Bridgwater arts venues to share £2.1M for upgrades

Sedgemoor District Council secured £22.6M in June 2021 to deliver 11 new projects designed to revitalise Bridgwater town centre through economic development, transport improvements, cultural activities and general upgrades of infrastructure.

Different parts of the town deal are progressing at different stages – some projects are well underway, while others are still being planned or awaiting the approval of their final funding.

Here’s where things stand with each of the 11 original town deal projects:

Delivering the Bridgwater tidal barrier

The Bridgwater tidal barrier is designed to protect around 13,000 homes and 1,500 businesses from being flooded in the coming decades, at an estimated cost of up to £128M.

The council and the Environment Agency (EA) jointly put forward proposals in December 2019 for the new barrier near the Chilton Trinity Enterprise Park, with two vertical lifting gates which will be closed at very high tides to prevent water from travelling upstream and overwhelming existing flood defences.

While the business case was approved by the Treasury relatively quickly, it took until January this year for then-environment secretary George Eustice MP to finally give the project the green light.

Since this announcement, more detailed designs of the barrier have been produced with a view to construction officially getting under way in the autumn.

EA project executive Graham Quarrier provided a written update on the project when the Somerset Rivers Authority board met in Taunton on Friday (September 16).

He said in his written report: "It is anticipated the barrier will be operational (i.e. providing flood protection) in 2026; however there will be considerable work to do after that date to complete the whole project."

Improving the Dunball roundabout

The Dunball roundabout links the town centre to the M5, providing a connection with both the A38 Bristol Road to Highbridge and the A39 Bath Road towards Street, Glastonbury and Wells.

The project intends to turn the roundabout into a “throughabout” in a bid to ease congestion around Junction 23 of the motorway, and thereby unlocking land for housing and employment.

While the project was originally being driven by the town deal, it is not being spearheaded by Somerset County Council as part of its ‘Bridgwater northern corridor’ improvements, which has attracted £10M of funding from the government’s levelling up fund.

The scheme was estimated to cost £5.24M in February, of which only £400,000 will come from the town deal – the remainder being provided either from the levelling up fund grant or borrowing by the district council.

The county council has appointed Balfour Beatty as its chosen contractor for the scheme and is drawing up a funding agreement with the district council to allow the money to be released.

Delivering better walking and cycling links

This project is intended to include new connections between the town centre and key employment areas, as well as enhance the existing Bridgwater Way.

Any new schemes will have to meet the standards set by the Department for Transport (DfT) for the delivery of low-traffic neighbourhoods.

Nathaniel Lucas, the council’s service manager for economic development, said these strict criteria had made it difficult to deliver the schemes as they were originally intended.

He said in his written report: “This has made the original schemes difficult to deliver based on available space and cost.

“The new approach is to deliver cycling and walking infrastructure around the docks, thus linking two schemes together and providing better value for money.”

Enhancing the Bridgwater Arts Centre

The town deal includes a commitment to secure the future of Bridgwater Arts Centre on Castle Street, making it a more flexible “covid-safe environment” as it prepares to celebrate its 75th birthday.

Under the business case approved by Mr McGinty on September 14, the grade one listed building will be made more accessible and flexible to visitors, with improved accommodation arrangements within the auditorium to “allow for a wider programme”.

A lift will also be installed to give disabled patrons access to the higher floors of the historic building.

A total of £700,000 from the town deal will be spent on the project, along with £66,800 from the town council and £22,438 being provided from the arts centre’s own funds.

Upgrading the Bridgwater Town Hall theatre

This project involves making improvements to Bridgwater Town Hall and the enclosed theatre, including better disabled access and more office and meeting spaces for community and social enterprises.

The High Street venue will be transformed with £900,000 from the town deal, with the physical alterations allowing for “wider development of the cultural offer”.

In addition to the town deal funding, the town council will provide £39,000 for the project, with a further £2,689,877 being made available through council borrowing.

Delivering the Engine Room 2.0

This project is designed to increasing the capacity of the Engine Room on High Street, allowing its media centre to engage with a large number of local creatives.

Using £500,000 from the town deal, new flexible studio suites will be created, along with “interactive art/cultural experiences” which will “showcase local talent and community work”.

On top of this funding, £100,000 will be provided by the district council, with a further £969 coming from private donors.

Creating the Bridgwater ‘step-up’ facility

The ‘step-up’ facility is designed to create flexible workspace in the town centre, to give potential business owners a chance to test our their ideas before (hopefully) taking on a more permanent unit.

The council’s executive committee voted in early-July to allocate £700,000 of town deal funding towards the project, which will see the purchase of a vacant office building on Angel Crescent, near the Angel Place shopping centre.

The ground floor of the building would be remodelled to provide “flexible co-worker space”, while the first and second floors would remain serviced offices.

Mr Lucas said that the government had “unofficially confirmed that the business case was successful”, allowing the money to be released very shortly.

Hiring new town wardens

The town wardens project involves the hiring of town wardens or ambassadors to provide a “visible community support presence” and “build confidence for visitors” to the local area.

The project is designed to address antisocial behaviour in the town centre (especially in and around Cornhill) and improve the town’s reputation in a bid to attract shoppers and investment.

The council’s executive committee agreed in March to allocate £1M of the town deal funds towards this project, with a target of hiring six town wardens on an annual salary in excess of £28,000.

The project has now started, though the council has not confirmed how many of the new wardens have been hired.

Delivering the Celebration Mile

The Celebration Mile is envisioned as a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly route between Bridgwater railway station and the Northgate Docks, designed to make it easier to reach businesses and attractions within the town centre.

The council’s executive committee voted in June to allocate £9M of the town deal funding, which will focus on delivering three elements of the Celebration Mile – namely Angel Crescent, Clare Street and Eastover.

The council’s development committee voted in late-July to approve plans for the first stage of the project,  which will include the pedestrianisation of the eastern end of Clare Street, new trees and benches, new disabled parking spaces and “pop-up power points” being installed to enable markets and other local events.

Plans for the next stage will be debated by the council’s development committee on Monday (September 26).

Regenerating the Bridgwater Docks

The town deal intends to restore the docks near Northgate, regenerating the area into “a new leisure and tourism destination” for Bridgwater.

As part of the project, three locks will be replaced in order to allow to restore full navigation from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal into the River Parrett.

But as of the town deal board meeting held on July 20, the cost of delivering this  is “much higher than envisaged”, reflecting high inflation elsewhere in the construction industry.

Mr Lucas said there remained strong support for the project despite the obstacles being encountered.

Securing the future of the Bridgwater Carnival

The final project involves the enhancement of the existing Bridgwater Carnival production space on the A38 Bristol Road, in order to “future-proof” the flagship event and its associated activities in the post-coronavirus period.

The council recently secured funding from the government’s community renewal fund to progress the design stage of the project.

Concerns were raised about the access arrangements to the site, but these are likely to be alleviated by the improvements to the A38 as part of the successful levelling up bid.

The main challenge with delivering the site is the lack of adequate drainage, with an attenuation tank needing to be installed to prevent flooding.

A planning application for the facility will be submitted by the end of October and will shortly therefore come before the council’s development committee for approval.