PLANS on bringing the former Kings Arms pub building in Wellington town centre back into community use are gathering pace.
Members of Wellington Town Council’s community committee were given an update on the Kings Arms by project lead Helen Acreman at their latest meeting on January 20.
The former pub in High Street was originally bought by Falcon Rural Housing with the intention of converting the upper floors into much-needed affordable accommodation and the ground floor to be used as a community area.
It is intended that the ground floor will be used by a variety of different agencies to offer activities and advice sessions for group sessions, as well as individual one-to-one meetings and also act as a hub for youth provision.
Councillors were told that it is hoped that Falcon will be able to hand over the ground floor to the council on April 1 and an agreement has been made that work can start before then on fitting it out.
A proposed layout design for the ground floor has been prepared and it could cost in the region of £70,000 to get the work done.
Town clerk Dave Farrow said the money could come from Community Infrastructure Levy funding.
“This would be an ideal use of CIL money,” he said. “This is exactly what the CIL funding is designed for.”
CIL is a charge which can be levied by local authorities on developments in an area and can be used to help them deliver infrastructure needed to support the new housing.
Councillors were told in a report that Wellington Town Council’s current CIL balance stood at nearly £160,000.
Mr Farrow added: “The Kings Arms project is a real opportunity for us to improve things for the community. We need to get this up and running and get things moving.
“The challenge has been us not knowing when we can actually get in. I’m not criticising Falcon at all about this as they have been absolutely brilliant, but as to when we can move in has been a bit of a moveable feast.”
The council’s area champion for Somerset Connect, Pete Joint, added: “There are so many things happening every day here – all for the better. More and more agencies are getting involved with this.”
Mr Joint said students at Court Fields School in Wellington wanted somewhere they could go which was “safe and fun” and believed that the Kings Arms could offer that venue.
“We are getting down to the nitty-gritty of how it is all going to work now and we will need some flexibility,” he added.
Cllr Andy Govier proposed that the committee asked the full council for permission to spend up to £80,000 on fitting out the ground floor of the Kings Arms community hub.
The money will be used for plumbing, electrical work, shelving, new doors and cupboards, furniture, general repairs and kitchen equipment.
Councillors voted in favour of asking the full council to make £80,000 available for the project.