Despite the project's unsuccessful funding bid from the government's Levelling Up Fund, government officials have acknowledged the "tangible positive impact" that efforts to regenerate Shepton Mallet could have.

Mendip District Council had submitted a joint application with Sedgemoor District Council, seeking nearly £19.3 million for revitalisation schemes across Shepton Mallet, Highbridge, and Cheddar. However, the bid was ultimately turned down, as announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in mid-January.

The proposal for Shepton Mallet focused on improvements across five key town centre areas:

1. An overhaul of the 'southern gateway' involving an enhanced bus interchange on Station Road, an active travel hub, public realm improvements around the Cenotaph, a new priority junction with improved pedestrian crossings, and a better connection with Park Road and Collett Park.
2. Enhancements to High Street with the inclusion of seating, planting, and signposts, while maintaining on-street and disabled parking.
3. Safety improvements at the junction of High Street and the A361 Commercial Road, featuring an improved pedestrian crossing and new loading bays.
4. De-cluttering of Upper High Street/Town Road area, along with improved enforcement against illegal parking.
5. Improvements to the 'northern gateway', including a tabletop crossing for pedestrian safety, "speed cushions" to slow traffic, and additional cycle parking and benches.

While officials recognized the positive impact of the bid, they noted that the application could have been strengthened with "more consideration of any alternative options," a "more coherent economic case," and more detailed information on how the projects would be delivered.

The feedback praised the bid for its potential to "catalyse productivity, inward investment, job creation and revenue growth, boosting civic pride in the most deprived areas of the constituency."

Despite the unsuccessful funding outcome, recognising the project's potential suggests that efforts to rejuvenate Shepton Mallet are on the right path.

However, Wells MP James Heappey criticised the proposals as "unimaginative", asserting that most people would continue to visit the three settlements by car.