Why decision to halt Taunton town centre hotel plan will remain mysterious

The full reasons behind a decision to halt a plan to build a new hotel in Taunton are likely to remain mysterious, after a council revealed it would be keeping documents about it confidential.

Taunton's new council won't release the business case for the Firepool hotel project despite councillors announcing the project was "dead" on Wednesday evening (May 22).

Somerset West and Taunton Council's ruling Liberal Democrats confirmed at the first full council since the local elections that they would not be pursuing the previous administration's goal of building a new hotel at the south-eastern corner of the Firepool site.

The widely unpopular project, which would involved £16M of public money being invested, was kicked into touch by Councillor Habib Farbahi, the new portfolio holder for economic development.

But the council has said the business case for the hotel remains confidential even with this decision in place - which will have to be formally ratified at the next full council in June.

The proposed location of a new hotel at Firepool - the plans have now been scrapped

'Monopoly money' project called off

Mr Farbahi told the full council in Taunton on Wednesday evening: "With immediate effect we are going to drop the Firepool hotel venture.

“I do not believe in playing Monopoly with taxpayers’ money. That is dead – finished.”

He subsequently confirmed that the full council would meet again in June where this decision would be formally ratified.

Mr Farbahi had described the business case for the hotel, put forward by the Conservative-run Taunton Deane Borough Council, as "deeply flawed", and warned in December 2018 that "AirBnB is to hoteliers is what online shopping was to the high street retailers."

Tom Gillham, one of the council officers associated with the project, had promised in April 2018 that the hotel would deliver "a satisfactory level of return on investment", which could fund front-line services.

The council has refused to release the business case for the hotel, with a spokeswoman saying: "The confidential business case remains confidential."

Other plans for Firepool

Council leader Federica Smith-Roberts said on Thursday (May 23) that work to improve the appearance of the wider Firepool site - which were approved by the previous administration - would continue while a more comprehensive plan was developed.

Speaking near the Firepool site, she said: "At the moment we've got this brilliant temporary community space, and we're going to make use of that while we're coming up with our detailed plans.

"Those detailed plans are looking at lots of different opportunities for the area and the wider district to put Taunton on the map.

"We're looking at innovation, residential, retail and lots of other opportunity to make it the best possible space in the south west."

The next full council meeting will be held at West Somerset House in Williton on June 19 at 6.15pm.