From Frome’s Lib Dem Mendip District councillors:

It cannot have gone un-noticed that the Frome Liberal Democrat District Councillors are facing criticism and are coming under pressure to take a stance on the Mayday Saxonvale application.

To the people of Frome. We were elected to represent your views. Please be assured that we are doing just that. We are listening.

We are very aware of the level of support that has been expressed both on the Mendip Planning Portal and via our inboxes. We have all received a great many emails on the subject as individual councillors and also some of us as members of the Planning Board.

Those of us that sit on Planning Board and cannot overtly comment at the risk of being perceived as predetermined wish to preserve our legitimacy to hear the application in order that Frome councillors can be part of the decision-making process.

We do, and are speaking to Mayday representatives, and we do visit Mayday events, indeed several of us attended the event on Saturday 26^th March. In this pre-election period and with a live planning application yet to be heard we do not feel comfortable to express a view, and yes, to pre-empt, you can be forgiven for thinking that this is a convenient response. Please also consider that not feeling free to speak as we find is a difficult situation to be in, especially at this time.

In response to the perception that councillors are pushing one proposal over another it is pertinent to remember that Mendip District Council and Acorn have been working on plans to re-develop the Saxonvale site since 2017 and during this time it was the only available plan. It is only more recently that the Mayday alternative has come forward.

Currently the application is on course to be heard at the 11^th May 2022 Planning Board, and the Board will listen to the application with objectivity and an open mind as with any application.

Cllr. Janine Nash, Cllr. Adam Boyden, Cllr. Damon Hooton, Cllr. Richard Pinnock, Cllr. Helen Sprawson-White, Cllr. Drew Gardner

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