The then-Conservative government provided just over £19.7m through the levelling up fund in January 2023 to create the new facility at the former community hospital site on Salmon Parade, along with a satellite site in Minehead. The gatehouse at the former community hospital site on Salmon Parade in Bridgwater (Image: KTA Architects)The gatehouse lies at the south-western corner of the hospital site, adjacent to the proposed access and car park for the new academy. "The condition is worst in the central, oldest part of the building, with water ingress via the exposed roof during a particularly wet winter. "For this purpose the change of use of the former gatehouse is applied for, in advance of amended plans for the wider regeneration scheme." The council is expected to approve both the bat mitigation and its amended plans for the wider regeneration project within the coming weeks.