AFTER lying derelict for over a year, Watchet’s Wansbrough paper mill looks set to get new owners, with current owners DS Smith expected to choose from six bids at a series of meetings in London next week.

After 265 years as Watchet’s biggest employers, the mill closed its doors just before Christmas 2015, making 176 staff redundant.

It is understood that four bidders have been negotiating with the owners for several weeks, with three offering to buy the site and its contents and one planning a mixed development which would probably include houses.

Two more bidders joined the race this week, both understood to be interested in a mix of small businesses and housing.

D S Smith, who bought the mill in 1986 for £30 million, invested a further £1m in 2014 before deciding to close the ageing plant following the loss of a major contract.

It was hoped to sell over £1 million worth of stock and machinery by auction in July last year but none of the major recycled paper-making machinery was sold.

The mothballed plant is now guarded by round-the-clock security staff.

The Free Press was told this week: “The owners have stipulated that there should be no printing businesses on the site and the infrastructure of Watchet will not support another major housing development.

“The general view is that a mixed development with a proportion of houses is the viable way to go.”

The original deadline on offers was January 13 but this was extended when further bidders came in.

As speculation grew in the town this week over the identity of possible buyers, West Somerset Council leader Anthony Trollope-Bellew said that the interest in the paper mill site was extremely good news.

“The council will work closely with the buyer to develop the site to the mutual benefit of the purchaser, West Somerset as a whole, and Watchet in particular,” he said.

The mill played a significant part in Watchet’s history since it opened in the 1750s. It suffered a number of major cutbacks in recent years but news of closure came as a shock when announced in August 2015.

At the time, local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger described the loss of the mill as “an immense tragedy”.

This week he said: “We must work with the successful bidder to ensure that we achieve the best possible balanced use of what is a really prime site.

“It was a tremendous blow to Watchet when the mill closed, but equally there is a tremendous opportunity – given the right amounts of enthusiasm, goodwill and co-operation – for a significant regeneration scheme.”

A spokesman for D S Smith said that currently the mill site was still under their ownership.