Residents raise concerns about ‘garden village’

RESIDENTS of Little Keyford have raised concerns about the impact the proposed ‘Selwood Garden Village’ would have on their community and the town.

The group called ‘Friends of Little Keyford’ has said that are ‘alarmed’ by the plans and ‘are keen that local residents’ opinions are not overlooked’.

The plan, produced by NVB Architects and Grassroots Planning who represent the landowners, proposes 2,000 homes over 161 hectares on land south of Frome, including The Mount and Little Keyford areas. The proposal has been produced in response to Mendip District Council’s  Local Plan Part 2, which identified six potential sites in Frome for new housing.

The group submitted their concerns to Frome Times, which were passed on to director at NVB Architects, Andrew Simpson, for comment.

“Is the scale of this development actually what Frome needs? 2,000 new homes is many times what Mendip District Council identify as being needed.”

“The targets identified by Mendip District Council in Part I of the Local Plan have been superseded by increased requirements set by central government. Frome has also seen a smaller allocation of housing per capita than other towns in the district over the past 10 years  which has contributed to high levels of unaffordability in the town. At the same time, Frome is also the most sustainable town in the district to develop as it is the only settlement with a train station, providing good links to Bath and Bristol.”

“This NVB proposal, produced in conjunction with Cooper & Tanner, subverts the entire Local Plan process that Mendip District Council has recently been consulting on at length.”

“The proposals have been prepared by a private consortium representing the land owners, and were not ready for public presentation prior to publication of the Part II Consultation. We believe that the submission presents an attractive alternative to incremental development around the edges of Frome that delivers little or no improvements to the town.”

“Doesn’t this take the focus away from Saxonvale – a blighted area in the centre of the town?”

“Both are vitally important.”

“How does the destruction of productive agricultural land contribute to protecting areas for vital future food production?”

“It would be fantastic if brownfield land could fix the housing crisis, but the reality is that it cannot. We therefore need to look beyond the existing boundaries of the town to find new sustainable sites for development; the next generation need new homes.”

“Why have councillors received briefings on the plans while local residents have not been informed?”

“The proposals have been prepared by a private consortium representing the land owners, and were not ready for public presentation prior to publication of the Part II Consultation.”

“What steps will be taken to address omissions, inaccuracies and unacceptable aspects in the outline proposals?”

“The submission is a response to MDC Part II proposals and is not an outline application.”

“Road links between the town centre and the proposed ‘Selwood Garden Village’ are a significant problem. The internal routes within the SGV and new connections to the A361 Frome Bypass will not help at all with a number of existing traffic problems in the town.”

“The aim of a comprehensive plan is to improve traffic links from south from to the bypass; and to improve pedestrian, cycle and bus links to the town centre and train station.”

The ‘Selwood Garden Village’ proposal will be considered by Mendip District Council, alongside other submissions made during the Local Plan Part 2 consultation. The council will consider if changes should be made to the plan before submission to the Secretary of State for examination in May.