A member of the public started the Midsomer Norton Town Council meeting (October 2) with a plea to councillors to join forces behind the best possible plans for the Station Road site.

As part of public questions at the start of the meeting at the Hollies, the resident expressed sadness on how disagreements over the Welton bag site had clouded what they called " A golden opportunity to develop a little jewel in the crown of Midsomer Norton."

" You need to be bold and be ambitious, " she told the meeting. " Not just make it into a generic housing estate."

Development of the site have been dogged with delays and disputes, with one councillor previously urging that something, anything should be done to deal with what they called a festering boil on the town.

The latest plans for the nineteenth century brewery building within the Station Road site were to have seen it knocked down but the façade rebuilt to a reduced height, with the intention of keeping some of the character of the road.

However the resident warned against piece meal work on the area, saying that she believed up to 90 per cent of the site was contaminated by asbestos and there remains a question over whether there might be ground contamination from the time there was a printing works on site.

" Something has to be done in one fail swoop. You can have high aspirations (for this site) it is time to be bold and ambitious."

The Mayor Cllr Gordon Mackay explained that the Town Council is not a developer, and all they can do is give an opinion on any planning application, while Cllr Shaun Hughes added that they did have some sway as a council, but they were not able to 'make' things happen.

Cllr Tim Wells, added that while they understood the frustrations of locals to nothing happening at the site, the way to express opinions about what should happen to Midsomer Norton is within a forthcoming neighbourhood plan.

Nub News reported back in October 2022 that work was about to start on the site. after years of promises and plans submitted in 2020 for up to 95 homes.

But the area remains un developed and empty since Welton Bibby & Baron moved out to Wiltshire in 2011.

An application for 'enabling works' ( 22/03580/FUL) in preparation for the Policy SSV4 site redevelopment including demolition, groundworks, flood mitigation and formation of 2m footpath along Station Road frontage. was refused at the end of August.

Planners stating that : "The demolition of the former brewery buildings will result in the total loss of a nondesignated heritage asset and cause less than substantial harm to the Midsomer Norton Conservation Area. This harm is not outweighed by the public benefits of the proposals. "