A High Street High Street Regeneration Programme has been established, with £3.7m of grant funding. This includes the designation of Midsomer Norton as a High Street Heritage Action Zone (HAZ), with £900k grant funding from Historic England.
We have used the HAZ designation as a catalyst for further successful grant bids to bring forward a range of impactful projects across the town:
- Over £1.7m was awarded through WECA’s Love Our High Streets Fund
- £450k was awarded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
- There have also been significant contributions from B&NES Council, through the Community Infrastructure Levy and Highways Maintenance budget, and from Midsomer Norton Town Council
This project will deliver the following:
- Market Square - 1,000sqm public realm improvement which will create a high-quality multi-use civic space at the heart of the town
- Town Hall transformation, and the reinstatement of the Victorian Market Hall
- Renovation and enhancement of historic shopfronts and wider signage improvements throughout the High Street
- Improvements to public space and street furniture
- Arts events, community engagement, and a cultural programme
Looking beyond the current grant-funded projects, there is funding to undertake a masterplan exercise for the ‘Old Brewery Quarter’ in Midsomer Norton. The masterplan area covers the historic Midsomer Norton Brewery buildings in the centre of the High Street and extends around South Road, including the large municipal car park and the whole of the lower High Street fronting the River Somer. The masterplan exercise and public consultation events will focus on the vast potential for this area.
Find out more about these projects on the partnership website, Your Midsomer Norton.
Read a case study of the recently completed Midsomer Norton High Street Local Cultural Programme.