Saxonvale decision imminent as council urged to put Frome first

A FROME community group is echoing calls made by Mayor of Frome, Fiona Barrows for Somerset Council to put the long-term future of Frome at the heart of its decision on the sale of the Saxonvale site.

The call comes as Somerset Council is currently looking at eight bids for the 12-acre brownfield site, including the final bid from Mayday Saxonvale submitted in July.

The Council Executive is due to meet at Frome Town Hall on September 23 with a recommendation.

Chair of Mayday Saxonvale Brigid Clarke, said: “Somerset Council rightly recognises that regeneration is about far more than selling land.

“In towns across Somerset it is investing time, expertise and partnerships to deliver long-term social, economic and environmental benefits. We're simply asking the council: why should Frome be treated any differently?

“Saxonvale is not simply a piece of land to be sold. It is the last major opportunity to shape the future of our town.

“This decision will determine not just what gets built, but who owns it, who benefits from the value it creates and whether that value remains in Frome for generations to come.”

The group says that once Saxonvale has been sold, Somerset Council will only be able to influence outcomes on the site in its capacity as local planning authority. These include housing provision, employment opportunities, design quality, heritage, sustainability, infrastructure requirements and wider community benefits.

Clarke added: "We cannot rely on the planning system to deliver the model that would be best for Frome.

“Planning can only consider the application put before it. It cannot guarantee the long-term outcomes our community wants.

“Time and again we've seen affordable housing, employment space and community benefits reduced through viability because commercial priorities inevitably come first.

“That isn't a failure of planning; it's the reality of a system where private return and long-term public benefit are not always the same thing. Ownership changes that equation."

More than 1,000 people have already chosen to become guardians of Saxonvale's future, she added, by paying more than £900,000 into a community share scheme to secure the site.

Their proposal would deliver around 263 homes, including 30 percent affordable housing. 80 percent of housing would be for social rent, alongside more than 10,000 sqm of employment and community space, new public spaces and community-owned assets, with surpluses reinvested back into the site.

She added: “Many have invested with the intention that their shares will one day be passed on to their children and grandchildren.

“You cannot create a stronger commitment to the long-term future of a place than that.

"This decision isn't simply about what is built. It's about who will be responsible for this place long after the development is finished, and whether the value Saxonvale creates continues to benefit Frome for generations to come.

"We're not asking Somerset Council to put Mayday first. We're asking it to put Frome first.”

The Mayday Saxonvale share offer currently stands at £923,000 and is open to investment until September 30.