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Pluss site on Northgate to be flattened - have YOUR SAY

2:00pm Sunday 21st March 2010 in


A BUILDING on Bridgwater's prime Northgate site is to be flattened - fuelling speculation a Tesco car park will take its place.

The Mercury has reported that Tesco is the only bidder for the Northgate site, which Sedgemoor District Council and Somerset County Council each own a chunk of.

The county council-owned part of Northgate includes social enterprise Pluss, which we revealed last week would soon be closing and moving to East Quay, and shedding 14 jobs.

Now we can reveal the Pluss building, as well as a restaurant and coffee shop on the same site, will be flattened later this year, believed to be around September.

A Somerset County Council spokesman said: “This is part of the regeneration project currently taking place in Bridgwater. The Pluss workshop will be moving to a more modern and fit for purpose building.”

Bridgwater man Tony Lock, a regular user of the facilities at Pluss, said rumours were circulating the buildings were being knocked down to make way for a Tesco car park.

He said: “I think it's disgusting - there are a lot of disabled people who go there and it is being taken away from them.”

The supermarket chain insisted the demolition was “nothing to do with Tesco”, while the county council would only say it was “in negotiations with the proposed purchasers”.

Sedgemoor District Council said Tesco would be asked to provide a tender to develop Northgate by April 30.

Comments(14)

mikeymike says...
4:24pm Sun 21 Mar 10

Tesco's moving in..no...really...di
dn't see that one coming, especially as our local council listens to the concerns of of their voters!!!

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JO-JO BRIDGWATER says...
6:38pm Sun 21 Mar 10

What a surprise I dont think. The council are gradually dragging the plans out hoping we wont notice.

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IAN TUCKER says...
8:29pm Sun 21 Mar 10

Just more evidence that the council only thinks of money, and does not care what people think or need. As far as I can see they are on their knees to Tesco so the Northgate site will be developed, and Bridgwater will have yet another large supermarket which no one wants or the town needs.

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grisleyreg says...
8:38pm Sun 21 Mar 10

How is this regeneration?, Another supermarket that is not wanted, Whats next, Flats in the Town Hall, affordable housing on the car parks and allotments?, Sedgemoor councillors are selling off the family Silver desperate to prop up a failing regime.

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Boring says...
9:00pm Sun 21 Mar 10

Ive a good idea, why not knock down Bridgwater house and build an area where we can have a permanent Circus situated on the land.
We wont need to hire clowns as we already have plenty running the town.

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mikeymike says...
9:08pm Sun 21 Mar 10

So is the pluss site moving because of tesco's with the loss of jobs or just a coincidence??

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Bridgwater Saint says...
9:39pm Sun 21 Mar 10

I was a employee of Somerset County Enterprises and later Pluss and I have worked there since 1986 until I was forced to go out of that job in 2006.

I am very disappointed that the site I have worked in would be reduced to rubble and replaced by the car park as rumoured.

So Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council joined together to demolish the building without any care for disabled people and for their jobs.

GGGGGGGGGRRRRR!!!! Vote the looney council people out!

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JoRo says...
10:00am Mon 22 Mar 10

The Plus Site (Enterprise) is only half of the plans this council has for the area.
“Welcome to Historic Bridgwater”
Morgan House, the registrar’s Office = To Be Demolished.
The Old Thompsons Building, The first electricity Generating Station in Bridgwater = To Be Demolished.
The Magistrates Court = To Be Demolished.
The Blake Hospital = To Be Demolished.

Bridgwater’s history removed for another supermarket which is not required or wanted.

“Welcome to Once Historic Bridgwater”

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JO-JO BRIDGWATER says...
7:26pm Mon 22 Mar 10

JoRo the stoweys. Well said. I belive this is what Twinkles would call positive furture for Bridgwater.Could they pull down the council offices prefrably with the council inside !!!

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twinkles says...
8:15pm Mon 22 Mar 10

Oh go on then.... My opinion is that the Pluss site is an architectural eyesore anyway. And the Police station. And the Council offices. But the Court, Thompsons and Morgan House are all very much full of character. So as far as I'm concerned, pull down the manky looking 'unit' style buildings and use the land more effectively.
I think TownRunByClowns would like the whole of Bridgwater demolished though, let's see where his allegiance lies...

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Bridgwater Saint says...
9:53pm Mon 22 Mar 10

The Old Thompsons building, Generating Station, the Magistrates Court and the Blake hospital are all listed as historic building so they are not to be demolished otherwise the clowns will be fined very heavily!!!!

Morgan House is not listed but unlikely to be demolished cos it is too far away.

The Police Station is likely to be demolished because Police will move to a new big building outside Bridgwater though keep a small town station.

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JoRo says...
7:37am Tue 23 Mar 10

If a local district councillor is to be believed these building were only Grade 3 and have been de-listed and there is some doubt that the magistrate’s court was ever listed.

This is another thing that our venerable district and town council are trying to keep quiet.

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townrunbyclowns says...
11:14pm Tue 23 Mar 10

twinkles havent you got council meetings to go to!! bridgwater demolished???? that happened years ago twinkles wake up and take look out of your council office!!!

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twinkles says...
12:35pm Fri 26 Mar 10

well then what are you still crowing on about, that's what you want isn't it? Bridgwater flattened? You're so anti-Bridgwater you fail to see that in fact, most of the buildings in that area are ugly and commercially useless. Someone suggested a plan once, level the whole of Eastover and put a shopping centre there. From the town bridge down to St John St, just knock it all over and start again. it would make a pretty large site, and all the businesses there could have a 'new' unit once it's complete.
Of course, it's too radical for the masses, everyone will start yelling about the heritage in the now-closed Woolworth store and somesuch nonsense.
The point I'm making is that you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

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