The following article is a candidate profile for the Paulton B&NES Council candidate, Alex Frost. All views expressed are solely those of the author.

Dear residents of Paulton,

I have been a resident here for the last twenty-three years and retired for the last six years.  My work as a Heavy Goods Driver took me away from the area regularly allowing me very little time to attend to issues other than home maintenance.  I did get involved with some local issues during the last twelve years or so, as much as time would allow.  I have now arrived at the point where I feel that being unhappy with the way our region is being run, I had two choices.  I could either do something about it myself,  or move.  Moving would be far too stressful so I am standing for election to BANES council in the May elections.The administration in BANES has not been kind to Paulton.  Overseeing drastic cuts in bus services, allowing continuous building of more and more houses without a thought to the overstretched amenities.  The doctor's surgeries are inundated, as are the dentist and our Chemist shop.  Paulton has already fulfilled its obligation to build "affordable homes".   Not only that, look at the quality of these developments.  Minute or no gardens, one parking space and access roads too narrow to make passing anything other than a manoeuvring competition.  Paulton has more than enough houses thank you.   Paulton has had enough of being an easy fill for the back pockets of developers.

Houses are not the only kind of unwanted developments that are blighting our village.  Why, oh why do we need more industrial estates??  The Somer Valley Enterprize Zone to be signed off so that any of the earmarked land can be developed without planning permission.  Planning is being sought to expand Old Mills Industrial Estate.  Why? A lot of the present units are unoccupied.  Paulton house has many offices still empty.  Neither of these developments will make employment for local people in significant numbers.  They will bring in more commuter from outside. There were over five hundred objections to the Somer Valley Enterprize Zone,  five comments for the plan.  It was still passed with no consideration for the five hundred who objected.  That decision stinks!  Some of the land owners involved in this nefarious scheme will be having their land stolen from them to fill the back pockets of a developer.  This development could have been contained in its entirety on the old Bibby and Baron site in Welton.  I was told that this site is earmarked for a supermarket.  Oh, come on! Look at the cost.  all those buildings to demolish, the rubble to remove and dispose of.  All the internal roads and hard standing to be removed and disposed of.  Then the land to be landscaped to allow building the required structure.  Parking areas to put down and surface. Whereas, the site would accommodate all the buildings necessary to complete the Somer Valley Enterprize Zone with just a few internal alterations to some of the existing buildings. The big problem with using the Welton site is that it would not make as much money for the developer as wasting good farming land.   A major point that has not been given sufficient consideration is the road infrastructure leading to and from the Somer Valley Enterprize Zone.  Even with the proposed alterations to the A362 it will not be sufficient to prevent an unacceptable build up of traffic.  The proposed changes will also leave two residential properties on an Island.  At least one of those residents has been threatened with having her home demolished to facilitate the road redirection.   The manner in which the whole project has been managed is nothing short of disgusting.  Landowners threatened and prevented from speaking with council officials. 

Post Covid priorities have changed.  The health service is in a bad way,  appointments with specialists are almost impossible, as re appointments with your own doctor, dentist.   There are far more important issues to attend to other that unrequired developments.  Reinstating a useful public transport system for Paulton.  Reinstate the dedicated park and ride bus from Odd Down to the RUH.  These would be a good start but under the current administration this will never happen.  People who do not reside in Paulton cannot be expected to understand our requirements.  In the event of being elected I will make it an absolute priority to promote the interests of Paulton to the best of my ability.