Plans to transform Kilver Court shops, and other planning news from in and around Shepton Mallet

Plans have been submitted to carry out work to Kilver Court, with the hope of making it a prime shopping destination once again.

The designer shopping outlet closed the doors to all but a handful of stores (Mulbery, Yves Delorme and Toast) in September last year, and it was announced that Mulberry founder Roger Saul had sold up, and it was later revealed that the Showering family had bought back their ancestral home.

A statement at the time said: "Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet, the ancestral family home to the Showering family, the founders of the Brothers Drinks Co, will be transformed into an interactive culture destination for locals and tourists in the area following its recent acquisition.

"The business has already begun planning around the site with hopes to open next year.

"Situated adjacent to the Showerings Cider Mill, the purchase of Kilver Court increases the business' footprint to 38 acres, reinforcing the company as the biggest employer in the Shepton Mallet area. "

urrently the gardens are open to pre-booked parties, and in June the café reopened Thursday-Sunday, but only the three stores remain open.

The plans submitted to Mendip are asking for permission to change doors and windows, and remove a staircase, so that instead of the department-shop style store that operated before, there can be individual retail units.

The planning and design statement issued as part of the application says: "Kilver Court with its difficult floor layouts and limitation of size was re-purposed as a designer outlet using a concession based departmental store format which unfortunately due to the lack of quantum of floor space is not a model that post-covid is attractive to either brands or consumers.

"Operators are now seeking to establish their own environments in destination retail locations such as Kilver Court in order to differentiate from the on-line offers by creating a sense of place and point of difference. This is referenced to not only the individuality of fit-out but by the staff they train and employ.

"In concession-based situations this is difficult to achieve and therefore the new vision in creating a new and sustainable retail and leisure destination is centred on delivering ten new individual lockup shop units in two courtyard settings at ground and lower ground floor levels. With an adopted tenant mix philosophy focused on lifestyle and homeware brands to complement the existing anchors of Mulberry and Kilver Court Gardens will we believe provide the catalyst for not only strengthening the catchment but increasing turnover levels throughout the scheme.

"In order to provide individual lock-up shop units that meet retail occupiers' optimum requirements this will necessitate the reconfiguration of the external facades so that they have their own individual shopfronts and entrance doors fronting onto pedestrianised courtyards and public realm.

"There needs to be a clear differentiation between the past and the future in order that consumers understand the form of the retail offers contained within the development and which then becomes their retail and leisure destination of choice."