Long-running efforts to regenerate a Somerset market town have been scrapped to reduce council borrowing.

Wincanton was one of three towns identified for regeneration by South Somerset District Council in 2020, with millions of pounds being committed towards projects designed to bring more people into the town centre.

The district council put significant elements of the scheme on hold in January 2023 in light of the financial pressures facing the incoming Somerset Council.

In light of these pressures worsening, the unitary authority has now scrapped the surviving elements of Wincanton's regeneration scheme outright – though it will seek external funding to revive some elements in the years ahead.

The Wincanton regeneration scheme originally comprised three elements:

• Schemes to improve the appearance of the town centre (known as public realm improvements)
• Grants to bring prominent buildings back into use
• Organising cultural events to bring people into the town centre

The district council committed £2m of capital funding towards the town in January 2020, with the original budget topping out at £5,673,000 – which included a possible stake in the redevelopment of the grade two listed White Horse pub.

More than half of the regeneration budget was cut in February 2022, with the council arguing the money was no longer needed since the White Horse was being regenerated through private funding – a claim disputed by local councillors, who branded the decision a "fiasco".

The public realm elements – which focused around Carrington Way, High Street and Market Place – were granted additional funding in July 2022, but were then put on hold just one month later following a council U-turn.

The grant schemes for both the events programme and the vacant buildings were wound down in the run-up to the district council being abolished in April 2023.

The funding for the public realm improvements was provisionally listed within the council's capital programme for the 2024/25 financial year, with the schemes being funded through £2,668,000 of external borrowing.

But as part of a wider scramble to plug a £100m budget gap and avoid effective bankruptcy, the council has been reviewing its capital programme, removing all schemes which were not fully funded by either central government grants or contributions from housing developers.

Its scrapping was confirmed in papers published before the council's corporate and resources scrutiny committee met in Taunton on Friday (February 2) to discuss the detailed budget proposals.

A spokesman said: "As part of our response to the financial emergency we have had to review all areas of spending, including capital projects.

"This means the regeneration project at Wincanton, which intended to bring empty town centre properties back into use, cannot now proceed as planned.

"We will continue to explore other ways to support towns with regeneration ambitions through external funding opportunities."

While schemes like the Yeovil Refresh and the town deals in Bridgwater and Glastonbury can continue into the next financial year, the Wincanton scheme has been scrapped until external grants become available.

The town failed to secure funding on two occasions from the government's levelling up fund, which would have seen the former health centre on Carrington Way brought back into use as a commercial hub.

Planning permission for such a change to the building was granted by the district council in December 2022 – meaning there is a chance for this development to be brought about entirely through the private sector.

Other capital schemes which face the chop due to borrowing costs include the upgrades to Yeovil Crematorium (expected to cost a further £3,957,000) and improvements to Bridgwater library (£1,391,000).

The council previously announced that it would also abandon plans to use more than £3m to build a solar farm on the former Saltlands landfill site in Bridgwater – but said it was hopeful the site could be brought forward through private investment.

The council's full list of capital schemes, including all remaining regeneration efforts, will be debated by the executive committee in Taunton on Wednesday (February 7), with the budget expected to be approved by the full council in Bridgwater on February 20.