Shopping centre demolition site to become green space

The site of a former shopping centre, which was bought and is being demolished by a council, is to become a new temporary green space.

Somerset Council purchased Glovers Walk in 2024 with £2.7m of government funding.

It plans to build new shops and affordable housing on the site but has warned redevelopment may not be completed until 2030.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance said he was "looking forward" to the demolition site being transformed into a new "temporary" green space by the autumn.

Work to demolish the site is now ramping up, according to the Local Democracy Report.

By the end of the summer contractors will have pulled down the remaining structures and cleared the site.

Councillor Mike Rigby said it gives the council an "opportunity to find a really good redevelopment proposal" for it.

"We looked at whether or not it was viable to do anything else with [the shopping centre], decided that it wasn't, and so here we are now bringing it down," he said.

"We think the interim use might be something that lasts for perhaps between one and three years, so the longer-term plan will follow after that."

In January Yeovil MP Adam Dance suggested the green space should be used to hold major events, including a Christmas market which he believed could rival the existing event held in Bath.

"It's really important to have that green space in the centre of town," he said.

"Wouldn't it be great to get off the bus and be able to walk through a nice green area and walk up through town."

Initial proposals for the long-term future of the site are being worked on by the council using funding from Homes England.

Regeneration proposals are understood to include both Glovers Walk and the former Wilko unit on Middle Street, which remains under council ownership.

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