Dillington House closure – September 2023

In Sept 2022 Somerset County Council (SCC) took the difficult decision to activate a break clause in the lease and cease its activities at Dillington House from 30 September 2023.  SCC has leased the 16th Century Grade 2 listed country house since September 1966 – initially for adult/community education and more recently as a venue for meetings/ conferences and various events such as weddings.

Operations in the building currently run at a substantial loss and this decision will enable public monies and resources to be focused on the Council’s statutory duties such as Childrens and Adult social care.

Will events or courses I have booked to attend before September 2023 be affected?

No, it’s very much business as usual until 30 September 2023.

SCC adjusted the terms of its lease so it could continue running its activities until the end of September 2023, enabling it to honour the majority of its existing bookings at Dillington – including weddings booked throughout 2023.

We are determined to ensure that customers visiting Dillington throughout 2023 experience the same high quality of service that they would have received in previous years.

What will happen with the staff?

Staff will be supported in finding alternative employment, especially within the Council where appropriate, to minimise redundancies.

A staff retention scheme has been agreed to incentivise and reward those employees who continue to work at Dillington until it ceases operation on 30 Sept 23.

What will happen to the Tutors of Adult Education courses?

The Tutors are self employed and already provide courses at other venues, other than Dillington. We are also talking with other venues who provide adult/community education courses to understand their offer and help signpost tutors and customers to them.

Who are these providers and where can I now go for Community Education courses.

There are a number of organisations within and close to Somerset, which provide a range of community education courses.

Hawkwood College is based in Stroud and you can view their programme here

What will happen to Dillington House after September 2023?

The main house and surrounding buildings will be handed back to the landlords, who own the surrounding Dillington Estate.  We don’t have any further information at this point on future plans for the House.

Are there any public events planned before the closure? 

Yes, We would like to warmly invite you to join us for The Army Benevolent Fund Soldiers Charity ‘The Last Hoorah’ event on Saturday 16th September 2023.  This will be their first Open Air concert in Somerset and will be the penultimate event being run at Dillington House. 

https://dillington.com/celebrate/the-last-hurrah/

Alternatively, join us on Sunday 24th September for our Concert with the Coull String Quartet.  Tickets and more details available here

Will the Shindig Festival continue to take place at Dillington?

Yes, the event is arranged through the Dillington estate and not affected by SCC ceasing its activities at Dillington.

See the Shindig website for more details:

Home – Shindig Festival

Who can I contact about outstanding invoices or enquiries?

Any queries regarding payments for outstanding invoices you can call 0300123 2224

Any other queries regarding site access, please call Dillington 01460 258648