The next stage of the work on the Midsomer Norton Town Hall regeneration has now been scheduled and agreed, so the council has been looking at a variety of possible funding opportunities.

The first phase of work began back in October with support from the B&NES Regeneration Team.

The Phase 1 works also include repair and conservation works for the building and form part of the wider £2.2m High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) and High Street Renewal Programme.

The HSHAZ will provide a new multi-use Market Square at the Island, improve shopfronts and signage along the High Street and enhance the public realm and Conservation Area within the town centre.

The HSHAZ project is being carried out by Bath & North East Somerset Council in partnership with community stakeholders, with funding and support provided by Historic England, the West of England Combined Authority's 'Love Our High Streets' grant programme and Midsomer Norton Town Council.

Now for second stage.

The tender brief for the project manager and quantity surveyor for Phase 2 was published on the Contracts Finder website and Greenwood Projects were subsequently appointed. Notice has now also been published on Contracts Finder for the appointment of an architect for Phase 2. While a decision is yet to be made on the appointment of an architect, the Town Council have been applying for a grant for this element of the project.

The Town Council has approached the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) for funding. Founded in 1976, the AHF is a registered charity, which promotes the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK. In light of that recent application to the AHF, it has advised that the Town Council has been successful, and that it would like to offer a Project Development Grant of £25,000 towards Phase 2 of the Midsomer Norton Town Hall project, helping to ensure a new future for this historic building. The grant, which was awarded as part of the AHF's Transforming Places through Heritage programme in England, is a contribution towards professional fees in order to progress the plans for Phase 2