and creating jobs at both the construction and operational stages for local people.”

Somerset County Gazette:
The Firepool site has been vacant for a decade

The council said that it and others in its position would be “hugely reliant on new streams of income by 2020” in light of central government phasing out its annual grants to councils.

Without investments of this nature, it argued, it would not be able to provide either the same quality or quantity of front-line services.

The spokesperson continued: “Creating new income and thinking more commercially are vital if we want to fulfil our ambitions to provide the modern, streamlined, customer-focused services for our residents.

“This means we have to do even more to ensure our area remains an attractive place for businesses to locate and invest.

“This plan is founded on a solid business case that has been subject to due diligence and validated by industry experts in the commercial property and hotel market. Their expert projections also forecast healthy profits and these, in addition to business rates, can be invested in council services.


READ MORE: Petition calls on council to scrap Firepool plans


“Research shows that there is currently an under-supplied hotel market in our area, and this is borne out by the significant level of interest from potential operators and brands in locating to Taunton due to the its first-rate road and rail connections.

“The current economic climate makes it difficult for the private sector to secure funding for investments such as this, but there is a huge opportunity here and we are in a position to seize it by kick-starting the project ourselves.

“Industry experts point to a clear market opportunity for Taunton to offer a high-quality, value-for-money, internationally branded hotel which will enhance the overall appeal of the town and be able to trade as a sustainable investment.”

Responding to the comparison with Bournemouth, the council further responded: “Every investment carries a degree of risk, but we see a huge opportunity to bring far reaching benefits to the area.

“Experiences in other towns and cities give us the opportunity to learn – rather than the excuse to back away.”