Saxonvale Concern updates Frome residents on site plans and community power
Last week’s public meeting hosted by Saxonvale Concern (SV) about the plans for a major supermarket build in Frome’s town centre provided advice on how the local community can have its say
The meeting at the Cheese and Grain on Wednesday 23rd March started with an update on the current situation at the Saxonvale site and a round-up of feedback from the previous meeting on what residents of Frome would like to see on it. It then went on to include SV’s response to the Mendip District Council (MDC) so-called Core Strategy document, followed by suggestions on how the community could influence the outcome of local planning. Questions and thoughts were also received from the audience.
At the meeting , Duncan Skene highlighted the Your Mendip magazine recently delivered through post boxes in the town. This contains a form asking for responses to the Core Strategy of MDC Local Development Framework. The deadline for submissions is Thursday March 31st; forms should be available from Frome library and there is the option to reply via the MDC website. Saxonvale Concern is urging people to press the council to:
· Specify the maximum size of the foodstore at Saxonvale that is compatible with the current Saxonvale Development Brief and to delete the imprecise wording, “small/medium”. 15,000 square feet should be specified as an absolute maximum.
· Determine what proportion of the 70,000sq ft non-food retail space relates to Saxonvale and what to the re-developed Westway Precinct. This is not clear in the wording of the Core Strategy. The Saxonvale Development Brief allocation for non-food retail (40,000 sq ft) should be regarded as an absolute maximum. Over-burdening Saxonvale with non-food retail space would run a real risk of establishing competing town centres and this should be avoided at all costs.
· Make good the omission of any reference in the Core Strategy to the redevelopment of the Kingsway Precinct, which is appreciably more ‘tired’ than the Westway Precinct and which provides the major town centre link to the Saxonvale site. This appears to be a significant oversight. Any development at Saxonvale should be contingent on improving links to the existing town centre.
· Be consistent. MDC permitted the expansion of out of town retail provision at Wessex Fields as recently as 2009 (yet to be built). If the main thrust of retail policy henceforth is the re-vitalisation the town centre, the Core Strategy needs to state that further retail expansion elsewhere will not be permitted.
The meeting also provided some insight and thoughts from Mel Usher, standing for Independents for Frome in the May local elections. He explained how the pending localism bill could prove powerful for communities wanting to challenge decisions made on local services and affect neighbourhood planning.
SV concludes that the underlying message of this bill is that we can no longer expect government to do it all for us – as a community we have to take charge of our own future. Last week’s meeting aimed to start people thinking about what they would be prepared to do to make their vision happen.
The date for the next public meeting, to be held again at the Cheese and Grain in approximately six week’s time will be announced soon.
Saxonvale Concern is a coalition of people working to see Saxonvale developed in ways that respect and enhance Frome’s independent culture, economy and heritage and to ensure that the unique opportunity that this site represents is not squandered on a large supermarket.