Taunton Town Council’s Operations and Assets Committee met on Thursday 1 October and agreed next steps for Stoney Furlong, alongside a range of decisions covering community facilities, playing fields, parks and road safety. A recording of the meeting is available on the Taunton Town Council YouTube channel.
Councillors agreed that the proposal for Taunton Town Council to potentially take ownership of Stoney Furlong Park and its small play area from Somerset Council was worthy of further investigation and should be assessed against the Council’s Land and Open Spaces Adoption and Management Policy and its Adoption Assessment Matrix.
No decision has been made to take ownership of the site at this stage. The next step will be to gather more information from Somerset Council about the land, including its boundaries, condition, maintenance history, play area inspections, any existing restrictions, potential contamination and flood risks, ongoing maintenance costs and any financial contribution that may be available.
Councillors also agreed that officers should obtain legal and operational advice on the implications of any potential transfer. A further report, including a full assessment, financial implications, risks and an officer recommendation, will be brought back to the appropriate committee before any decision is made.
The Council may also consider opportunities to adopt other areas of land in the future, where this is considered appropriate and in line with its Land and Open Spaces Adoption and Management Policy, with Councillors requesting additional sites across the town as a whole to be looked at as part of this work. Any potential adoptions would be assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering the benefits,
costs, responsibilities and risks involved.
The committee also agreed that officers could explore a potential 25-year non exclusive licence with Taunton Town Football Club for the use of Hamilton Gault Playing Fields and Pavilion. The playing fields will remain public open space and available to other clubs, teams and the wider community. Any proposed licence will be subject to consultation with existing users and relevant stakeholders, advice and
approval of detailed terms before an agreement is signed.
Councillors resolved to allocate up to £25,000 from the Capital Projects budget for remedial, due diligence and enabling works at the Community Walled Garden at Greenbrook Terrace and Tangier Way. The funding will help bring the site into a safe and suitable condition for occupation by community organisations. Necessary checks, including assessments of the ground and underground utilities, will be
completed before any food growing or intrusive groundworks take place.
The Council’s programme of installing Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) has been successful in helping to highlight speeding concerns in communities across Taunton. Members approved up to £17,336 from the existing SID posts budget to install additional posts at locations where there is a clear need for a SID but no suitable existing lighting column is available for the device to be attached to. This will help extend the programme to more locations and respond to concerns raised by local communities.
Following on from recent work at Paul Street Toilets to install a Changing Places facility, councillors considered moving forward with the installation of a Changing Places facility within the Canon Street toilet block, with £59,850 allocated from the Public Convenience Improvements budget.
Cllr Nick O’Donnell, Chair of the Operations and Assets Committee, said:
“We covered a lot of ground this evening, taking decisions that affect spaces and facilities our residents use every day. In looking at the future of Stoney Furlong Park, we need to understand the condition of the site, the costs involved and the responsibilities that would come with it, so any future decision is properly informed.
Across the committee’s work, we are looking at how we can make the best use of the spaces and facilities we are responsible for, while supporting the communities that use them. Approving a Changing Places facility at Canon Street is a good example of this, making our public facilities more accessible and ensuring they meet the needs of more people across Taunton.”
The committee also approved the appointment of suppliers for the Council’s consumables, fencing, surface works and tree works contracts.
The Operations and Assets committee next meet from 6pm on 26 November 2026 at Deane House.
