WILLITON is back as an option for the site of West Somerset District Council's new centralised offices - but it may be only a temporary reprieve. The village will be vying for councillors' votes alongside the Aquasplash leisure pool site in Minehead and a site now identified as the Minehead depot site. District council leader Cllr Steven Pugsley said the county council depot site alongside Vulcan Road car park had always been included as a possible location under the umbrella heading of Vulcan Road. Members of the public packed into the West Somerset Community College hall for a special meeting of both the council's cabinet and full council to discuss the issue on Monday. They were told the depot and Aquasplash sites would be big enough to accommodate both the council's new offices and speculative offices to let - which the council maintains will help bring "high- paid jobs" to the area. However, chief executive Tim Howes said there was no market for offices to let at the council's existing council base in Williton, although that site would still be considered solely for the authority's new offices. Opponents, including members of the 60-strong audience, questioned the demand for offices to rent in Minehead. And they accused the authority of "throwing away" £1 million earmarked for a "high-tech" fibre-optic broadband internet link - something one Williton businessman said was simply not needed. Councillors agreed to put all three sites forward for public consultation and called for more in-depth reports on the cost implications of developing each option. However, they did agree specifically to plough ahead with "further work" on the speculative offices to let on the depot site - even though councillors conceded the land would first have to be acquired from Somerset County Council and that could only happen once the authority's existing highways depot had been relocated. The speculative offices have always been linked directly to the new council offices, but councillors repeatedly assured the public no decisions had been taken on the site of the new headquarters, despite the decision to investigate the use of the depot. Cllr Pugsley said he had been given written assurances from county council leader Cllr Cathy Bakewell that the county authority would be happy to negotiate the sale of the site with the district. The meeting was also told the district council would do its best to recoup the £34,000 spent on groundworks on county council owned land alongside the railway "in some way". No figure was forthcoming for the amount of money spent on associated works with the development of the site, although members of the public told the meeting they believed the figure was close to £750,000. The council had hoped to build both the speculative offices to let and its own centralised headquarters on the land alongside the railway by forging a partnership with Somerset County Council which would have included a new library in the plans. However, the plans were thrown into disarray when the county authority pulled out of the deal, leaving the district out of pocket and on the hunt for a new site. Councillors were repeatedly warned by both Mr Howes and deputy chief executive Rod Latham that their entire list of "priorities" - including the speculative offices, new headquarters, super- broadband connection and a replacement swimming pool - all hinged on the successful sale of both Clanville and Vulcan Road car parks. While Clanville is all but signed and sealed with a major property developer, a small shadow of doubt remains over Vulcan Road, although both the council's revised Donaldsons retail study and car parking review have paved the way for the site to be sold off. But, having faced fierce criticism in recent months for its controversial plans for offices and a possible supermarket development on Vulcan Road car park, the council is now keen to carry out extensive consultation on the proposals over the next four weeks. A public meeting will be chaired by Cllr Pugsley at West Somerset Community College, in Minehead, on Wednesday August 3, while details will be posted on the authority's website and displays staged in the foyer of the council's existing offices. As well as deciding to look at the Williton, Aquasplash and depot sites in more detail, the council also pledged its continuing support - possibly to the tune of £3 million - to the proposed New Horizons lifelong learning and leisure centre which could provide the area with a replacement for the Aquasplash pool. Cllr Simon Stokes successfully fought for the recommendations to be amended to ensure the existing pool was not closed until a replacement, possibly in New Horizons, was "signed and sealed" and that the council's officers were "instructed to act accordingly". Members also agreed not to make any decision on the future of the Vulcan Road car park until the consultation process had been completed and the results of a recent advertisement for the site to be used for tourism purposes were known. A final decision on all the proposals is due to be taken by the full council, again at a meeting in the community college, on Wednesday August 10.