CAMPAIGNERS are urging the community to have their say on plans to redevelop the Saxonvale site, which they describe as ‘horrendous’ and will be ‘a turning point for the town from which it may never recover’.
The ‘Mayday Saxonvale’ campaign – which was launched last year by the directors of the Silk Mill Studios and Gallery, Damon and Kate Moore – says that the plans for the site by Acorn Property Group have been designed to make a ‘sizeable’ profit for Mendip District Council, rather than benefit the community.
The campaign is encouraging people to comment on the plans before the deadline of this Friday, 14th February.
A number of objections are raised to the plans, including the proposed aesthetic look of the development, which campaigners say is ‘out of character’ for the town. They also highlight the lack of green space, the development’s environmental impact, and the lack of proposed commercial space, which they say is in short supply in the town.
“Your readers only have until Friday 14th February to make a response to the planning officer commenting on Acorn’s plan for Saxonvale,” said Damon Moore. “The Silk Mill has put together a basic guide on our website to help people object if they so wish.
“Our view is that the plan is solely designed to make sizable profitable returns back to the district council. This strategic authority may well have merged with Somerset County Council before the development is even finished and meanwhile, there is nothing in this scheme for Frome that we can identify, other than a riverside park built on the floodplain. Even the much-promoted plan for the Western Warehouse is wide open to revision, with no guarantees being offered by the developers.
“We hope your readers will see through this 100% horrendous application and not be influenced by good news press releases. If a consent is granted, we believe it will alter the course of Frome’s future for the worse and become a turning point for the town from which it may never recover.”
For more information about the ‘Mayday Saxonvale’ campaign, visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maydaysaxonvale
To view the plans for Saxonvale and to comment, visit https://publicaccess.mendip.gov.uk/online-applications and search with the planning reference: 2019/1180/OTS
‘Mayday Saxonvale’ is still also pursuing its campaign for full transparency about the contract between Mendip District Council and the developers of the Saxonvale site. The campaign believes that Acorn Property Group and Nash Partnership Architects were ‘secretly appointed’ to the Saxonvale project – breaching procurement legislation, which requires public authorities to have a fair, open and transparent tendering process. The district council denies this accusation.
