Mayday Saxonvale! Campaign questions ‘secret’ appointment of Saxonvale developers

THE directors of the Silk Mill Studios and Gallery are calling into question the contract between Mendip District Council and the developers of the Saxonvale site.

Damon and Kate Moore have launched  the campaign ‘Mayday Saxonvale’ to raise enough money to take the district council to court as they believe 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 couple, who run the studios and gallery that is on the Saxonvale site, suspect that this took place ahead of the district council’s purchase of the land in August last year. The allegation is denied by Mendip District Council who says it “took appropriate professional advice on the selection of the purchaser and the terms of the sale.”

The couple are calling for the current plans for the redevelopment to be scrapped, and for the district council to restart the tendering process for the project in a ‘fair, open and transparent manner as required by law’.

“We don’t believe that the current plans for this development are in the best interests for Frome,” said Damon. “We believe that this is a housing scheme to make the most amount of profit for Mendip and Acorn.”

They are also calling into question the ‘non-disclosure agreements that have been signed by district councillors and town councillors involved with the current planning application by Acorn  Property Group – calling for them to step away from the project. Damon said, “Many town and district councillors involved with the Acorn application have been required to sign ‘non-disclosure agreements’ (NDA) at the request of the district council before they can be briefed in any detail about the developer’s agreement. 

“The district council has quoted commercial sensitivity as the main reason. These NDAs give the district council the power to prosecute councillors if they reveal anything in public. If the Acorn contract is unsafe, (which we certainly believe), then councillors would have been party to a contract connected to an infringement of statutory legislation. In that eventuality, these NDAs could be regarded as a de facto gagging order.

“With Mendip District Council leader, chair of planning board, and members of the Saxonvale project board all having signed these NDAs, there is a negative impression of what the council is trying to hide that will only increase. From this point on, the passage of Acorn’s application is hopelessly compromised. We would advise any councillor who has signed an NDA to withdraw from any further involvement with Acorn’s scheme as quickly as possible.”

In response, Mendip District Council told Frome Times, “The council is aware of Mr Moore’s comments in relation to judicial review and we understand that he has taken advice on the issue. Despite this, the council has yet to receive any communication which sets out the legal basis of such a challenge. While we value input from all stakeholders on planning matters, there is a limit on the extent to which we can respond to unsubstantiated allegations, particularly where these are of a legal nature. The council took appropriate professional advice on the selection of the purchaser and the terms of the sale and overage agreement.

“The council carried out due diligence on a number of potential purchasers for the Saxonvale site, but came to the conclusion that Acorn Property Group were preferred.  The council were impressed by various developments which they had carried out, and which made them an attractive purchaser. When the council entered into the sale and overage agreement, it issued information to the public about the project to acquire and sell the Saxonvale site for regeneration. The council also wrote directly to Mr Moore advising him of the exchange of the agreement.

“The site was put on the market by the former owners in the summer of 2018.  A number of previous proposals for the disposal and development of the site had come to nothing and the council was keen to make sure that this long derelict land was regenerated within a reasonable time.  The council was competing with other bidders for the site and in formulating its bid the council was advised by Cushman and Wakefield and Arup.  The council did not have any architects working for them.  The Nash Partnership were appointed by and work for Acorn.  They have not been appointed by and do not work for the council and their input was not a secret.

“The council has consulted a number of key stakeholders in relation to the development at Saxonvale.  This consultation involved commercially sensitive information. Non-disclosure agreements were signed to preserve the confidentiality of the commercially sensitive information. This is normal practice in local authorities and is done  with the aim of preserving the ability of the council to negotiate freely with third parties and achieve the best value for this and other sites in the future. If such agreements were in the public domain, third parties would have an unfair advantage in negotiations with councils.  Acorn and other developers have a legitimate interest in protecting their own commercially sensitive information in order to avoid the damage to their own negotiating position in other transactions.

“We see no reason why this would prevent councillors who may be consulted about development in any forum from freely and openly expressing their views about specific development proposals or the merits of any particular application which might be under consideration. In light of this, the concerns that Mr Moore has expressed in relation to Councillor Hooton are unfounded.

“The Saxonvale site has lain empty for over a decade. The council has worked with a number of commercial applicants over that time but none has been successful in bringing development forward. It is a complex site, but as well as the challenges there are great opportunities arising from the views of the river and the sloping nature of the site. Historically there have been a number of failed attempts at redevelopment with no plans ever coming to fruition. The council plan as landowner is to help facilitate the development of the site and aid the delivery of new homes, commercial space and affordable housing.  The council acquired the site in order to enable development to come forward.  Whether or not Acorn’s current proposals for the site are the right ones will be considered by the planning committee, taking into account relevant planning policies, the results of the public consultation and other proper planning matters. The committee will reach its decision on the planning merits of the proposal.  The terms of the sale and overage agreement will not have any bearing on that decision, and members of the committee will be advised accordingly.”

Town clerk for Frome Town Council, Paul Wynne added, “Neither Frome Town councillors nor staff know the terms of the contract that Mendip District Council has made with Acorn over the sale of the land at Saxonvale.  

“Councillor Paul Horton is Frome Town Council’s representative on the Saxonvale project board and, together with Peter Wheelhouse, deputy town clerk and economic regeneration manager,  has received partial information about Acorn’s viability assessment and have signed a non-disclosure agreement. 

“This means that without Mendip District Council and Acorn’s permission they are unable to reveal the information that they have been given.  I don’t believe that Councillor Horton has compromised his office in any way.” 

For more information about the campaign, visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maydaysaxonvale

Picture: Kate Moore, David “Herbie’ Herbert, and Damon Moore, outside the Silk Mill with their ‘Mayday Saxonvale’ banner.