AFTER five years of planning and fundraising Onion Collective is ready to start the East Quay build and has appointed the construction contractor.

Midas Construction, part of the Midas Group, will start on site on December 9 and the build is expected to be completed in spring 2021. 

The East Quay development is intended to bring visitors, create jobs and provide opportunities for young people.

It will contain 14 workspaces/maker studios, a double storey gallery, a print room, a paper mill run by Two Rivers Paper, a new rock and fossil preparation lab run by Geckoella, an education space, a restaurant and five self-catering accommodation pods and outdoor space in the courtyard.

It will run a programme of events, exhibitions and activities, inside and outside, for visitors, locals and school groups alike, creating “vibrancy, buzz and fun” on the quayside all year around.

Onion Collective Director Rachel Kelly said there had been a very stringent tender process from which Midas emerged successful, scoring highly on its commitment to community engagement and Considerate Contractor Scheme track record as well as on cost and quality control: “We realise that the build will have a level of impact on everyone in the community, but we are fully committed to making the build as quick and painless as possible. In fact, this was a key requirement raised with contractors during our tender process.”

Onion Collective proposes to have monthly residents’ meetings with the contractor and the community to update people on the build and to discuss progress and deal with any issues that may arise. The first of these is on Wednesday, November 27 at 7pm in Watchet Methodist Schoolroom. 

Midas will also carry out letter-drops to neighbouring properties before starting on site and Onion Collective will circulate those further on social media to keep people up to date on progress.

Buy tomorrow’s Free Press for more details.