A proposal to purchase Wellington’s ‘green corridor’ was unanimously approved by a full meeting of Somerset West and Taunton Council last night (Tuesday).
The move will place more than 60 acres of land – stretching from Tonedale to Hilly Head – in permanent public ownership with our town council being given a 125-year lease.
The purchase will be via SWT’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and will include Fox’s Field, which was bought by SWT in 2018.
Wellington’s Mayor, Cllr Mark Lithgow, who seconded the proposal, said afterwards: “This agreement between SWT and the town council will secure the land for Wellington.
“It will allow the town council to work with the community for everyone’s benefit – I’m proud to have been involved with this over the past few years and to finally see this project becoming a reality.”
A report to last night’s meeting said the town council and local community groups had already commenced substantial consultation and current ideas included the provision of further allotments, youth sports pitches and a community farm.
Wellington’s Town Clerk, Dave Farrow, drew up a report to the April town council meeting which recommended the commitments it should make in relation to the ongoing management of the land.
The town council then agreed the following:
- It will ensure the land remains available for public use and use it to promote recreation, healthy lifestyles, local food growing and the development of arts and cultural spaces.
- It will ensure the land is maintained in a way which promotes biodiversity while ensuring the health and safety of those accessing it.
- It will honour existing agreements and licences with community groups to carry out work on those areas of land covered by any agreement.
- It will consult with the community and community groups to seek views on how to make best use of the land
- It will work with the Wellington Community Food Group which is seeking to establish a Community Farm on the land
- It will seek to extend the existing Basins Allotments site to create more allotments to encourage greater self-sufficiency in food production and support the reduction of the town’s carbon footprint.
- It will work with the Wellington Sports Federation to explore the possibilities of developing additional playing pitch capacity on the land
- It will seek to improve active travel options across the land, linking Tonedale and Westford with the Basins and through to Rockwell Green, by developing an infrastructure which promotes walking and cycling and is accessible to all, irrespective of any mobility issues they may have.
- It will use the land to enhance biodiversity and reduce the town’s carbon footprint through planting more trees and wildflower meadows to sequester carbon and create a more biodiverse and resilient environment. This will also help with natural flood management and healthier soil.
- It will increase the amount of viable habitat for wildlife in the area helping natural ecosystems to thrive.
To enable this work to be developed and delivered, the town council will allocate at least £20,000 per annum for the first five-year Management Plan to enable work to be done directly but also to support applications for grant funding. This amount has already been included in the 2022-23 budget in anticipation of costs associated with the acquisition of the land.
Town councillors felt the arrangement with SWT was one of the most significant things the council had achieved and would benefit the community of Wellington for years to come.
