New directors at Fair Housing for Frome as group look towards housing challenges presented by pandemic

LOCAL campaigning group Fair Housing for Frome has strengthened its hand by bringing in four additional directors bringing its board to up to nine in number.

New to the board are former lettings agent Polly Lamb, Frome Town Councillor and new town Mayor Anita Collier, retired engineer Andy Jones and social worker Carol Foster. The new members bring specific skill sets and energy to FHfF.

Polly Lamb was a letting agent running an ethical letting agency in Frome for eleven years and brings with her a wealth of local housing experience. Polly has lived in Frome for over twenty years and was previously on the board of Fair-trade Frome achieving Fair-trade status for the town in 2003. Polly’s experience as a lettings agent puts her in a great position to help Fair Housing for Frome move forward Polly said ‘Since my days in the lettings business I’ve been very much aware of how hard it can be for some people to find reasonably priced rental properties, I hope that I can bring my knowledge and local experience to the group”

Roger Saunders has been involved in Fair Housing for Frome for several years, is a former director and development worker, and is also the Chair of Frome Area Community Land Trust.  Roger has a wealth of experience in working with tenants and staff in social housing, particularly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.  Roger says “ It was a natural progression for me to join the board after ending my role in the development side of the organisation. As chair of the CLT I feel its important to have input in both groups as we share the same core objectives – building more robust community and making Frome a fairer place for residents”

Carol Foster spent 25 years as a social worker with various local authorities, supporting people who had been made homeless. Carol has been impressed with how Frome does things differently and how the townsfolk get behind charitable projects such as We Hear You so getting involved with the Fair Housing team is a perfect fit. Carol says ‘I hope that working with Fair Housing for Frome will enable me to see more clearly what services there are for people with various housing needs and what needs to be done to improve the situation’.

Anita Collier has lived in Frome since the early 1960’s and and apart from a ten year stint living away from the area she’s pretty much a Frome girl. A Frome Town Councillor, Anita has just been elected as Mayor of Frome! Anita says ‘In the past I’ve see some of the devastating effects of homelessness and always promised myself that I would get involved in helping others less fortunate than myself, joining the board of Fair Housing for Frome is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.

Andy Jones is a retired process engineer and moved to Frome a few years ago immersing himself in his new town. Having been retired for a couple of years Andy feels strongly that he should give something back to his newly adopted town and see’s Fair Housing for Frome as an organisation that can really make a difference. Andy says “I’ve experienced many different types of accommodation and watched in sadness as council homes were sold off in the past years, I’m looking forward to making a difference with Fair Housing for Frome”

During the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown Fair Housing for Frome has been working closely with private landlords and other agencies in an effort to understand the situation for tenants who may have either lost income or had their income reduced significantly.  With the current  Lockdown the FHfF board have been hosting meetings on line using Zoom to ensure that the work goes on. Housing Chair and Frome Town Councillor Ali Barclay says “We see the ongoing Coronavirus crisis as being a potential crunch point for many vulnerable tenants and whilst the organisation knows of a number of landlords who are helping struggling tenants there are without doubt people out there who can’t pay the rent and are quickly building up debt or even facing homelessness in a few months time. The pandemic together with potential unemployment, the lack of available social housing and often high private rental fees could result in a perfect storm”

One particular subject currently under discussion is the issue of empty Airbnb’s in the town. The B&B industry is as paralysed as much as other tourism businesses and Fair Housing for Frome would like to hear from Airbnb owners and encourage them to make properties available to rent by local people in housing need. Chair Ali Barclay says ‘We would be really keen to hear from holiday property owners in Frome, although potentially temporary the idea of letting an empty home to local people makes perfect sense as it not only helps solves urgent housing problems it brings an income to owners who might be struggling without customers for some time, property owners can contact FHfF at info@fairhousingforfrome.org.uk for more information.

Fair Housing for Frome run a helpful Facebook page called Frome Housing Noticeboard which helps connect tenants with available properties, the page has seen a jump in activity in recent months which might be pointer to whats happening in the town. With the increase in unemployment and other health issues surrounding lockdown Fair Housing for Frome now plans to carry out surveys and engage with people and other organisations to assess where is best to put its energies for the remainder of the year. Ali Barclay added “Mendip District Council have recently added advice for struggling landlords and tenants asking those who need to talk to get in touch by calling 0300 303 8588 or by going to their website at  http://www.mendip.gov.uk/housing and Fair Housing for Frome would encourage those who are worried about their situation to make contact with Mendip District Council, more information is also available on our website https://fairhousingforfrome.org.uk “