A PUBLIC meeting has been set up to discuss the Steiner school planning application on the old Victoria Hospital site in Frome.
Frome Town Council has organised the meeting, which will be held at the Assembly Rooms on Wednesday 5th of December at 7.00pm.
The town council say that the proposal to open the new Steiner school has been met with mixed reactions.
Cllr Mel Usher, leader of Frome Town Council said, “The establishment of a new school is an important issue in a town of this size. A development like this will affect many people.
“It is much more than a simple planning application and we felt that there has been limited opportunity for interested parties to come together to explore and at least understand each other’s views. There will be no decision on the night, the exercise will help to inform you and the town councillors who will have to make a decision
“We will be utilising the services of a skilled facilitator to enable everyone to express their views equally, and experts will be on hand to answer any questions.
“Everyone is welcome, there will be refreshments and no charge. However to make sure we don’t exceed the fire regulations if you want to attend, please contact Laura Poulton on 01373 475576 or poultonl@from-tc.gov.uk. If you don’t contact us, we can’t guarantee entry.”
A spokesperson from Frome Town Council added, “Some people are delighted that a new school with a different approach to education provides choice to parents, the promise of new jobs and a new well designed use for a large prominent redundant site.
“Others are concerned that traffic congestion on Park Road and surrounding roads will increase, that other schools in the town will lose pupils and income, and that Victoria Park will suffer.”
Local residents have already expressed concern over traffic issues that they feel could be caused by the new Steiner school.
One resident told Frome Times that Park Road, where the new school could be built, cannot cope with the amount of traffic that the new school will generate.
“It’s far too big a school for the proposed site,” he said. “Proper work into the traffic flow has not been carried out. This needs to be addressed.”
Another local resident commented that the proposed Steiner school has released figures suggesting only 10 per cent of pupils will travel to school by car, with a further 10 per cent by lift share. “This is a little beyond belief” the resident said, “compared to other schools where the amount of pupils travelling to school by car is around 35-40 per cent. Park Road is lined with trees and is a narrow road anyway; how will the road, and its junction, cope with the increased traffic? Some more thought does need to be given to the proposal.”
