Taunton Deane Council, with development partner, St Modwen, is about to kick off a public consultation about what to do with a derelict former cattle market.

Proposals for the site will be unveiled next week, but are set to include a hotel, waterfront cafés, bars and restaurants, a cinema, retail, a supermarket, offices and homes.

An important part of the council’s regeneration plans, the £105m Firepool development would be one of the biggest mixed-use schemes in the region, with the potential to create more than 1,800 jobs.

Council leader, John Williams, says: “Taunton needs to be competitive and provide high quality facilities to attract continued inward investment and satisfy the needs of its growing population. The mix of uses proposed achieves just that.”