WATCHET residents will get the chance to have their say on the future use of the current town council in the coming weeks.

A leaflet will be going round next week to houses in the town and there are plans for two drop-in days where people will be able to ask questions and talk about ideas.

The council are currently based on Swain Street but will be moving into their new home as part of the renovated boat museum once that work is completed, now expected to be in the summer.

The consultation itself will run for four weeks from Friday, February 19 to Friday, March 18 and the town council want to make sure the public have their views heard, and there will be an online poll, as well as the leaflets.

The council was delighted that work on the Boat Museum Visitor Centre project had got underway earlier this month after the Onion Collective had secured the final bit of funding needed to ensure the renovation could go ahead.

Onion Collective director Naomi Griffith said: “We are delighted to see this project begin in earnest and were thrilled to receive an increased Trusthouse Charitable Foundation grant.

"We have been working towards this project for two years now, following intense community consultation, and to see the ideas of Watchet people become a reality is truly exciting.

"We would like to thank everyone who has helped us to get this far, and very much look forward to opening the doors in summer 2016.”

Alongside the visitor and museum offering the building will also provide up-to-date, fully accessible and much-needed new offices for Watchet Town Council. The plan is for the main reception area will double up as a Council Chamber in the evenings, providing modern facilities and around twice as much space as at present.

The hope is that it will mean that the whole space becomes a community hub for the town.

The project is also funded by EDF’s Community Impact Mitigation Fund for capital costs, and the Coastal Revival Fund for the construction of a footpath and interactive rope making machine leading from the Govier’s Lane Crossing to the new Visitor Centre, and with a £30,000 contribution from Watchet Town Council for the provision of their new office space.