A FORMER Taunton pub dating back more than 100 years could be converted into a residential children’s care facility for under-16s.

The former Pen and Quill, at 1 Shuttern, consists of two formerly separate buildings now “intrinsically linked”, with an entrance at 3 Westbourne Terrace boarded up.

Plans submitted by Base Planning Consultants on behalf of Mocha (Taunton) Limited detail a scheme that would create a “residential institution providing children’s care” for up to eight young people.

The pub has long been closed, and the building has fallen into some disrepair, the application said.

“A number of windowpanes have been lost as a result of vandalism since the pub’s closure, and the frames are showing clear signs of decay,” it said.

“As a result of vandalism on site, one window has been removed in its entirety, although the frame has been retained for refurbishment.”

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The former bar, skittles and stage areas of the property, as well as kitchens, toilets and cellar, would all be refurbished as part of the plans, or removed.

“The upper floors are understood to have been used as a mix of conference and residential space, ancillary to the public house,” the application went on.

“While the staircase leading between the first and second floors is retained, the spindles and bannisters have been lost.”

The proposed care facility would be managed by Inspired Living (SW) Limited, the plans said, providing residential care for young people “in need of a safe and structured living environment”.

It would provide 24-hour care for up to eight people under the age of 16, the application said, with two rooms available for staff working overnight.

The interior of the former Pen and Quill pub, in Shuttern, Taunton. Pictures: Base/Somerset Council

“In addition, at the ground floor, a two-bedroom ancillary care unit is proposed, which will have the benefit of its own external access, and provide a multi-functional space to meet the care needs within the locality, such as a mother and baby unit with lockable internal door, which will allow the wider care facility to provide the support needed for the occupiers of this unit,” the plan added.

New partition walls will be installed at all levels, with a “sense of division” between the properties being reintroduced, though they would remain linked.

“The applicant seeks to make these sympathetic changes to ensure the integrity of the building and facilitate a change of use and to deliver a high-quality children’s care facility that meets the community and welfare needs of the area, in an accessible location close to services and facilities,” the plan concluded.

For more details, and to comment on the plan, log on to somerset.gov.uk and search application reference 38/25/0416.

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