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Next open meeting in Frome to discuss plans for major supermarket and retail development

A public meeting designed to better explain the retail plans for Frome’s town centre is planned for January

Following the meeting earlier this month which attracted over 400 people, a second open event will be held at the Cheese and Grain, to discuss development plans for the Saxonvale area and how the local community can influence and change them.

The public meeting held on 1st December crystallised local residents’ concerns over the nature and scale of development put forward by property company St James Investments (SJI).

At the next event, representatives from Mendip District Council will present the Planning Brief document for the Saxonvale site, written after serious consultation; this does not include a supermarket development on the scale of that proposed by SJI.  Questions and further thoughts and views will be encouraged from the floor.

All are welcome to attend the second meeting, which will take place on Wednesday 19th January in the Cheese and Grain (7.30 – 9.30pm).  The aim for the session is to inform the town about the current ownership status and plans for the Saxonvale site, debating what could be put forward as an alternative and what practical steps could be taken to influence the plans.

Organisers of the meeting are keen that it gets to grips with some very pressing issues, which are encompassed under the following questions:

– What do people want to see on that side of the town?

– What are their questions about the Planning Brief, or anything else regarding local regeneration?

– As a community, what should we do next?

Everyone is encouraged to come to the January 2011 meeting, whether a trader, councillor, born and bred in Frome, a more recent arrival, concerned, opposed, or simply interested in the issue.

For more information on the plans for the Saxonvale site in Frome, visit saxonvalesupermarket.blogspot.com, join the ‘No more big supermarkets in Frome’ group on Facebook, or follow @Saxonvale on Twitter.