FOUR Frome councillors are querying Somerset Council’s decision to sell the Saxonvale site to a London-based developer.

On September 23, the council selected Newcore Capital as its preferred bidder for the regeneration of the 12-acre brownfield site in Frome.

The call-in request was submitted by Cllrs Dominic Ellison and Martin Dimery (Frome West), Shane Collins (Frome East) and Adam Boyden (Frome North) seven days after the announcement that has disappointed the Frome community who were supporting a local bid by Mayday Saxonvale.

The councillors say they are not asking the committee to rerun the bidding process but want the council’s scrutiny committee to examine the processes and whether members had all the information and advice needed to make a fully informed decision.

Cllr Dominic Ellison said: “One of the most significant questions concerns the possibility that the Council could have to repay £3.6 million of Homes England funding.

“We want to understand how that risk was assessed and how it affected the financial case for the sale.

“We also want clarity about the Council’s legal options, how the prospects for delivering the regeneration Frome needs were assessed, how the financial offers were compared, and the governance arrangements around the professional advice received by the Council.”