About the working group

A working group was established in May 2021 to look at ways to create designated cultural and heritage facilities and activities in Yeovil, for the Yeovil community and visitors. The group meets regularly and is currently putting together an action plan to develop an arts and heritage programme for the public, as well as exploring options to create a designated space in the town centre.

We have secured funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund to allow a 12-month project viability study based on the Vicarage Street Methodist Church at the centre of Yeovil. Architects BoonBrown and You&Me have been commissioned to provide design options for the use of the building, along with detailed structure and quantity surveyor reports. The initial plan is to bring the functions and services of Yeovil Art Space, Eastville Project Space and a Yeovil Museum & Heritage together in a single accessible building in the town centre. The group continues exploring options and developing the ambition with input from wider communities.

In October 2022, the group received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver STORY OF YEOVIL, an 18-month project developing the partnership and testing ways to bring Yeovil’s heritage alive. The project explores Yeovil’s heritage and social history through the voice of local communities.

If you would like to get in touch and find out more, please email Zoe Li, Project Director zoe@yeovilartspace.uk

VISION

Celebrating Yeovil’s culture and heritage in the heart of the community, with everyone, for everyone.

MISSION

To provide space and opportunities in the centre of Yeovil, where everyone can experience creative arts and explore stories of Yeovil’s past, present and future.

AIMS

• Work together and with others to deliver a programme mixing between arts and heritage that is imaginative, innovative and inspiring
• Bring identity and pride to our town that is relevant through creativity, sense of place and people
• Support nurturing young people and learning of all ages and all backgrounds, inspiring visitors from elsewhere
• Put Yeovil on the map of where quality arts and heritage activities can be explored, including loans from regional and national collections and artists at national and international levels.
• Contribute to the town’s regeneration through the voice of the community, and build reputation.
• Embrace environmental sustainability and digital innovation in all aspects of our work

OBJECTIVES

• Deliver a programme of activities in to build audiences and partnership
• Create a designated space and facilities as part of the regeneration plan
• Share investment and resources for arts and heritage that is sustainable
• Embed our shared values, gather evidence, and to evaluate and capture the impact
• Be a core part of the wider cultural strategy of Yeovil and beyond

Current Members

Bob Osborn, A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History
Ian Timms, Yeovil Refresh
Steve Sowden, Yeovil Free Press
Sally Freemantle, Yeovil Town Council
Rachel Bellamy, South West Heritage Trust
Stephen Ives, Eastville Project Space
Natasha Rand, Yeovil Art Space
Zoe Li, Yeovil Art Space
Jess Egan, Yeovil Art Space
Joseph Lewis, South Somerset Heritage Collection
Rose Wallis, Regional History Centre, The University of West of England

Members & observers in the past

Rev Kate Konrad, Yeovil Methodist Church (observer)
Katy Menday, South Somerset District Council
Councillor Mike Best, South Somerset District Council