A MAJOR housing estate in Frome may not get its new primary school after Somerset Council said it had “no plans” to build it.
Persimmon Homes South West delivered 450 new homes at the Edmund Park site off Castiel Road, near the town’s Asda supermarket, after securing detailed planning permission from Mendip District Council in February 2019.
The developer – which recently secured permission to deliver 25 new homes on Adderwell Road in the town – left a sizeable portion of land vacant in the centre of the site to enable the delivery of a new primary school.
But Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April) has now stated that it currently has no short-term desire to deliver the school, claiming that Frome has sufficient capacity in its existing schools.
If a new school is not delivered there by June 2026, more than £700,000 of funding secured through legal agreements will have to be returned to the developer.
The intended school site is in the very centre of the Edmund Park site, bordered by Marigold Road (which has the access spur in place), Lichen Road, Elder Close and Blackberry Road.
While a play area is in place at the southern edge of the site, the majority is now an overgrown raised bank covered in grass.
As part of the legal agreements surrounding the site (known as a Section 106 agreement), Persimmon provided £784,446 towards the delivery of a new primary school and nursery on this land.
Somerset Council is responsible for delivering new schools, which are traditionally funded through a mixture of developer contributions and council borrowing.
But officers have said that a new school at Edmund Park is not currently needed since Frome’s existing schools have sufficient places.
A spokesperson said, “We currently have no plans to deliver a school at Marigold Road as the Frome area has enough school spaces for its current need, but it remains an option that is available to us.
“The land would undergo a full options appraisal should no school be built.”
The council is currently in the early stages of discussions with Frome’s existing schools about moving from the present three-tier system (comprising infant or junior, middle and upper schools) into the more widespread two-tier system (primary and secondary).
No final decision on any such changes have been made – and the council said that the future of the Marigold Road site had not been taken with these changes in mind.
The spokesperson added: “The ongoing discussions in Frome have not impacted upon any plans for the Marigold Road site.
“Any school build costs depend on the type of school being built. At the time of writing, an approximate figure for a 210-place primary school is around £7million.
“The developer has transferred all £784,446 of their expected payments. There is an estimated time limit of June 2026 with which to spend the funds.”
If the funding cannot be spent by this time, the council will be forced to return the entire sum to Persimmon, unless an extension can be negotiated.
Somerset Council and town councillor for the area, cllr Helen Kay said, “My understanding is that the land at the centre of Edmund Park estate was set aside for education and community use. While there are no immediate plans to move Berkley school to the Edmund Park site, the option is still there should it become necessary and we have until 2026 to decide. Obviously, I’d like to see some community facilities on the land given the number of new families who have moved there and how the estate is separated from the rest of the town. It needs a heart, a hub and a gathering space.
“Re the legal and financial arrangements, I think the bottom line is that Somerset Council should give back the land and the £785K collected from Persimmon if no education facility is built but I am hopeful that we could negotiate with the land owners to gift all or some of the land to the community, to give the estate its much-needed community focus point.
“The landscaping on the estate is poor in my opinion so ideally, I’d like a mini woodland or orchard, allotments, a playing field etc along with school and/or community facilities. Other people will have other ideas. If the school doesn’t go ahead, then Somerset Council will explore other options and local people should be consulted for their views. We may then need to raise extra funds to turn those ideas into reality.”
