Newsletter 27 May 2016

Dear All,

A quick update for you on news for Frome College ward, Frome and Mendip. I hope you find it useful.

How can I help? As ever, please get in touch if you have any issues you need help with.

Showfield improvements – Magnificent Meadows event, Monday 30^th May: Frome Town Council staff and Somerset Wildlife Trust will be talking to local people about their plans to manage and improve the old Showfield this Bank Holiday Monday (30^th May) between 10am and lunchtime, near the children’s playground.  Information will be available on the Town Council’s Magnificent Meadows project, the footpath improvements, and plans for the outdoor fitness trail, which are also tacking shape. Please see here for further details. This is all part of the Old Showfield Management and Improvement Plan approved by Frome Town Council in March (see previous news), which also includes a fence/hedge around the playground, more tree planting, benches and bins, and possibly more play equipment in future. To sign up to direct email updates from Frome Town Council for the Old Showfield please email Chris Stringer (Environment Manager) at admin@frometowncouncil.gov.uk or call 01373 465757.  A new Showfield Residents Action Group is also being set up so that residents can get more involved on the improvements and site management in future. Previous Showfield-related news can be found here.

Frome Leisure Centre to reopen on 1st June: Fusion have now announced that the revamped Frome Sport and Fitness Centre will open to the public on Wednesday 1st June, after over 7 months of work, over £2 million spent, and delays due to asbestos, drainage and the pool plant.  Please see here for details from Fusion, and the story in the Frome Standard and Frome Times. I am most relieved that finally the children (and adults) of Frome will be able to swim and get fit again, and I am assured that the wait will be worth it! I look forward to seeing the new centre when it opens. Please see my previous news on this here and older articles on the redevelopment and Fusion lease here.

Anyone for Tennis? The Town Council have informed me that the three new tennis courts on Mary Baily Playing Field next to Victoria Park will be open and available for bookings from this Saturday (28 May). The courts will cost £5 per court per hour to hire – and you can book online at www.frometennis.net or in person by calling in to the library. On booking, you’ll been given a 4-digit code that will open the gate. An official opening will be arranged later this summer. Please contact the Town Council or Frome & Selwood tennis Club for further details!

New Mayor of Frome: Town councillor Toby Eliot takes over from Kate Bielby as the new Mayor of Frome for 2016/17, and Mel Usher returns as Leader of Frome Town Council. Please see here for more details of this and the two new deputy mayors and deputy leader.

Tributes to David Rendel: Last week we were sad to learn that David Rendel, the former Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury and 2015 candidate for Somerton & Frome at the general election, has sadly died at his home after an illness. Please see here for more http://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/2016/05/18/tributes-to-former-mp-david-rendel/#page-content

Community Grants: Frome Town Council has announced the next round of community grants are available for clubs, groups, community acticities and events that benefit local people. Small grants of up to £300 and large grants up to £3000 are now available to apply for, with the first deadline on 27^th June – please see here for details.

Volunteers’ Tea in the Park: On Sunday 5^th June, Frome Town Council will thank Frome’s marvellous volunteers for their hard work through the year with a big marquee at Victoria Park, where volunteers will be served a High Tea. Anyone who volunteers is welcome to come along, “especially those who may not think of themselves as a volunteer. To register to come please email Laura poultonl@frometowncouncil.gov.uk so she can make sure there are enough scones to go round.”

Frome Business Breakfast: Please see here for details of the next Frome Business Breakfast on 6^th June, this time at the Commerce Park.

Business and strategic planning training for community groups: Frome Town Council are running a series of training sessions primarily aimed at Community Groups but are open to all. The next one is on ‘Business and Strategic Planning’ on Friday 3^rd June, and there are spaces remaining for £10 each, including lunch. Please email Laura to book a spot poultonl@frometowncouncil.gov.uk

Flytipping: the 18 month closure of Gypsy Lane to through traffic is now in place as part of Mendip District Council’s action plan against flytipping. Please do keep letting me know whether you see any flytipping being displaced from the Gypsy Lane area.

Other issues: I am currently looking into a few other things in and around the ward, including:

• car parking at the Health Centre and Hospital;
• traffic calming and road safety in Fromefield, Stonebridge Drive, and around Welshmill Park;
  
• how Frome Independent Market can help improve access and sight lines to Cheap Street during Sunday market days;
• complaints from neighbouring residents about scrambler bikes at the Commerce Park;
• housing needs and homelessness applications;
• litter and Mendip’s contract requirements for street cleansing;
• disabled access in Frome Leisure Centre.

