Dear all, as your local councillors, Drew and I need to keep you up to date on local matters, so please see below:

The Frome Half Marathon, 10k, 5k and fun run are on Sunday 21st July, so please come along and support the hundreds of runners, if you are not running yourself! Do pay attention to the road closure signs and see here for details.

I’m running again and would be grateful for your support: I am dragging myself around the 10k course again, this time raising funds for YMCA Mendip & South Somerset. Please see and share my fundraising page to help me raise more funds, and read here about the good work YMCA do locally for children and young people, including housing, homelessness, youth centres and clubs, and advice and guidance.

Police Commissioner in Frome: Sue Mountstevens, the Police & Crime Commissioner for Avon & Somerset, is holding a public drop-in surgery in Frome Library on Monday 12^th August at 10.30-12.30. Anyone who has questions for Sue or local police officers about local policing and crime should come along – please see here. I have asked Sue to review the police’s decision in January to move response officers out of Frome – and this will now be early next year. I still have concerns so please do raise this issue if you speak to her.

Fire service cuts: Your local firefighters need your help to respond to the current consultation which includes options to reduce the service in Frome – please see here, and the consultation here (witha drop in session in Frome on 29th August) and the Fire Brigades Union’s statement here.

Frome consultation – Frome Town Council is trying to find out what residents want in the next four years, by asking everyone
‘What is your favourite thing about living in Frome and why? What one thing would you like to see happen in your neighbourhood? How would you spend £10,000 to improve the lives of the people of Frome?’ Please see here to respond.

What works and what doesn’t at Mendip also? We are working out our plans and priorities in the next few weeks, and I and Drew have ideas but please get in touch with yours.

Anyone for Tennis? Frome & Selwood Tennis Club are having a public consultation day on Saturday 20th June at 12-4pm to consult people on their proposed floodlighting and new tennis pavilion – please see here.

Cidery planning application: The revised plans for the Lilley’s Cider factory submitted in June are online (see here), with revisions including the removal of the proposed eco-houses and a reduction in the size of the factory (see here), with revised reports on planning, transport, flood risks and landscape and visual impacts. The public consultation on the revised plans has a deadline of 23rd July, so please have your say before then here. There are 142 responses so far, 35 in favour, 106 objecting. I have already asked the MDC planning team to refer this to the Planning Board for a decision, as have other councillors. The application is likely to be decided this autumn.

Packsaddle park celebration: I asked for a few words to be read out in my absence at the Packsaddle community playground opening recently – thanks Chris and Miriam – “I am very proud to have been involved in this – as previously it was not a priority for Mendip to invest in but we could see it was a priority for the Packsaddle community – so getting the Park into Town Council hands was an absolute necessity. Now we have done this and the Town Council have done what they promised, put money aside and consulted you all how it is spent, and you have a lovely improved park to play in. This land is your land. This is how things should be.” I was pleased to hear it was a successful day, and also about the plans to make the area more wildlife friendly, and the consultation on the Chapmans Close games area.

A36 road safety: After yet another tragic accident on the A36 just outside Frome a few weeks ago I contacted Highways England to ask what they were doing to make the road safe. I had a fairly detailed response from the Operations team which pointed to recent and planned safety improvements in the Wiltshire section, and stated that improvements would be looked at in the Somerset section also. If anyone is interested in the response and what if any further action can be taken, please contact me.

Responding to the climate emergency: In response to the ‘climate emergency’ motion which was passed in February (see here) the new Lib Dem led Mendip District Council has formed a Climate Change portfolio in the Cabinet, and launched a cross party Climate Emergency Working Group. We are working towards an Action Plan and county-wide strategy, which the community will be asked to contribute to. This will aim to conserve energy, invest in renewable energy, and promote sustainable development. Please get in touch to let us know your ideas. Drew and I are both on the working group, Drew is preparing a strategy for electric vehicle charging in public car parks, and as Cabinet Assistant I drafted a policy priority list which was discussed at the recent Working Group meeting.

Frome Climate Action Kickoff: Friends of the Earth are also holding a Climate Action campaign kickoff meeting at Selwood Academy, 7.30pm on Thursday 25th July, please see here for details and to sign up.

Out and about: Since the last newsletter I have also:

• attended Frome Community Hospital fete, and the Town Council’s Meadowfest in Rodden Meadow.
• attended the Frome councillors forum, with County, District and Town councillors, in June. We discussed our councils’ policy responses to climate change and how we can work together better, and FTC’s new young people’s project officers (effectively a Health Connections for children) which is receiving cooperation from both Mendip and Somerset. These are good non-party political meetings held every three months, and focus on key issues we can cooperate on.
• instigated and attended, with Drew, a tour of the flytipping in the Gypsy Lane area for Mendip District Council officers and councillors, including local ward councillors and the Cabinet member responsible for Neighbourhood Services. We discussed the current situation and are working on options to improve the Council’s responses further to keep the area cleaner in future, with a report coming to Cabinet in September.
• attended a briefing at Mendip on the Saxonvale regeneration project, after the planning application (see here) was submitted in May.
• attended a meeting of Mendip’s Strategic Leisure Board, which heard an annual report from Fusion Leisure on their management of and investment in the Council’s five leisure centres. We are also progressing discussions on accessibility improvements to Frome Sports & Fitness Centre for disabled sports. 
• had an initial briefing on the work of the Somerset Waste Partnership, and the changes coming next year to kerbside recycling and refuse collections – this is ‘Recycle More’ which will be run by Suez (see here).
• met Sir Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat leader, on his tour of Somerset, at Mendip District Council, with Lib Dem Mendip Council leader Ros Wyke, county councillor Tessa Munt (former MP for Wells), Drew, and other councillors and Strawberry Line cycle route campaigners (see photo). I was pleased to hear from Vince that he is still dancing.
• attended a site inspection of the Glastonbury Festival, meeting site management and police.
• helped residents with problems with assisted waste collections, and council tax.

Please see https://www.mendip.gov.uk/news for other MDC news and 
https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/news/ for FTC news, and 
https://www.libdems.org.uk/ for the latest from the Liberal Democrats.

If you have anything that needs attending to, please let me or Drew know.

Best wishes,

Adam Boyden

Mendip District Councillor, Frome College ward and Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Somerton & Frome (Lib Dem), 
email aomboyden@gmail.com, cllr.boyden@mendip.gov.uk, 07809284817

Web: http://www.adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/, 
https://www.somertonandfromelibdems.org.uk/

with Drew Gardner, Mendip District Councillor, email 
cllr.gardner@mendip.gov.uk , 07860288624

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