Fire near historic Somerset mill prompts council warning

Firefighters were called to the Fox's Field green open space (which lies to the north of the mill) on Friday evening (July 24) following reports of a hay bale being set alight.

In light of the incident, and ongoing wildfires in continental Europe, the town council has asked local parents to warn children of the dangers of setting fires in open areas.

This comes after Somerset Council announced that plans to regenerate Tonedale Mill were being abandoned in favour of focussing on the nearby Tone Works site instead.

The town council indicated on its official Facebook page on Friday evening (July 24) that the fire had been started by young people who were in the vicinity after baling had been completed.

Tonedale Mill in Wellington, seen from Fox's Field (Image: Daniel Mumby)

The statement said: "Our contractor had literally just finished baling up and had left the site, when a group of young people thought it would be a good idea to set fire to one of the bales.

"Luckily Anita Roy from Transition Town Wellington was on site, and the fire brigade were called and arrived in ten minutes.

"If she hadn’t been, it would have been a lot worse. Huge thanks to Wellington fire station for their rapid response.

"Parents - please talk to your children and young people about the dangers of setting fires as in the current conditions; if it hadn’t been caught early, it would have spread very quickly and would have been disastrous.

"You only have to look elsewhere around the world to see the effects of wild fires."

Fox's Field was purchased by Somerset West and Taunton Council in early-2021 as part of its wider efforts to regenerate the Tonedale area of Wellington, with nearly £20m being secured from the government's levelling up fund in November 2023.

Of the original funding, £16.311m was initially allocated to repair two of the ten building within the Tonedale Mill complex, while £3.67m was allocated to repair two of four structures at Tone Works.

Aerial view of the Tone Works site on the B3187 Milverton Road in Wellington (Image: Threads)

While Tonedale Mill remains in private hands, Tone Works (like Fox's Field) is entirely in council ownership, which has allowed it to progress with both investigations and on-site repairs.

While some roof repairs have been successfully undertaken, large quantities of asbestos have to be removed before wider work can be undertaken, including those intended to the building watertight and "prevent further deterioration".

Lara Bell, the council's place-based innovation and regeneration lead officer, stated in a recent report that it was "no longer viable to proceed with the Tonedale Mill project as originally planned", with the funding being reallocated to the Tone Works site to meet central government deadlines.