Rather than be allocated a contractor for the new Town Park Masterplan and be dictated to by B&NES, Midsomer Norton Town Council has voted to delay forging ahead with the creation of a plan, which will cost in the region of £25,000, and let B&NES’ preferred contractor pitch for the plan project instead, before making a final decision.

Midsomer Norton Town Council is in the process of submitting a project plan for £250,000 worth of Section 106 funding, which has been put aside for the new Town Park, and will be asking B&NES for full control of the money and to lead and take forward the project itself; drawing on the local authority’s support when required.

But B&NES may have other ideas, and has seemingly already enlisted the services of a park planner responsible for the design of the Gullock Tyning skatepark for this project, too. At the Town Council’s September meeting on Monday this week, Councillors voted to delay a decision on the development of a masterplan with the help of this contractor, and will instead call a meeting with representatives from its Operations and Finance Working Parties to let the masterplan idea be pitched.

A decision will then be made on how to proceed, depending on whether or not the Town Council is convinced that B&NES’ option is the correct partner to move forward with.

The release of £250,000 of funds will ensure that Phase One of the Town Park can proceed – which will involve putting in basic infrastructure, boundaries, paths, bins, signage, designing branding and the creation of an events space.

The most recent consultation at the Fayre Day back in July called for the enhancement of nature throughout the park, including bird and bat boxes, facilities for pond dipping for children, and even more extreme options, such as a zip wire from the batch, or skiing! There has also been the suggestion of creating a Parkrun route, holding a weekly Saturday 5km run like others throughout the country and near neighbours, Bath and Shepton Mallet.

In the long term, a Project Team is due to be formed to manage the development of the Masterplan, using 1% of the Phase One budget, £25,000. The Project Team will be responsible for ensuring that the Masterplan meets the needs of the Town Council, the wider community and its surrounding areas, and that it adheres to the wider policies and strategies of B&NES Council.

Should everything go to schedule, the Masterplan would then be submitted to the Town Council for final approval and a deadline of 30th November set for its production. It could potentially be approved at the scheduled Full Council meeting on 4th December or a specially-called meeting of the Council – however, the vote on Monday this week could mean that this could be delayed, particularly if a new contractor has to be found.

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Defending the decision, Mayor of Midsomer Norton, Paul Myers, said that the park project was one of the biggest councillors may ever work on and it was crucial that the plan is both exciting and that the money is well spent.