Frome Police Station planning permission refused

THE planning application for new homes on the Police Station site in Frome has been refused. 

Newland Homes had proposed to build 64 properties, along with garaging and parking on the Oakfield Road site. However permission was denied by Mendip District Council who gave multiple reasons for their decision.

The district council said, “The street frontage is bland and does not contribute to the street scene, the houses do not make a positive contribution to the local vernacular and the scheme as a whole does little to contribute to the local identity and distinctiveness of the area.”

The council also cited how the plans submitted by Newland Homes were not of a sufficient quality or accuracy for the Local Planning Authority to make an assessment of the traffic impact that the proposal could have. The proximity of local schools to the site is also thought to have had an impact on this.

Furthermore, the district council said, “The proposal represents an overdevelopment of the site in that the density provides a cramped form of development that is out of character with the pattern of development in the area.”

The Oakfield Road Police Station closed recently amid  plans to build a new permanent police response hub at the site. The plans are part of an effort from Avon and Somerset Police to cut their costs by reducing their portfolio of buildings by at least 36% by 2019. This has led to a temporary home for neighbourhood police teams being set up above Pizza Hut and KFC on Wessex Fields.