Redevelopment decision likely 'before Christmas'

The 12-acre site in Frome is currently sealed off to the public

Positive discussions have taken place with the council over plans to regenerate a key part of Frome town centre, a developer has said.

The Saxonvale site was subject to two competing proposals – one from Bristol-based Acorn Property Group, the other from locally-based Mayday Saxonvale.

But just 24 hours after Somerset Council announced in July it would be selling the site to Acorn, it dropped out. Mayday Saxonvale then said in early-August that it had opened talks with the council saying it was in a position to begin work very soon.

Somerset Council has declined to set a date for a future decision on the site – but hinted that the future of the site would be settled before Christmas.

Mayday Saxonvale director Paul Oster said: "We have had an initial positive meeting with Somerset Council.

"We look forward to continuing an open dialogue and moving forward with the sale of the Saxonvale site for our community."

The plans put forward by Mayday Saxonvale include a hotel, park and a lido

The Mayday Saxonvale bid includes 263 homes, commercial and community space and a riverside park. There will also be a hotel and a lido.

Mr Oster said: "Community-led development at scale is relatively new, and therefore our aim is that through these discussions the council will fully appreciate the resilience of the model we are putting forward."

If Mayday Saxonvale is given the green light at a future meeting of the council’s executive committee, the Frome Area Community Land Trust (FACLT) will be given the freehold for the site – allowing the affordable homes to be held by the town in perpetuity.

A spokesman for Somerset Council said: “Following confirmation from Acorn that they were withdrawing their proposal for the Saxonvale site, we opened discussions with the alternative developer, Mayday Saxonvale Development Ltd.

“We will work over the coming months with Mayday Saxonvale and their partners to discuss the benefits and risks of their proposal in more detail, with a view to taking a decision on the site later in the year."