Yeovil Town Centre improvement works push forward as major contracts signed
Released On 18th Jul 2022
Contracts for the proposed improvement works at The High Street, Middle Street and The Borough in Yeovil have been signed, meaning this important work can commence imminently.
South West Highways (SWH) are the chosen contracts for these works. SWH have completed works to a short section of Wine Street, and most recently, begun the works at The Triangle. SWH are also leading the restart to the works to Westminster Street and are now contracted to complete the second phase of improvements to the street.
The improvement works, which are part of the South Somerset District Council Yeovil Refresh Project, are planned to include:
The High Street
- Enhancing and decluttering the setting of the area’s key feature – the clock tower
- Widening footpaths – increasing pedestrian space with natural stone paving
- Improving street lighting to help reduce anti-social behaviour and increase safety
- New bench seating and street planting to create a bright, welcoming area for visitors to socialise and take a break from shopping
The Borough
- An enhanced paving scheme – using natural stone paving to complete the pedestrianisation of the road leading to Wine Street
- Improving the square to enable more activity
- Enhancing the area surrounding the war memorial with additional seating and street planting
- Improving the areas creating a shared space with reduced through traffic.
Middle Street
- A flexible shared space to help facilitate street markets and other events.
- Provision of specific parking bays in specified areas of the street.
- Widening footpaths – allowing pedestrians to move easily and safely through the town centre without having to step out onto the road
- Installing raised seating planters, street trees and ornamental planting to make Middle Street a greener, more attractive place to visit and travel through
- Improving the street lighting and adding new bench seating
SWH said, “We are really looking forward to continuing our partnership with South Somerset District Council & key stakeholders to construct the High Street, Borough and Middle Street sections of the Yeovil Refresh Project”.
Councillor Peter Gubbins, executive member for Yeovil Refresh, said, “It has been great working with SWH to carry out the important works to Wine Street, The Triangle and Westminster Street, so I am happy to see that the partnership will continue with the commencement of the exciting plans for the remaining areas of the town centre.
The High Street, Borough and Middle Street are, arguably, the busiest areas of the town centre and so the proposed plans are vital to increase the safety for visitors, as well as ensuring their shopping and socialising experience is as pleasant as possible.”
Find out more about the planned public realm improvement works on our dedicated Yeovil Refresh website: www.yeovilrefresh.co.uk/
What is happening to the bottom of town/Wyndham Street?
In February 2022, a budget for the Yeovil Refresh public realm works was agreed. However, since then, the cost of delivering all areas of the public realm works has significantly inflated. This is due to the large rises in material costs, broader inflationary pressures and the availability of labour. These changes have been driven by a combination of factors, which include the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, high levels of inflation and significant local infrastructure projects such as A303 improvements and Hinkley Point.
At the Council District Executive Committee meeting on 9 June, the District Executive agreed to recommend that the funding currently allocated to Wyndham Street to be reallocated to the completion of Westminster Street, Middle Street and The Borough. This means that the improvement works proposed for Wyndham Street are temporarily paused, however, a report outlining new options for the area will be brought back to the District Executive next month (August 2022).
