Residents and councillors oppose to new housing plan

THERE is strong opposition to a proposal to build 71 houses on land to the east of Innox Hill; plans that have been described as ‘unfeasible’.  

Neighbouring residents of the proposed site – which is earmarked to have 30% affordable housing – have raised concerns about the development exacerbating existing drainage and flooding problems in the area; its impact on traffic; and the location of the site, which is outside the town’s development boundary and next to a wastewater treatment works, an area that is plagued by flies. 

They have also questioned the need for more housing in Frome, and asked if the town’s infrastructure can cope, describing schools in the area as ‘oversubscribed’.  

“Between 2007 and 2021, there were 1,712 houses built in Frome,” explained one resident at a Frome Town Council planning committee meeting last month. “Current planning consent within Frome amounts to 1,360 additional houses, which are not there yet – that’s as many houses again that have been built since 2009! 

“Any question that there is a need to build outside the development boundary when that many have already been approved – well it’s an absolute non-starter.” 

Frome Town councillors have also aired their concerns about the proposals, describing the plans as ‘speculative’, taking advantage of Mendip District Council’s lack of a five-year land supply – which means there is an insufficient number of deliverable sites to provide five years’ worth of housing. Councillors also warned that if the plans are given planning permission, it could set a precedent, leading to more fields in the area being built on. 

“I don’t think it gives anything back to the town, it’s taking advantage of this so-called lack of five-year housing plan,” said chair of the planning committee, cllr Steve Tanner. “It’s not in [Mendip District Council’s] Local Plan [which allocates land for potential housing development]. 

“I’m really worried –  if this goes through, then what is the future prospect of the other fields in Packsaddle?”  

Cllr Tanner also described the plans as having ‘poor links’ to the town; and added that having affordable housing on the outskirts of town is ‘no use to anyone’. “It will only promote lots of cars and lots of traffic.”  

The concerns were raised at a Frome Town Council planning committee meeting last month, at which planning consultants Savills – acting on behalf of the landowner – presented the pre-application plans for the site, ahead of a planning application that is expected to be submitted to Mendip District Council this month. 

In response to the concerns raised by residents and town councillors, the representatives from Savills said Mendip District Council’s shortfall in housing will ‘weigh in favour’ of the application when it is considered. They also added that the development’s impact on flooding, traffic and infrastructure will all be considered as part of the application process. 

This is not the first time the land to the East of Innox Hill has been the subject of a housing development proposal. According to Frome Town Council’s planning and development manager, Jane Llewellyn, applications to build houses on the land in 2013 and 2018 were both withdrawn; and applications going back as far as 1987 and 1982 were refused. 

The planning and development manager explained that a sustainability appraisal carried out by Mendip District Council when the site was considered to be included in the Local Plan, described the site as ‘not suitable’ because of its ‘impact on the landscape’ and its location in an ‘area of rural character’ and within a sewage buffer and flood risk zone. 

However, the representatives from Savills said believe the new proposal addresses concerns raised in previous applications, and that they have been ‘appropriately resolved’.