Efforts are underway to submit a new planning application for the Zig Zag Building in Glastonbury, which campaigners hope will secure its future as an arts and cultural centre offering welfare and community support.

The building, on Beckery Old Road, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute with Somerset Council, which served enforcement notices on the site in March 2023. These required residents living in vans and caravans on the site to leave — a move campaigners say has pushed vulnerable people further into hardship.

Speaking at a recent Glastonbury Town Council meeting, campaigner Rohan Black said the Zig Zag Building had provided vital refuge and support for people living outside conventional housing, describing it as "an unofficial yet essential support network."

He said: "The Zig Zag has been an important part of the community, offering not just a space for creative expression but also refuge for those in need. It has hosted exhibitions, performances, discussions — welcoming everyone from artists and musicians to counsellors and global charities."

Rohan told councillors that the new planning application would seek to reframe the site as an arts and cultural centre, with an emphasis on supporting welfare and community needs.

He said: "Looking forward, we are working on a new planning application for the Zig Zag — as an arts and cultural centre, a space that fosters creativity and offers welfare and community support, which we believe aligns with the ethos of Glastonbury. We ask for your support."

The move comes as campaigners continue to criticise Somerset Council's handling of the site, accusing the authority of using "punitive measures" rather than seeking creative solutions.

Rohan said: "Instead of recognising the value of the space, efforts have been made to vilify it — even bringing in law enforcement in an attempt to associate it with criminal activity, an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful.

"Thousands of pounds have been spent in legal battles, and we have received no real explanation for why it's being pursued so aggressively."

Campaigners are calling on Somerset Council to work with them on long-term solutions, including temporary accommodation or safe parking areas for van dwellers, welfare support, and alternative low-impact housing options.

Rohan said: "This is about people — about the identity of Glastonbury — and about our collective responsibility to uphold the values that have long made this town a place of acceptance, creativity and community."

• A Somerset Council spokesperson said: ''This is a complex situation and we will do everything we can to support anyone who is impacted. In July 2024, the Planning Inspectorate dismissed two planning enforcement appeals relating to the Zig Zag building and yard (the former car park area behind the site). 'The Inspector agreed with the Council that the site was not fit for human habitation and the terms of the Enforcement Notice were upheld. 'Importantly, the Inspector made an award of costs to Council which demonstrates the Council has, and would, be acting reasonably in terms of upholding the terms of the Enforcement Notice. Activities being undertaken by Somerset Council by way of support include the Enabling Project – part of the Glastonbury Town Deal - which aims to improve the situation and with the development of a site to provide permanent provision, in consultation with the relevant communities and subject to deliverability. ''The Council recognises that the issue is much bigger than one town however, and a wider approach is needed going forward.We have just secured Government funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to undertake a feasibility study that will consider sites in Somerset that could provide a range of designated spaces for temporary and permanent pitches. This study will provide the foundation for the Council to consider matters around funding and delivery options for sites across Somerset during 2025/26.''