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'Minging' offices to become hospital staff flats

Ruth BradleySomerset political reporter
News imageBBC A grey seven-storey office block with lots of windows and metal frames with a tree and yellow flowers in the foreground against a cloudy skyBBC
C-Block of County Hall in Taunton was built about 50 years ago

A council office block described as "minging" (disgusting) is going to be turned into flats for hospital staff.

C-Block of County Hall in Taunton was sold by Somerset Council for £1.7m to a private developer, which has now been granted planning permission for the conversion to key worker accommodation.

Liberal Democrat councillor Caroline Ellis, a member of the council's planning committee, said: "You wouldn't build that nowadays. This [flat conversion] might make it a bit less minging."

The developer said it was "delighted" to receive unanimous approval for its plans which it said would be a "landmark development" for the town.

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The building was purchased by specialist developer Prime Plc, which previously built flats for hospital staff in Yeovil and Dorchester, and is the local NHS trust's strategic estates partner.

Musgrove Park Hospital is less than one mile (1.6km) from the site of the seven-storey building, which will now become 111 flats.

Richard Baum, head of strategic planning at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Musgrove Park, told a Somerset Council planning committee there was an "urgent and growing need" for affordable accommodation for staff.

He said the hospital "regularly" saw people either turn down job offers or accept a job, and then find they were unable to afford nearby housing so could not take up the post.

News imageA row of Georgian-style brick townhouses with metal railings outside, and steps up to their front doors.
Taunton Town Council had objected to the plans because of their visual impact on the heritage area

Hannah Cashmore, Director of Managed Services at Prime said: "Prime are delighted to have gained unanimous support from the planning committee to convert the currently unused Block C building at County Hall, Taunton to be transformed into 111 new homes for keyworkers.

"The facility will be a landmark development for Taunton, repurposing a redundant asset into a living environment for key workers in the local community."

Construction work is expected to start later this year with the first residents moving in from spring 2028.

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