AN HISTORIC meeting takes place on Monday when Wellington Town Council is expected to agree a 150-year lease for 60 acres of land at The Basins to protect it as major community green space.

It has been described as the largest and most important project the town council has ever delivered for the people of Wellington.

Monday’s meeting will see councillors discuss the terms of a lease being offered by Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT), which is purchasing land it calls the ‘green corridor’.

The purchase was unanimously approved by SWT in July, covering land stretching from Tonedale to Hilly Head, with the holding immediately being leased to the town council to manage.

The town council has to put forward a five-year management plan for SWT to approve for the period from January 2023, to December 2027.

Town clerk Dave Farrow said: “Given that this is the first year that the town council will be responsible for the land, the intention is that the first year of this five-year period will be spent assessing need, consulting the community, and developing a long-term vision for the land.

“The management plan will then be reviewed before the end of December, 2023, to reflect the vision and set out in more detail plans for the following four years.”

The town council said it aims for the land to be open for the public to use, and to promote health and wellbeing, wildlife and arts and culture.

The town council has set a budget of £20,000 for 2023-24 to cover the costs of implementing the management plan.

See more details of the plans in this week's Wellington Weekly News