Shepton Amulet theatre flats plan rejected on appeal

By Laura Linham 30th Jun 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

Shepton Amulet flats plan rejected after appeal

Strapline: A planning inspector has backed Somerset Council's refusal of plans to turn the Amulet into flats.

Standfirst: Plans to turn Shepton Mallet's Amulet theatre into flats have been dismissed on appeal after a six-year planning battle.

SEO title: Shepton Amulet theatre flats plan rejected on appeal

Meta description: Plans to convert Shepton Mallet's Amulet theatre into flats have been dismissed on appeal, leaving campaigners hopeful for its community future.

A six-year battle over plans to turn Shepton Mallet's Amulet theatre into homes has ended in defeat for the developer.

The Amulet, built in 1975 and closed since 2011, has been the subject of several attempts to reopen or repurpose the building. Developer K Newton applied to Mendip District Council in July 2020 to turn it into seven flats, with a ground-floor retail unit intended to offset the cost of maintaining the property.

Somerset Council, which replaced Mendip District Council in April 2023, refused the plans in August 2025. A planning inspector has now upheld that refusal, leaving the door open for campaigners who want to buy the building and bring it back into community use.

Planning inspector Verity Simpson visited the site on Tuesday, 12 May, before publishing her decision through the Planning Inspectorate. She noted that part of the theatre, including the main seating area and stage, was currently being used as a commercial gym, but that a recent application to formalise that use had also been refused by the council.

Ms Simpson said there were no other performing arts or cultural venues in Shepton Mallet readily comparable with the Amulet. She also said it was clear there was "much local support" for the building to be reopened as a performance and community space.

She said: "To this effect, a charitable community benefit society has been established; potential grant funding has been identified; and substantial funds have been raised from a community share offer, towards acquiring and refurbishing of the building.

"Whether or not the community benefit society are currently in a position to purchase the Amulet, the efforts of this organisation demonstrate the considerable local support and demand for the continued use of the appeal site as a theatre and community space.

"I cannot establish that there is not a financially viable demand for its use as a community facility."

The inspector also found that the proposed redevelopment could harm the character of the town's conservation area. She pointed to the "collective and individual significance" of listed buildings near the site and said the Amulet's brutalist style allowed it to sit comfortably alongside older buildings because of its simple exterior.

Ms Simpson said: "The scheme includes a two-storey extension that would address the historic Market Place.

"This highly glazed addition would be incongruous with the distinctive yet simple exterior detailing more typically found on the Amulet building, and it would thereby harmfully erode the distinctive character of this building.

"Moreover, its scale and forward projection, and the amount and form of the glazing within it, mean that this extension would be a visually prominent and incongruous addition within the Market Place."

She added that the extension would "distract from and reduce the experiential authenticity" of the historic market place and listed buildings around it. She said she was not convinced the scheme was the most appropriate or least harmful way of securing the public benefits linked to reusing the building.

The decision follows renewed local activity around the Amulet, including a pop-up programme of summer shows organised by the Buy the Amulet group. The group wants to bring the building back into regular use as a community and performance venue.

Around £128,000 has recently been raised towards the acquisition of the building through a community share offer. Further details about the campaign are available from the Buy the Amulet website.

Responding to the inspector's decision, a spokesperson for Buy the Amulet said: "Both Somerset Council and the planning inspector agreed that although Shepton Mallet does need more housing, there is a stronger need for community facilities and the Amulet still has the potential to be reopened.

"They both said that our campaign and the strong community support show there is significant local demand.

"We opposed the planning appeal because it would have meant the permanent loss of Shepton Mallet's only large scale performance venue.

"There are many other empty buildings which could be converted for residential use, but there are no other buildings with the potential of the Amulet, which could be easily reopened to provide us with much needed community space and to reinvigorate the town centre."