COUNCILLORS are furious that millions of pounds of Government cash earmarked for Wellington could be spent in other parts of Somerset.

Back in 2022 the former Somerset West & Taunton Council secured Levelling Up funding from the Government of £19.987million to deliver the Vision for Tonedale programme – securing the long-term future for the historic Toneworks, which is owned by the Somerset Council unitary authority, and the privately-owned Tonedale Mill in Wellington, two nationally significant heritage assets.

The plan was to restore and regenerate the buildings for future employment, community uses and economic growth.

But although significant work has been made at Toneworks, the chances of bringing Tonedale Mill back to life have nosedived and the project has been deemed no longer possible.

Around £11.5million of the Levelling Up funding for Wellington has been left untapped, but already £2.5million of that has been diverted by Somerset Council to a project in Bridgwater – meaning just over £9million is left.

And members of Wellington Town Council are adamant that that money needs to be spent on other projects in the local area – rather than shifted to other places in Somerset.

Cllr Keith Wheatley, speaking at the town council’s monthly meeting on Monday (September 7), was seething at the situation and said the whole thing had a “murky background.”

“Somerset Council is lining up a raft of projects across the county to spend this money on,” he said. “Somerset Council is proposing to act totally ultra vires (acting beyond its powers) and shuffle this money away from Wellington.”

Cllr Wheatley said a Government document indicated that if a project earmarked for Levelling Up funding was no longer viable, it was expected that that money would be used in the area which stood to benefit from the original project.

Tonedale Mill, which dates from around 1750, was part of the Fox family woollen mill business and was once the largest cloth manufacturing operation in the UK.

Cllr Steve Mercer said he had “steam coming out of my ears” when he first heard of what Somerset Council was planning.

All funds from the Levelling Up scheme have to be committed under contract by March next year with work completed by April 2028. If not – the funding will be lost.

Cllr Andy Govier said that to restore The Mill to its full potential into a commercial venture would cost an extra £45million

“I just don’t know what the future holds for The Mill,” he said. “I don’t know where that £45million is going to come from. If we spent £20million on The Mill, we’d still need to find another £25million.

“Somerset Council thinks that if it can’t spend the money here, it wants to spend it somewhere else in Somerset rather than give it back to the Government.”

It was agreed to object to the Levelling Up funds for Wellington being moved to other areas in Somerset, while Cllr Wheatley would liaise with council officers to produce a list of alternative sites in the town where the money could be spent.