COUNCILLORS are hopeful that good times are around the corner for the future of the historic Tonedale Mill site in Wellington which has fallen into a state of dereliction.

The Grade II listed site was the largest textile manufacturing site in the South West and famous for producing twill fabrics such as serge and later khaki cloth and puttees used by the British Army in the Second World War.

A significant proportion of the early 19th Century mill remains, however, many of the privately-owned buildings have fallen into disrepair and are now registered as ‘Heritage at Risk’ by Historic England since it became vacant in the 1990s.

Planning permission was granted back in 2006 to redevelop the site for a residential-led, mixed used scheme including nearly 150 homes and commercial units and that was increased to 223 homes at another planning application which was given the green light in 2008.

Since then, however, nothing has happened and there have been growing fears about the future of the Tonedale Mill site.

But now there is a glimmer of light to suggest that something positive is in the offing.

Mill owners Mancraft Ltd have applied to Somerset West and Taunton Council for a lawful development certificate to show that the planning permission granted in 2008 remains in place.

Members of Wellington Town Council’s planning committee met on Monday, January 9, and discussed the application.

Cllr Keith Wheatley, who has been part of the campaigning Wellington Mills CIC group which has been looking to secure a bright future for Tonedale, said they been trying to get the owners to do something “positive rather than dereliction.”

“This is really good news,” he said. “It is a possibility that this is the beginning of the end of Mancraft’s ownership?”

Cllr Wheatley used an analogy that when someone applies for a “lawful development certificate” it is akin to “tidying up your house before putting it up for sale.”

“There is some hope that there could some new ownership,” he said. “I have no inside knowledge, but I’m hopeful that there could be positive times ahead.”

And Cllr Chris Booth added: “It is an interesting time.”

Dr Joanne O’Hara, Somerset West and Taunton Council’s Wellington Heritage at Risk manager, has been working on trying to get a satisfactory and positive conclusion to the Tonedale project for a number of years.

The Somerset West and Taunton Council in its role as the local planning authority has been interacting with the owners to try and stop the buildings falling down.

Cllr Marcus Barr said: “I would like to thank Dr O’Hara for the amount of work she has put into this project.”

Dr O’Hara, who was at the town council’s planning meeting on Monday, said: “Things have been moving along in the last couple of months with things I can’t really talk about publically.”

The Tonedale Mill, in its heyday, once employed around 3,000 workers.