A planning application has been submitted to develop all but one of the last remaining vacant plots on the south side of the Commerce Park. The application is for 61 small business units (B2/B8 units with ancillary office space, in nine buildings), and a single industrial building in two 15,000 sq.ft. units (use class B8 and E(G)(i) (formerly B1a)) with a height to eaves up to 7m and ridge 8.82m – please see the planning application documents and comments here.

The site is on the other side of the noise bund and fence along the boundary with Priddy Close, Blagdon Walk and Compton Gardens. The consultation period has been extended by the case officer until 12th March. I and the Coalway Lane Residents Association are looking through the documents and I would encourage people living near the site to have a good look. Residents commenting here already have expressed concerns about the B2/B8 units being proposed within a zone previously restricted in the former outline planning permission to the former use class B1 Business, and about potential noise and visual impacts. The potential job creation is discussed on SomersetLive.

The comments here show that objections have been submitted by some 27 local residents and Frome Civic Society, the ward councillor (Cllr Brooke) and Berkley Parish Council.

The application was also discussed at Frome Town Council’s Planning Committee on 11th March. I and other councillors spoke and raised issues of potential noise disturbance, the change in proposed use classes, and measures to reduce impacts on climate and promote active travel. I also asked about the type of businesses the applicants wanted to attract (answer: online retail). The draft minutes here include FTC’s response to the application at the end of the document. FTC welcomed the proposed employment units, but ‘are concerned about the potential noise impacts to residents on Coalway Lane, the MDC Environmental Health response to the noise assessment will be key and we would expect that the views on the noise assessment from the Coalway Lane Residents Association will be taken into account’.

FTC also ‘would support real commitment to encouraging active travel, measures such as a more ambitious travel plan,…’, and the installation of solar panels as part of the scheme. (not left to others). FTC requested that the footpath between Pensford Way and the site be resurfaced and lit with bat-friendly solar powered lights, to promote active travel to the Commerce Park, which is a major employment centre without any bus route.

My initial response requested clarifications of the visual impact of the large warehouse, and the potential planning conditions and measures that could be used to avoid potential nuisance to residents. The response of the MDC Environmental Health team to the Noise Impact Assessment report could be crucial.

Update, 13 April 2022:

The planning application was discussed at MDC’s Planning Board tonight Wednesday 13th April, under agenda item 7 ref DM01. The application documents are here and the Planning Officer’s report is here, which recommended permission is granted subject to conditions. Some 29 objections have been received from nearby residents, largely due to the development of industrial/warehouse uses in the zone that was restricted to office/business uses in the original outline planning permission (which no longer directly applies), and on the potential for noise disturbance.

The case officer described the proposals and her recommendations for delegated approval. The Chair of Coalway Lane Residents Association spoke against, and the agent for the applicants spoke for. I spoke and raised concerns about the removal of the ‘B1 zone’ as a protection measure for nearby residents under the previous outline permission, the potential for noise nuisance being created for residents in the absence of any knowledge of the eventual site occupiers, the need for a planning condition to require occupiers of B2 (industrial) and B8 (storage and distribution) to assess the potential for noise, vibration, light, dust, smoke and odour on residents before occupation, the need for a condition to control night time vehicle movements, and the need for the footpath link to Pensford Way to be surfaced and lit to provide an active sustainable travel link to Frome (as Frome Town Council had recommended above).

Several Board members agreed these were issues that needed addressing, and also questioned why solar panels were not proposed on every building, and after a discussion, the chair of the Board cllr Damon Hooton proposed the application be deferred for up to three months so that these issues could be addressed in discussions between the applicants, officers and the area’s ward councillors. This was agreed unanimously. Effectively this sends the planning application back to the developer and MDC planning department to address the concerns raised, to either revise the application or develop suitable planning controls to protect the residents. I look forward to the discussions.

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