Conservative councillor Lucy Trimnell has challenged Somerset Council over the impact of the £18.6 million Yeovil Refresh programme, saying residents she speaks to do not believe it has improved the town centre.
Cllr Trimnell raised her concerns at a meeting of Somerset Council, questioning the disruption caused by the regeneration works, the use of the new public space at the Triangle and the appearance of the former Poundland store on Middle Street.
The Yeovil Refresh programme has received £18.63 million of funding from a combination of government grants, developer contributions and external borrowing, and has delivered a range of public realm, walking and cycling improvements.
However, Cllr Trimnell questioned whether the results had lived up to expectations.
She said:
“We know about the terrible troubles that the Yeovil Refresh roadworks caused, much upheaval and the loss of much-loved businesses as a result of disruption due to the contractor being unable to complete the work.
“Nobody I speak to sees it as an improvement.”
Cllr Trimnell also questioned how the redeveloped Triangle area was being used, after residents had expected the space and its large screen to host sporting and other live events.
She said:
“People are confused as they were under the impression that the former bandstand area, known as the Triangle, was going to be a shared area where sports events and other important live events would be screened.
“Have any events been shown on the screen in recent weeks and how successful have they been? People are saying they’ve not seen any.”
Somerset Council subsequently confirmed that no events had been shown in recent weeks and said the space was available for event organisers to hire.
Cllr Trimnell also raised concerns about the appearance of the regenerated area and the former Poundland building which sits behind the screen.
She said:
“Such a wide concreted area with no shade and few natural features is not ideal for an area which should be quite an attraction for the summer.
“The backdrop to the screen was going to be some kind of wooden cladding, but it has ended up being the awful side of the closed down Poundland store, it just looks a mess.
“It’s dreadful, what happened, or is there still work to be completed?”
The council confirmed that it had previously sought to acquire the privately owned Poundland building but had been unable to progress the purchase following changes to restrictions on councils purchasing commercial property and Somerset Council's subsequent financial difficulties.
It also confirmed that recent attempts to contact the owner about the building had been unsuccessful.
