A Neighbourhood Plan has been developed to enable Frome to pursue a new approach to the development of the town.
It will enable the community of Frome to take greater control of the type and scale of development and land use.
The plan, drawn up by Frome Town Council, has been built around the outcomes of the Vision4Frome Community Plan 2008-2028, which following an extensive public consultation, sets out what the people of Frome have said and what they want to see happen in the town, now and in the future.
The plan has a particular focus on:
• Encouraging small businesses to start and grow – The aim is to ensure that the right premises, sites and other infrastructure is in place to support the start-up and growth of local businesses and employment. This will be achieved through policies that protect the existing valuable employment land in the town and enable additional employment land to come forward.
• Enabling people to build their own homes, live more affordably in a more energy efficient way and play a more active part in the community – One of the key objectives is to support the delivery of housing to meet the demand of a growing population. This will be achieved through policies that provide or contribute to a mix of housing tenures, types and sizes to help support the creation of mixed, balanced and inclusive communities.
• Making it easier for people to get around the town on foot and by bicycle – some of the key objectives are to give priority in the town centre to pedestrians and cyclists and to open up the river corridor for cross-town cycle and pedestrian access. This will be achieved through policies that enable improved access to the river corridor. The remodelling of the Market Place and ensuring that all major developments provide footpath and cycle links.
• Regenerating the town centre so that it functions better as a place to live, work, meet, shop and visit – The aim is to develop an attractive centre that is pedestrian and cyclist friendly and encourages people to visit, shop, invest, live and work there.
• Along with the remodelling of the Market Place, one of the key factors in regenerating the town will be the redevelopment of Saxonvale. The plan includes policy that the redevelopment of Saxonvale should seek to achieve the overall vision for the redevelopment of the site based on the 2005 planning brief; bringing forward a unique community-led development.
• Making the most of the River Frome corridor as an environmental and recreational asset – The aim is that the river corridor will be seen as the central open space in the town’s network of green infrastructure, with a string of inter-connected open spaces for visitors and residents to enjoy.
This will be achieved through policy that will:
– Ensure that all planning applications related to the river corridor will take advantage of opportunities to improve the river corridor environment.
– Protect areas of locally important public open space.
– Identify and address deficiencies in neighbourhood park, sports, leisure and open space provision.
• Ensuring future development does not damage Frome’s unique character – Consultation feedback confirms that the historic architecture and urban design of the town is considered by the local community to be an asset of considerable value that should be protected.
This will be achieved through policy that will:
– Enhance the important arrival points within the town, including the railway station.
– Protect the important views across the town. – Ensure that all new build is in line with the recommendations set out in the Town Design Statement.
This version of the Neighbourhood Plan has been influenced by Strategic Environmental screening. Such screening has already taken place of earlier versions of the plan and further work is now taking place in regards to this current version. When this further work is available it will be published on the website.
