Frome council building is ‘coming home’

The old social services building.

A FANTASTIC opportunity for Frome – that’s how town council leader Mel Usher described the chance for the town to purchase the Social Services building on Christchurch Street West.

The town council has agreed to work with Somerset County Council towards transferring the ownership of the building.

The building would provide a new community meeting and business space for Frome.

Cllr Mel Usher, leader of Frome Town Council said, “There’s a long way to go but fantastic opportunities for the community don’t come up very often.”

The building was purpose-built and housed Frome Rural District Council and the town council for most of the last century. It was transferred to Somerset County Council when the Rural District Council was wound up in 1974.

“Our next task is to get a survey done and agree a price with the County,” continued cllr Usher. “If that goes well, we’ll then kick off the conversation with local people about how we use it. Watch this space!

“If it comes back under the ownership of the town, we can create a real community hub for use by all manner of local groups and businesses.

“Meeting rooms and offices are in short supply in Frome and this building has the capacity to complement other provision in the town.”

Town council clerk, Paul Wynne added, “The town council has been interested in this building for a long time. It’s an exciting opportunity to create a community hub. There are a lot of opportunities for the community.”