SOMERSET Council has “fired the starting pistol” on potentially selling the Saxonvale regeneration site in Frome on the open market, reigniting debate over the future of the long-delayed development.

The council’s executive originally agreed in January to sell the site to community group Mayday Saxonvale, which has outline planning permission for a mixed-use scheme including homes, business space, and leisure facilities.

However, nearly nine months later, Mayday has been unable to complete the purchase, citing difficulties in securing the necessary finance from its investment partners.

At a meeting in Frome Town Hall on October 24, the council’s executive agreed to begin the process of marketing the site, with leader Cllr Bill Revans describing the situation as being “between a hard place and many, many rocks.”

Mayday Saxonvale’s plans include 263 homes, at least 30 per cent of which would be affordable, along with commercial and community spaces, a riverside park, cycle links, a hotel, and a proposed lido. Supporters argue that the not-for-profit scheme would deliver the kind of mixed-use regeneration Frome has been seeking for decades.

Supporters of Mayday Saxonvale, including members of the Frome Area Community Land Trust, urged the council to keep faith with the community-led project. They argued that a new commercial developer could take years to reach the same stage of readiness, with Mayday already holding outline planning consent and ready to proceed to detailed planning.

Anita Collier, a non-executive director on the Mayday Saxonvale board, said: “Resorting to selling this land to the next developer who comes along could be the most harmful thing to ever affect this town. This Mayday scheme represents more than just best value. It represents the epitome of what could make this town one of the strongest communities in Somerset.”

Paul Oster, a director at Mayday Saxonvale, urged the council to keep faith with his organisation, especially in light of an amended proposal which was being brought forward.

He said: “We have worked flat out with Stories, our development managers, to find the right investors, aligned with our objectives, who would be willing to put capital upfront for the purchase of Saxonvale.

“We have made progress, with an in principle agreement from a social impact investor for a meaningful portion of the land purchase price.”

The council is currently spending around £30,000 a year on security to prevent trespass or damage to the site – money which could otherwise be used to fund front-line services in Frome and elsewhere.

After around 90 minutes of debate, the executive voted to move forward with selling the site on the open market, while leaving the door open to Mayday Saxonvale.

The site is expected to be marketed for up to 12 weeks, after which a special executive committee meeting will be held in Frome to make a final decision on the sale of the land.

This meeting is expected to be held by late-February, though this may be a few weeks either side in light of the council needing to set its annual budget.