PROGRESSING: FIREPOOL SITE

FIREPOOL

In August 2020, the Government announced £5.9M funding for projects in Taunton giving the Firepool site the boost it needs to kick-start its development.

In November 2021 work started on the Digital Innovation Centre on Firepool. The 2,613 square-metre four-storey building will feature office, workshop, collaboration and meeting space, as well as innovation support services targeted at digital economy businesses.

It will meet the demand for an innovation centre for the local digital economy and for high-quality managed offices/workspace for home-grown start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises, while attracting new businesses and inward investment.

Work on a new road layout between Taunton station and the Firepool site began at the start of 2023.

The work will create the main access route onto the Firepool site. It will also link the development and the station's car park to the road network.

The changes will allow buses to pick up passengers from the railway station. It is hoped the project will be completed in around five months.

Local MP Rebecca Pow said:

"The long-awaited development of Firepool is at last progressing. The site will be able to open from the rail station shortly, thanks to government funding, which I was instrumental in securing. This will enable improvements to the junction at Trenchard Way at the entrance to the station, and I am pleased that work will start in January. This will ease congestion at the station and provide easier access to the Boulevard into Firepool when completed. I was pleased to meet the team from Wilmott Dixon involved in the showcase Digital Innovation Centre being built on the Firepool site. I worked with the Local Enterprise Partnership to secure £5 million for the centre, which was one of the few projects in the South West to attract such support. This high-tech centre will provide opportunities for start-ups and established tech businesses to operate in a modern environment. It will create more jobs in Taunton in tech industries especially for young people. This is the kind of enterprise we very much need in the area and I have welcomed working with the government and local stakeholders to enable us.”

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