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Somerset Councillor for Frome North (Lib Dem) Learn more
by adamboyden on 22 February, 2013
My letter to this week’s Somerset Standard:
After previous letters, I would say all councillors know they are there to represent residents fairly and transparently, whether in a party or not. There are so many initiatives to improve Frome that need good cooperation between Frome Town, Mendip District, and Somerset County Councils and with local groups and residents. Although getting the best of the three councils can sometimes be like navigating an obstacle course in a maze with the lights out, it is good to see people just getting on with working together to resolve issues positively. I was pleased to attend the first ‘round table’ meeting in December, organised by the town council, where councillors of all parties in all tiers discussed how best to work together. I and others have also finally persuaded Mendip to hold public consultation workshops in Frome once again, starting this Spring after a two year absence. I hope this will help the ‘powers that be’ at Mendip and people in Frome communicate better on important issues.
Mendip District Council have also just released some New Homes Bonus funds (although probably not enough) for two funds. The Local Legacy Projects fund, which totals £250,000 this year, in two strands, could hopefully help enhance the river corridor in Frome. The Community Environment Fund now also makes each Mendip ward councillor responsible for a £2000 allocation for improving the environment for local residents. The great diversity of community groups with ideas for improving Frome are well placed to identify what is needed where, and should contact your district councillors (e.g. cllr.boyden@mendip.gov.uk) or go to Mendip’s website (www.mendip.gov.uk) to find out all about it. This is also another opportunity for councillors to work together.
Being a councillor is a very privileged position to be in. So let’s all focus on achieving real tangible benefits for our community. It is, after all, what people voted for us to do.
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[…] See also my previous article on community engagement by the council – http://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/2013/02/22/lets-bring-real-tangible-benefits-to-community/ […]
[…] One positive outcome of last week’s Meet the Cabinet event in Frome, and I don’t think it was a coincidence*, is that it was announced by Mendip’s Cabinet that there will be a cross-party Frome Forum starting in the autumn. This will involve all of Frome’s elected councillors at Mendip, Frome Town and Somerset councils, as well as other public agencies and community groups, meeting in public every 3 months to discuss the big issues affecting Frome and how to act on them. This will be supported by both Mendip and Frome Town Council staff, to gather information and help take action. It will feed into the councils’ decision-making, and if successful could take on decision-making itself (as we previously had in various forms). I think this should mean that the three councils work together better, because they need to, to respond to issues affecting the town, and that problems between different councils can hopefully be resolved quicker than at present. This is what I and other councillors for Frome at Mendip (and ‘Vision for Frome’) have been asking for, for a long time since the suspension/abolition of the East Mendip Community Partnership in spring 2011, and I am glad it is finally going to happen. Details will be agreed over the coming months, including how to best make this popular with residents to encourage a good turnout and ensure community input into the meetings. *: The East Mendip Community Partnership (a meeting of all Mendip councillors in the Frome area) and other two Community Partnerships met regularly to discuss local issues until being suspended for a year from May 2011 by Mendip’s Conservative council. I raised the need to replace the Community Partnerships at three Mendip full meetings since 2011, in formal and informal questions. Frome Town Council proposed a Frome Forum in correspondence with Mendip’s Cabinet and Chief Executive. Several meetings were held about a Frome Forum between Mendip’s Cabinet, Frome Town councillors and Frome’s Mendip councillors. I and cllr Helen Sprawson-White both raised the need to progress a replacement for the EMCP at the last Mendip Full Council meeting in May. A question was asked in advance about this at the Frome Meet the Cabinet event by Charles Wood, Chair of Vision for Frome. A decision to proceed with a Frome Forum was finally made the previous Friday at a meeting between Mendip and Frome Town Council officers and councillors including cllrs Richard Pinnock (Lib Dem, Mendip), Mel Usher (IFF, FTC) and Tom Killen (Con, Mendip). I have written previously about all this here – http://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/2013/02/22/lets-bring-real-tangible-benefits-to-community/ […]