The redevelopment of the Boden Mill site in Chard could be moving forward with early discussions taking place with an interested party.

South Somerset District Council intended to bring the Grade II listed mill, off the A358 Silver Street, back into use as part of the Chard regeneration scheme.

It was forced to shelve this phase of the regeneration in August 2021 due to a lack of funding. Officers admitted in January 2022 that they had misjudged how much the new Chard Leisure Centre would cost.

Officers have now hinted that a third party could bring the site back into use and possibly remove a neighbouring “eyesore” in the process.

Peter Paddon, the council’s acting director of place and recovery, broke the news as part of a wider update on the Chard regeneration scheme when the council’s area west committee met in Chard on Wednesday evening (October 19).

He said: “We are in early discussions with an interested party over the future of Boden Mill.”

Mr Paddon would not comment further on the interested party’s intentions for the site, nor would he divulge the party’s identity, citing commercial sensitivity.

However, he did hint that the party’s proposals for Boden Mill could involve the long-awaited demolition of Building 11 near the new leisure centre.

Building 11 formed part of the former ACI complex on Silver Street, and was originally going to be re-purposed as part of plans to relocate the town’s library.

When these proposals did not come to fruition, the council applied to demolish the structure and make improvements to the Silver Street access to the leisure centre, which opened in November 2021.

A decision on these plans has been repeatedly delayed due to objections from Historic England – meaning a decision may end up being taken by the new unitary Somerset Council, which assumes control on April 1, 2023.