SCORES of homes and offices could be built on a narrow strip of land being sold by Network Rail.
An image of how the area opposite the Taunton Station entrance could look.
The company is expecting several developers to bid for an eight-acre site north of Taunton Station stretching between Kingston Road and Obridge Road.
The scheme could see several buildings, including Railway Runabouts pre-school, the Railway Club and industrial units, demolished and an allotment ripped up to make way for 80 two- to four-bedroom houses.
The GWSRA building and a plot of wasteland could be replaced by social housing, retirement apartments, a care home or a further 22 homes, while the allotments could be relocated to Obridge Yard.
Offices could go up on a smaller parcel of land between the station entrance and Kilkenny Car Park.
A Network Rail spokesman said: ^We are selling this land as it is no longer required as part of the operational railway. Sales like this can help to underwrite the costs of railway improvements and benefit rail users and taxpayers alike. We are not yet aware of any specific plans for the site, although we expect considerable interest.^
The site is for sale by informal tender through agents Alder King before the Friday, November 7 deadline.
Alder King partner Andrew Maynard said: ^This is a highly strategic and visible redevelopment site adjacent to the railway station and within walking distance of the Firepool regeneration area and other residential developments. The successful development of this site will be an important piece of the jigsaw in Taunton^s central area redevelopment.^
Sally Mears, manager at Railway Runabouts, which has 27 children on its books and has been operating for 25 years, said she knew the pre-school would have to move, although she only found out it was likely to happen sooner rather than later when a surveyor visited recently.
She added: ^Network Rail hasn^t even offered to relocate us, but we^re proactively looking at a couple of possible premises.
^The people are our most valuable resource, not the building, so we are determined to find somewhere else to stay open for at least another 25 years.^
An allotment holder, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ^ve had my patch here for years and it^s a wrench to give it up, although we knew it was coming some time.
The potential development comes soon after the Government announced it was pumping ^4.6million into improvements on the south side of Taunton Station, including re-siting the main entrance there, better passenger facilities, shops and a multi-storey car park.
It'd be sad if this leads to another closure of a Great Western Railway Staff Association ("Railway Club") facility. The
also has its head office in Taunton. Many happy memories using the Railway Club in Taunton for a cheap night out and/or an evening's darts or snooker. Some more poignant memories attending wakes of family members there. I also have fond memories of knocking about as a kid in the WW2 bomb shelter on the allotment plot. Never scrumping any of the allotment produce of course...
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