Original post, December 2022 (updated below)

I have been notified that Mendip District Council has received a nomination from the People for Packsaddle local community group for the Packsaddle Fields, between Packsaddle Way and Leys Lane in Frome, to be listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). The submitted application form is found here.

This page describes the process and purpose of ACVs. The Assets of Community Value process was introduced in 2011 to ‘give communities a right to identify a building or other land that they believe to be of importance to their community’s social well-being. The aim is that, if the asset comes up for sale, then they will be given a fair chance to make a bid to buy it on the open market. If the nominated asset meets the definition of an asset of community value, the local authority will list it.’ (see here). The owner will have a right to an internal review by the council, and a right of appeal to an independent tribunal against the result of the internal review.

These fields have been owned by Somerset County Council for 50 years as a site for a potential future school, but in March 2022 (just before the local elections) the County Council decided to dispose of the land and enter into an Options Agreement with LiveWest, who would purchase the site if they obtain planning permission for housing. I understand that LiveWest are preparing a planning application for market housing and a proportion of social and affordable housing, some time this year, and should be consulting local residents on their plans before submission. Please see here for background to this and monthly updates on the site.

The ACV application for Packsaddle Fields must be decided by Mendip District Council’s Assets of Community Value Panel (three MDC councillors – see here) by 7th February. As one of the Mendip District Councillors for the ward I have been asked to provide any information I would like to submit on whether I believe the asset meets the definition of community value, and any other relevant information, by 10th January 2023.

To inform my submission, I need to ask local residents to send me any further relevant evidence and testimony relating to any actual use of the land that benefits the community’s social wellbeing, to me at cllr.boyden@mendip.gov.uk. I will need to collate this information before submitting it to MDC, so please send me evidence by the end of Monday 9th January at the latest. Please focus on your actual use of the land, including activities other than walking around, rather than the merits or otherwise of a development or planning application (which has not yet been designed or submitted) as planning matters are not relevant to the AVC decision. Additional testimonies from 10 local residents have also been submitted by the nominators People for Packsaddle to support their application, which I have seen, so if you have already provided one of these you do not need to send it again to me. Please get in touch if you have any concerns or questions. I hope you find this useful.  Best wishes, Adam Boyden

Update 26 January 2023

The Frome Standard ran an article on page 3 about the upcoming decision:

Update 29 January 2023

Mendip District Council’s ACV Panel meets on Tuesday 31st January at 10am to determine the application. If the application is successful, this would give the community a right to bid for the land if and when it comes up for sale again in the next 5 years. Please see here for the ACV Panel meeting agenda and reports including over 100 testimonies from residents. My response to the application is below. Other local councillors have also written in support.

Packsaddle Fields Asset of Community Value application – Comments from Cllr Adam Boyden, Mendip District Councillor, Frome College ward

On receiving notification of the application in December 2022, I asked residents I am in contact with by email for their thoughts and any evidence they have of actual use of the fields that benefit the social wellbeing of the local community. Many residents provided responses to me directly and also copied in the community campaigners at People for Packsaddle (PFP, the applicants). Some 52 residents’ responses are included in the attached testimonies (50 in three batches from the nominators, and two more below). Please do read these, as many are interesting and tell the story of how the local community uses the fields.

On reflection, after reading the testimonies, I consider this site does meet the criteria to be considered an Asset of Community Value (ACV). There is a clear evidence of an actual main use – informal recreation – that benefits the local community’s social wellbeing, and there is potential for this use and subsequent social wellbeing to continue in future, for reasons set out below:

1. The fields are actively used by a large number of members of the local community for informal recreation, including for: dog walking (about half the responses), walking to enjoy the countryside, walking with or meeting with friends, family and neighbours in a local social space (33 responses talked about the importance of the fields as a place to meet others which reduces loneliness), birdwatching and observing other wildlife (33 responses mentioned birds and other wildlife in the trees, hedgerows, grassland and stone walls), enjoying views of the countryside, including watching the sunset, and stargazing away from street lights, children to play (28 responses referred to play activities including ball games, den building, and frisbee), active exercise (13 responses) – running, jogging, and ‘health walks’, picnics (9 responses) and other activities included sledging in the snow, photography, painting, and even a small fireworks event.
2. Many residents have written about the value of accessing and using the fields for their mental and physical health. This was particularly apparent during the pandemic, and is for older people, children and young people, people suffering from stress or depression, and sadly some people recovering from trauma and bereavement.
3. The fields and their hedgerows, trees and scrubby and tussocky grassland areas clearly provide and are used as ‘accessible natural greenspace’ by the local community, which Natural England’s Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard recognises can include many types of greenspace where nature can be enjoyed. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (2018) recognises the value of green spaces with a chapter dedicated to ‘Connecting people with the environment to improve health and wellbeing’.  This is a legitimate use of the fields as there are no legal restrictions preventing their use by the community.
4. From the testimonies it is clear that the use of the fields as accessible natural greenspace furthers the social wellbeing and social interests of the local community, and have done so for nearly 50 years since the early 1970s. These testimonies capture a small proportion of the use of the fields, as there are several hundred houses within a few minutes walk. 
5. The informal recreational uses of the site as greenspace by the local community appear to be the main active uses of the site, as there does not appear to be any active ongoing management for agriculture or any other defined purpose. It is understood that the site was purchased by Somerset County Council in the early 1970s in order to build a local primary school, which was not needed, and Somerset County Council as landowner entered into an options agreement with LiveWest in March 2022 to sell the site subject to LiveWest obtaining planning permission for a housing development, which has not yet been submitted. Parts of the site were subject to environmental field surveys and vegetation clearance for maintenance and public safety reasons in 2022, but the site has not been actively used by the landowner to my knowledge.  
6. The informal recreational uses of the fields as accessible natural greenspace will continue, should the land remain undeveloped and accessible to the local community. I understand the nominators are considering the potential for the local community to purchase part or all of the site should the land be listed as ACV, and to develop a management plan for the fields, potentially as some form of local country park. There may be various options. An example of an open space purchased by a local community group elsewhere in Frome is the large Whatcombe Fields site, bought at auction for £325,000 in 2015 by the Save Our Spaces (SOS) Frome campaign, with over 280 contributing shareholders. Most of the local green spaces in and around Frome are owned and managed by Frome Town Council, and have been placed in a Trust to ensure their preservation as open spaces for use by the local community. So it is realistic to think that there can continue to be non-ancillary use of the land which will further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community

I hope this informs the Panel’s considerations on the application. Regards, Adam Boyden, Mendip District Councillor for Frome College ward, and Somerset County Councillor for Frome North, 10 January 2023

Update 31 January 2023 – decision

Earlier today Mendip District Council’s ACV Panel met to determine the application (see reports and agenda here), and decided to approve the application and enter the land at Packsaddle Fields onto the list of Assets of Community Value. More to follow…

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