THE first of a number of expected planning applications has been submitted for repair works to start at Wellington’s historic Toneworks site, said to be the most important of its kind nationally.

The application came from Somerset Council, which owns the grade two starred listed site and has been under pressure to spend a £19.6 million grant it received nearly 18 months ago from the former Conservative Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Earlier this month the council said it was reviewing the Toneworks conservation project to ensure value for money was achieved.

Toneworks was the dyeing and finishing centre for cloth woven for two centuries by Fox Bros and Co at the nearby and similarly derelict Tonedale Mill, which finally closed in 2000.

Historic England said the special architectural and historic interest of Toneworks put it in the top eight per cent of all listed buildings in the country.

Historic buildings and areas inspector Rhiannon Rhys said the site ‘likely contains the last most complete set of historic textile finishing machinery in the country’.

Ms Rhys said: “Historic England recognises this is an important opportunity to make a significant proportion of the Toneworks complex structurally stable and weatherproof.

“Historic England is keen to continue to support the council as they seek to repair and conserve the building, allowing the council the opportunity to identify a sustainable long-term solution for this highly important site.”

Council planning agent Claire Fear, of Wellington-based Architectural Thread Ltd, said the proposals were for structural and roof repairs to the finishing shed for overhead protection of historic machinery.

Ms Fear said targeted repairs would relate directly to the building’s immediate needs with the least intervention possible to retain evidence of its aging over time.

She said Toneworks offered ‘extensive evidence’ of Fox Bros history as one of the longest surviving family-run textile firms in the country, including its role in the development of the woollen textile industry and water, steam, and electric power generation as part of the industrial revolution.

Ms Fear said: “Toneworks is characterised by visible changes which illustrate its historic development since at least the early 19th century and a practical approach to repair and adaptation.

“Toneworks serves as a reminder of Fox Bros significant role in providing support and facilities for its employees, in developing the local economy and defining much of Wellington’s social history.

“It retains all the component structures associated with the dyeing and finishing of worsted and woollen cloths, together with the machinery and fittings required for those processes.

“Toneworks in its present form is an exceptional survival in a national context, not only for the completeness of the building complex, but also for the survival of its machinery, water management system, and power generation plant.

“Toneworks has the potential to feed into Wellington’s collective memories of its past and strengthen its identity, making it highly significant to the town of Wellington and the region.”

A Somerset Council spokesperson said further applications for different parts of the site would ‘come forward in time’.