Taunton Dean Borough Council (TDBC) has appointed St Modwen as its preferred development partner for the £270m regeneration of a 6.7-hectare (17-acre) brownfield site in the centre of Taunton, Somerset.

The Firepool scheme, which will create a new commercial centre for the town over a 12-year period, will form the first phase of Project Taunton – one of the largest town centre regeneration schemes in south west England, covering a 50-hectare (124-acre) area. Plans for the Firepool site, which is situated adjacent to the town centre, will see the creation of 500,000sq ft (46,452sq m) of office space and a housing development, accompanied by leisure and retail developments.

St Modwen was selected for the scheme after it met strict guidelines for sustainability based upon Project Taunton's 'Taunton Protocol', and work is now expected to get underway later this year. Ian Franklin, Project Taunton's project director, said: "Our aim has always been to ensure Taunton gets the very best commercial scheme and we make no apologies for setting tough benchmarks throughout.

"We were impressed by St. Modwen’s approach to the scheme bid and we now look forward to progressing the planning application and commencing building works." Rob Skelston, development director for St Modwen South West/South Wales, added: "Firepool is a fantastic opportunity to create a modern commercial centre that will attract new businesses into the area and benefit the town as whole. We already have a proven track record in the South West working on similar brownfield regeneration projects and creating sustainable urban developments."

The Project Taunton initiative is supported by TDBC, along with the South West Regional Development Agency, Somerset County Council and the Environment Agency."