Issue 345 – Study will consider council move to Cheese and Grain

FROME Town Council will launch a feasibility study to identify potential usage for their Palmer Street office and the mezzanine level of the Cheese and Grain, before they make a decision on whether to relocate the council offices.

Members of the Independents for Frome group have recently indicated their intention to sell the council’s Palmer Street office and relocate to the mezzanine floor of the Cheese and Grain.
However, at a meeting of Frome’s full town council last week, cllr Graham Burgess proposed that a group within the council should launch a feasibility study, costing no more than £5,000, to identify all possible uses for the two locations before any decision is made.
Conservative cllr James Godman voiced his concern over the amount of money used for the office relocation. He said, “The Cheese and Grain building is not at risk, we fund it. The current council office is not at risk, but you want to spend money on these two locations?
“What about the youth service, which is currently at risk or the library service, which I believe could still be at risk. We need to spend our funds wisely and I urge you to reconsider and focus on what’s important. This is not an appropriate use of town council funds.”
Leader of the town council, cllr Mel Usher said, “All we are asking is to take a feasibility study.
“There are parts of the Cheese and Grain that are not used. The venue could be utilised as a public arena for the people of Frome, a one-stop shop where decisions are made and other organisations could utilise the space.”
The motion was passed to launch the feasibility study with seven members of the Independents for Frome voting for the proposal and the three Conservative members voting against.