Mendip district councillor for the Frome College ward, Drew Gardner, has asked the town council to consult the public about the future of access for traffic to the Market Place.
The district councillor, who earlier this month asked the town council to extend the current Market Place closure, says that a consultation should be carried out to find out what the public wants for the Market Place.
“I have been approached by a number of traders from the centre of Frome who would like to explore keeping the road closed in some form or other,” said cllr Gardner at last week’s Frome Town Council ‘council matters’ meeting. “This could be restricting traffic, rising bollards, access for public transport only, or closing the road on Saturdays.”
Cllr Gardner described the proposed public consultation as a “great opportunity” for the future of the town.
“We live in a world where we want to make people’s health better,” he said, “we want to make Frome a better place for people to visit and for people to live, we want to make it so people can cross the road safely from Stoney Street, off towards Cheap Street.”
“Let’s seize it with both hands and make a difference to this town that will last for generations.”
Whilst the idea for restricting traffic access to the Market Place was described as a “good idea” by some town councillors, it was also highlighted that closing the Market Place to traffic could impact other areas of the town.
Cllr Sheila Gore explained that residents of Portway are “desperate” for the town centre to be reopened to traffic as it is currently difficult to cross the road due to the high volume of traffic being diverted.
And cllr Anita Collier highlighted that residents in the Wallbridge and Rodden Road area would also find it difficult if the Market Place was permanently closed to traffic. “We are built into a valley and it is difficult to divert traffic without congesting other roads,” she said.
No decision was made on cllr Gardner’s suggestion for a public consultation at the meeting last week, as his proposal was not on the agenda for the meeting – cllr Gardner spoke during the time allocated for ‘questions and comments from the public and councillors’.
The Market Place is currently closed to traffic whilst Market Place improvements by the town council are carried out. The road was due to reopen on Monday 7th September, but this has been delayed until Friday 2nd October.
