New future for Great Western House in Taunton
How the Grade II listed Great Western House at Taunton station was restored as a hotel, conference space and small-business workplace.
Taunton Deane Borough Council agreed loan support in 2018 so that YMCA Somerset Coast, later part of YMCA Dulverton Group, could buy and restore Great Western House, the Grade II listed building opposite Taunton railway station.
The project was designed as a boutique hotel of about 14 bedrooms, with a café, conference space and rooms that small businesses could share. Funding discussed at the time brought together the council loan, the EDF community impact mitigation fund, the Railway Heritage Trust and YMCA resources. The aim was twofold: bring a tired station gateway back into use, and train young people in hospitality, catering and business skills.
The restored Great Western Hotel opened in 2019. Public reports from its first months described 15 guest bedrooms, rentable offices and a busy conference diary, with the building tied into wider plans for Taunton station and the Firepool area.
For a firm looking at Taunton today, the lesson is less about that particular loan and more about the town's pattern: public and social-enterprise partners have been willing to put employment space into prominent, well-connected buildings. Ask Somerset 3D what is available now around the station, Firepool and the town centre.