FROME town Council’s meeting started with a bang on 5th December, as they watched a film of the town’s fireworks night.
The council reports, “Andrew Lee, who led the project on behalf of Frome Rotary clubs, said it was a great success and raised over £5,000 for good causes in the town. Councillors agreed the event was successful and brought many parts of the community together. The mayor, cllr Rich Ackroyd, thanked Andrew and the Rotary clubs for their work and then went on to thank everyone who was involved in an extremely successful Christmas lights switch on.
“The mayor then told everyone about the anti-bullying rally that took place last month, which came from one student’s suggestion and spread to 11 schools. It was commented that it was great to see Frome Town Council putting this idea into action and the connections made between all the local children. You can watch the video, which got a round of applause from the room, here: www. youtube.com/watch?v= isf3c4C_ois
“Environment manager, Chris Stringer, then presented a report on Egford Lane play area and green space, after 28 residents asked Frome Town Council to take on responsibility for the area in place of Mendip District Council. The potential transfer is being led by the local community and has been prompted by Frome Town Council’s successful track record in taking on and managing open spaces in the town. With this in mind, councillors quickly agreed to the recommendations and to start discussions with Mendip District Council. Take a look at the report here: htwww.frometown council.gov.uk/wp-content/ uploads /2018/11/Agenda-item-6-For-decision-Egford-Lane-play-area-and-green-space.pdf
“Dave Clarke spoke about the Somerset County Council (SCC) cuts, particularly the possible threat to the Key Centre. John Clarke (SCC councillor) was concerned too and on behalf of his fellow SCC councillor Martin Dimmery, said that they were working to reduce the impacts but as far as they knew, the Key Centre wasn’t under threat of closure.
“Toby Eliot said that the impacts of the cuts in Frome is the same across the country and a direct result of national policy of austerity. He also noted that Frome Town Council had concern about double taxation if the town council raised the precept to fill the gaps left by the SCC cuts.
“Mel Usher said that it was unlikely that the cuts would be reversed and that, as a community, we should continue to build resilience so that we can reduce reliance on discretionary services from the public sector. The mayor said that Frome Town Council was also very worried about the impacts of the cuts and would be writing to the leader of SCC, urging him to reverse the proposal. Rich also said that he would like to know for sure whether the Key Centre was under threat.
“The details of everything mentioned above can be found at www.frome towncouncil.gov.uk and the next council meeting will be in the new year on 23rd January 2019. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep updated on everything we’re up to.”
