Former day centre could become new police station in Minehead
The Seahorse Centre was formerly used by Discovery to deliver day services for vulnerable adults, closing its doors to the public in 2021
A former Somerset day centre for adults with learning difficulties could soon be taken over by the local police force.
The Seahorse Centre on Stephenson Road in Minehead was formerly used by Discovery to deliver day services for vulnerable adults, closing its doors to the public in 2021.
The building, which has lain vacant since this date, was identified for redevelopment as part of a £19.7m bid to create a new health social academy in Bridgwater, with the centre serving as a “satellite site”.
Somerset Council has now revealed the building could be sold off to Avon and Somerset Constabulary instead – with part of the building being leased back to the council to allow the new academy to be delivered.
The new unitary authority (which officially replaced Somerset County Council and the four district councils in April) is currently undergoing a review of all its property assets, identifying buildings which are surplus to requirement and can be sold off to generate funds for front-line services.
Sara Kelly, the council’s property rationalisation programme manager, confirmed the building’s status when the council’s corporate and resources scrutiny committee met in Bridgwater on Thursday morning (September 7).
She said: “We have a property in Minehead called the Seahorse Centre. It has been vacant since 2021, and we’ve had significant interest in it.
“We’re at the advanced stages of negotiations to sell that property to Avon and Somerset Police. They would like to use it to house an enquiry office, a neighbourhood policing team and their response officers.”
The police currently operate an enquiry desk on Townsend Road in Minehead, which is open all day on Mondays and Tuesdays, but is closed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons and all weekend.
Officers needing to respond to major incidents in the town currently rely on support from Bridgwater or Taunton, both of which are more than 30 minutes’ drive away.
Ms Kelly said that part of the Seahorse Centre would still be set aside for the levelling up fund project if the sale was completed.
She told the committee: “As part of that deal, there would be a partial lease back to the council for us to deliver the satellite site for the levelling up fund-backed Somerset academy for health and social care.
“Those negotiations are ongoing, but are progressing well.”
The successful levelling up bid, which was announced in January, will see the former community hospital on Salmon Parade in Bridgwater town centre revamped into a new health and social care academy, focussed on retraining and training healthcare personnel.
The Seahorse Centre will serve as a “satellite site” for this project, allowing healthcare staff from the former West Somerset area to be trained up and transition into roles in this predominantly rural part of the county.
Nathaniel Lucas, the council’s assistant director for major and special projects, stated in July: “The delivery of the Somerset training academy for health and social care will support the under-resourced health and social care sector, providing a larger and more highly skilled workforce.
“It will also future-proof the sector as demand rises exponentially due to Somerset’s ageing population.”
The funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) was formally accepted in February, with the council appointing its design team in July as the process for acquiring the building got under way.
A formal public consultation on the proposals for both buildings is expected to be held by the end of the year, which will result in planning applications for each site.