FROME Town Council has agreed to enter into negotiations with Mendip District Council to acquire a number of open spaces in the town that have ‘community’ and ‘environmental’ value.
Around 25 open spaces, currently owned by Mendip District Council, have been earmarked by the town council for them to take on ownership and become responsible for their maintenance.
Acquisition will allow the town council to “protect them from neglect or built development” and use them for “community engagement”.
If successful, the acquisition of the sites by the town council could mean good news for a number of open spaces that made headlines last year when they were earmarked for development.
A number of the green spaces requested by the town council – including land at Farley Close and land at Selwood Crescent/Mendip Drive – were at the centre of controversy last year when it was proposed by the The Fair Homes Project – a partnership between Frome Area Community Land Trust (FACLT), Selwood Housing Group, and Mendip District Council – that they be used for housing.
The project proposed to build up to 30 “new high-quality, fair rent, family homes” on eight green space sites. However, protests from residents upset about the thought of losing their green spaces, caused the project to withdraw its plans.
Broadway Allotments and the cemetery extension at Easthill – both of which have also been at the centre of ongoing community campaigns to protect them from housing developments – are also included in the town council’s list of proposed sites.
The town council hopes to acquire the freeholds for the sites prior to the new unitary Somerset Council being formed in April 2023.
“What we are trying to do is to get in quick before the new unitary council is established in 2023,” said the town council’s clerk, Paul Wynne, at last month’s council meeting.
The town clerk explained that the new Somerset Council aims to have a simple process to devolve assets and liabilities to parishes – but this won’t come into effect until after April 2023.
“And we don’t know where Frome will be in the queue,” he added.
“It’s really important,” said cllr Richard Ackroyd about the town council being responsible for maintenance of the open spaces, “especially if in 12 to 18 months’ time they are going to be controlled in Taunton – it’s a long way from Frome!”
Cllr Ackroyd also added that it is ‘awkward’ for residents and the town council to have to contact the district council when they have maintenance requests for the open spaces.
“The more we can get hold of, the better,” said town clerk Paul Wynne, “and I think in most cases, we can make a really good case that we can look after them better.”
However, there was some confusion when town councillor, Nick Dove, suggested that if successful, the town council should consider some of the land for affordable housing.
In response, one local resident said he was ‘perturbed’ by cllr Dove’s suggestion.
“These small pockets of land do have important environmental aspects, particularly The Mount, where people do not have gardens, and Farley Close, which has houses all round a small green,” explained the resident.
“These areas have been the subject of sustained campaigns to make sure that they are not developed, and it would be a huge disappointment if you, Frome Town Council, were to take on these sites and then squeeze in social housing.
“You would be taking away these community areas and the areas for the environment. I hope the town council is successful, but take due note of the ongoing use of these spaces by the community and their value to the environment.”
Some councillors agreed with the resident’s statement, including cllr Sara Butler, who said that she was one of the many protesters that ‘defended’ the land last year. “These spaces are not right for development,” said cllr Butler.
At the meeting, councillors resolved to delegate to the town clerk to negotiate with Mendip District Council – returning to a meeting in the future with firm proposals following the negotiations.
The town clerk stressed that the proposed sites are ‘financial liabilities’ and are not ‘financial assets’ – therefore the town council would be “doing them [Mendip District Council] a favour” by taking the sites on.
