The Welton bag factory site will soon look very different, although the biggest change may be for pedestrians who struggle on the narrow pavements past the old disused site.

As was revealed at the latest Midsomer Norton Town Council meeting, demolition of the site, which was closed years nearly a decade ago when the company moved its operations to Wiltshire, is expected very soon.

And according to the Midsomer Mayor it will be done sympathetically, keeping some of the existing buildings and demolishing from the centre of the site and out.

Cllr Linda Robertson gave the update, explaining how she had been shown plans for the area including wider pavements both sides of Station Road as part of the redevelopment.

It was back in 1934 that the Welton Bag Company opened a bag making factory in Midsomer Norton. But the history of the company goes back to 1858 when Mr Bibby & Mr Baron begin making paper bags. Welton Bibby and Baron as it became, was bought in 2003 from British Polythene Industries Plc for a £7.8m management buy out. Then in 2013, the company's site in Midsomer Norton, which had employed 300 local people, closed up, moving operations to Westbury. The news was greeted with dismay by many local councillors who had hoped to persuade them to stay. The company continues to makes paper bags for retailers including John Lewis and Marks & Spencer and brands such as PG Tips and Typhoo but now 17 miles away.

Since it closed only the seagulls and the odd film crew has been using the factory buildings, which have become quite an eyesore.

But now in an update to the council, the Mayor revealed that the site is being developed to make between 100 and 150 homes, and hopefully five or six working spaces which can be used for employment. There is also a space for a small supermarket. But perhaps of most interest to those who walk the road from the High Street in Midsomer Norton across the mini roundabout and down Station Road is that plans include a wider pavement, on both sides of the road AND a new crossing for pedestrians.

She added when questioned by a member of the public, that demolition should start very soon.