Great Western Coffee Shop

The Great Western Hotel on the south (down) side of Taunton Station, is to reopen as a hotel after being purchased by Somerset Coast YMCA. There will be 20 en suite rooms, conference and meeting facilities, a cafe and restaurant. There will also be ten business units for small businesses and start-ups.

Some of the funding for this project has been secured from the Hinkley C nuclear power station build's Community Impact Mitigation (https://www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk/Hinkley-Point-Community-Fund/About-the-Fund) fund. Other sources of funding include a capital loan from Taunton Deane Borough Council and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Rail Heritage Trust.

Staffing of the hotel will be provided by a training and skills partnership delivering 10 new jobs, 12 apprenticeships, 10 traineeships and many volunteering opportunities. Staff accommodation will also be provided in the hotel's former stables.

I think this is an excellent piece of news, bringing an important facility to one of Taunton's gateways. Providing training and opportunity to young people, and securing the future of an important grade II listed building that has been vacant for many years. Returning the building to its original use after being used by a waste management company, and previously as the offices of BR's district engineers.

Sympathetic restoration is being carried out LHC architects:
http://www.lhc.net/projects/great-western-hotel-restoration/

News item from the Somerset County Gazette on the project and its funding:
https://goo.gl/3mj9aB

More on the funding:
https://www.investtaunton.co.uk/news/council-proposes-to-support-ymca-project/

On a personal note, I have a lot of respect for YMCA Somerset Coast. During a particularly dark period in my mid twenties they were there for me and helped me rebuild my life. We're it not for them I may not be here today. The support and housing they provided help me find my feet after some poor life choices. They were non-judgemental, and, importantly for me, small 'c' christian.

I wish YMCA Somerset Coast every success with this venture.

Thank you for posting that very detailed update, bignosemac.  :)

Our regular 'Coffee Shop forum' readers will no doubt have gathered by now that Taunton is of particular interest to me, so I am delighted to give this topic something of a 'bump'.

May I also offer my own very best wishes to the YMCA there in their enterprise.  :D

I didn’t imagine the Village People to be hoteliers. Good luck to them!   ::)

This will be YMCA Somerset Coast's second hotel.

They already run The Beach Hotel in Minehead.

I've had a look at the plans from BNM's link and have to say that it seems to make a welcome improvement to the locale, as it seems a very sympathetic treatment. I recall the old building and the area round there will really look all the better for it. The use it is being put to should also be applauded, especially as it's going to be a new and worthy take on it's original purpose. Nice one!

Its fun to stay in the Y-M-C-A .......so I'm told. 🙂