THE new owners of Minehead's old hospital are due to take possession of the town centre site on Monday (April 27).

And Bill Howard and Bob Jones, whose identities have been revealed for the first time this week, have given renewed hope to campaigners who have been battling for the past seven years to turn it into a cultural and community hub.

Minehead Development Trust, which has been driving the dream of giving the Grade Two listed buildings new life, announced on Wednesday that the owners were keen to include community facilities in their plans.

And Mr Howard will be among those meeting the public at a new consultation aimed at seeking confirmation of community support for the original ideas for the site.

MDT spokesman Ray Tew said the owners, who had been friends for years and had undertaken previous developments, had confirmed they planned to develop the site "with due respect" to its three heritage buildings.

Mr Howard, a consultant engineer from St Albans, and retired engineer Mr Jones, currently living in Switzerland, have been in discussion with the MDT since they snapped up the property at auction for £350,000 at the end of March.

The old hospital, which was put on the market by NHS Property Services and had been empty since a new multi-million replacement opened on the outskirts of Minehead four years ago, sold within minutes.

But MDT, which had been trying to get the sale deferred for six months, was unable to bid for it as it failed to secure the necessary funding.

However, Mr Tew said the MDT's aim had always been to preserve the heritage part of the site, rather than own it.

"We are at an incredibly explorative stage of discussions with the owners but things are looking positive and we are very excited by the possibilities," he said.

"Any development needs to be viable and sustainable but the key thing is that the owners are very keen to see a strong community involvement.

"They have ideas and they want to see the building sympathetically developed."

Extensive consultations on possible future plans for the site have in the past revealed overwhelming support for the creation of a community hub.

Potential 'anchor' tenants have included the library, information centre, advice bureau and museum, alongside a performance/exhibition space.

But Mr Tew said it was essential that both the MDT and the owners received assurances from the local community that it still wanted to see those facilities housed within the buildings.

"Things may have changed or people may have new ideas – we just want to hear as many views as possible."

The latest consultation will run daily from 10am to 3pm from April 30 to May 5.

And it will be held in the former day room at the old hospital, giving people the chance to see inside the building again.

There will be displays, information and a revamped questionnaire to allow both the MDT and the owners to fully gauge the community response.

"Everyone is welcome to attend and we hope as many people as possible people will take advantage of the opportunity to make their views known," said Mr Tew.

"It was the main frontage of the old hospital which attracted the owners – they saw it in the sales brochure and they liked the look of it and wanted to preserve it.

"We have a long way to go and the devil will be in the detail.

"But we feel as if we have been given a second chance and it is really encouraging."