Friends of the River Frome are now moving forward with plans to purchase Adderwell Water Meadow after surpassing their fundraising target.
The group initially set out to raise £25,000 to help them secure the 3.5-acre riverside site close to the centre of Frome and transform it into a space for both wildlife and people. Thanks to the support of 300 local people, and matching donations from the Aviva Community Fund, the group exceeded their goal, raising £37,249.25.
To celebrate the fundraising success, the group held a ceilidh earlier this month at The Bennett Centre.
“It’s wonderful that so many people supported the appeal; it feels like the town is really behind this project,” said Simon Keyes of Friends of River Frome. “And it’s incredibly helpful that once the meadow is in public hands, we will have some money in the kitty to start making improvements straight away.”
In total, the project costs £75,000. Frome Town Council pledged £30,000 towards the initiative, and a generous individual donation of £20,000 was received, leaving £25,000 to be raised through crowdfunding. Save Our Spaces (SOS) donated £5,000, and £1,000 came from the Frome Rotary.
Now, with the total reached, The Friends of the River Frome and Frome Town Council will work together to create a vision for the site, which includes improvements to the access from The Retreat, the nearest road.
Simon added, “We’ll be drawing up a management plan with Frome Town Council to ensure that nature and people can co-exist comfortably on this lovely site. We hope to extend the boardwalk across the muddy patches and create a picnic area. In the long run, we’d like to see the long-talked-about Adderwell footbridge built, with better access to the railway station.”
Proposed enhancements to the meadow include extending the wheelchair-accessible boardwalk under the railway bridge at Adderwell, adding recreational facilities such as benches and picnic areas, and installing signage and interpretation boards to share information about local history and wildlife.
Presenting The Friends of the River Frome with a cheque from Save Our Open Spaces Frome at the Ceilidh, Andy Jones, mayor and director of SOS Frome, said, “The board of SOS Frome is delighted to be making this significant contribution to the purchase of another green space to enhance the town. It’s 10 years since we acquired Whatcombe Fields with funds raised by residents purchasing shares in the company, so it’s entirely appropriate that we use some of our subsequent funding to support further extension of ecologically valuable open space. It’s fabulous that the people of Frome have again dug deep into their pockets to make this project a reality.
“Local people are still able to invest in SOS Frome; in fact, we’ve recently reduced the minimum shareholding to just £50.”
Pictured: Local people celebrating at the Ceilidh
