FROME Town Council has recommended that a planning application to build houses and offices on the Butler, Tanner, and Dennis site should be refused.
The print company could be under threat of closure if a planning application is granted to property developers London and County by Mendip District Council. It would mean that 120 jobs would disappear.
Following meetings on 10th and 19th April, Frome Town Council has recommended that the planning application should be refused. It says that, without a development brief which considers the requirements of Butler Tanner & Dennis, the application is ‘premature.’ It also says the amount of the site retained for employment use is ‘inadequate.’
In addition, there are no pedestrian links to the station from the development, and no clarity on the provision of a riverside walk – issues that are priorities for the town council in the Neighbourhood Plan and River Corridor Strategy.
The planning application has also been opposed by Frome Civic Society.
As yet, no agreement has been made for Butler, Tanner and Dennis to stay on site, when their lease runs out later this year and unless an agreement can be found, the print company will have to leave the site by September. The print union Unite, though, have warned that it would not be financially viable to move the operation to another site.