Recently I have also:

• helped persuade Mendip District Council to agree to a review of the system for chasing up non-payment of council tax (see here). I also took part in a Children’s Society survey to follow up their campaign to reduce councils’ use of bailiffs;
• asked Somerset County Council to repair uneven and broken pavements in Laburnam Close, which they tarmacced soon after;
• help persuade Mendip to transfer the Packsaddle park and Chapmans Close open space to Frome Town Council on a long term lease, so that the parks are protected and local residents and the Packsaddle Community Group can work with the town council on improvements to these areas, which they have drawn up over the last few years (see here).

Planning and development news:

Fromefield Co-op: After complaints from residents, I recently attended a meeting with residents and Radco about the appearance of the new Co-operative store in Fromefield. We are waiting to hear back as to what could be done to improve things. If you can help or have any issues that need to be raised, please let me know.

At Bath Road Heights, earlier in the month I attended a meeting with with the developer Latona Leisure to raise residents’ concerns about delays to the planning application and the state of the derelict site and road. I have also been in dialogue with Mendip’s planners. Latona Leisure have been in a fourth ‘pre-application’ discussion with Mendip’s planning officers, to try to agree details of a planning application for ‘phase 2’ to build out the site, before they submit it, so that the previous reasons for refusal (by Mendip and upheld at appeal in March 2015, including size and design of the houses, tree protection, and affordable housing) are not reasons for refusal again.  I understand that the main part of the access road will be resurfaced to ‘adoptable standards’ after the phase 2 development is built, and that it would be for the County Council to adopt the road if residents formally request this. I have also asked that the developer considers contributing to a suitable pedestrian crossing for Bath Road. I anticipate a planning application will be submitted shortly.

New planning applications: Planning applications have recently been submitted for:

• New household extensions at:
  • 24 Wellow Drive (MDC planning reference 2016/1027/HSE);
  • 2 Brunel Way (2016/1100/HSE);
  • Three Acres, the Copse (2016/1131/HSE);
  • 15 Packsaddle Way (2016/1162/HSE);
  • 14 Acacia Drive (2016/1237/HSE);
• Tree works at Red Cottage, 35 Fromefield (2016/1009/TCA), to reduce and trim 3 trees back from the highway.
• Change of use from physiotherapy clinic to residential, at 14 Bath Road (2016/1000/FUL). This is after James Hatt Associates opened a new premises on Christchurch Street East near the railway station.

Planning permission has been granted recently for:

• a household extension at 75 Pedlars Grove (2016/0577/HSE); and
• advertising banners at Frome Leisure Centre (2016/0188/ADV).

At the Commerce Park, a planning application has been submitted for a commercial building for the production of dust and fume extraction equipment, at plot J6C (2016/1158/FUL). Planning permission is being granted for Acheson & Acheson’s factory expansion, as reported here.

Please let me know if you have any concerns or issues. Details of all these planning applications can be found here http://publicaccess.mendip.gov.uk/online-applications/

Other current issues: I am currently looking into a few other things in and around the ward, including:

• car parking at the Health Centre and Hospital;
• traffic calming and road safety in Fromefield, Stonebridge Drive, and around Welshmill Park;
  
• how Frome Independent Market can help improve access and sight lines to Cheap Street during Sunday market days;
• planning applications (see below);
• complaints from neighbouring residents about scrambler bikes at the Commerce Park;
• housing needs and homelessness applications;
• litter and Mendip’s contract requirements for street cleansing;
• disabled access in Frome Leisure Centre.

Recently I have also:

• helped persuade Mendip District Council to agree to a review of the system for chasing up non-payment of council tax (see here). I also took part in a Children’s Society survey to follow up their campaign to reduce councils’ use of bailiffs;
• asked Somerset County Council to repair uneven and broken pavements in Laburnam Close, which they tarmacced soon after;
• help persuade Mendip to transfer the Packsaddle park and Chapmans Close open space to Frome Town Council on a long term lease, so that the parks are protected and local residents and the Packsaddle Community Group can work with the town council on improvements to these areas, which they have drawn up over the last few years (see here).

EU Referendum:

Please do not forget to register to vote on the EU Referendum in June. The last day to register to vote is 7^th June, and the last day to order a postal vote is 8^th June. Please let me know if you need any help.

Information about the Remain campaign can be found here:

• the fact-based case to remain: InFacts – http://infacts.org/
• Britain Stronger In Europe campaign: http://www.strongerin.co.uk/

Police election news: The Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner election earlier in May was won once again by independent Sue Mountstevens.

Frome Town Council news: Please see here http://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/news/

Mendip District Council news: please see http://www.mendip.gov.uk/resident.  MDC is currently going through a substantial reorganisation, in order to reduce costs, as described in a report to this month’s Cabinet (item 9 here). MDC’s meetings calendar is here – http://www.mendip.gov.uk/calendarmeeting.

Somerset County Council news: please see here https://somersetnewsroom.com/.

Lib Dem news: See here

 

Thanks for reading,
Adam

Adam Boyden
Mendip District Councillor for Frome College ward (Liberal Democrat) www.adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk

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