Residents of a “renegade” Somerset market town have won their battle to create an innovative 5-hectare (12-acre) community-led development that includes homes, workspaces and a lido, after councillors agreed to sell a large brownfield site to the not-for-profit social enterprise behind the project.
The Mayday Saxonvale scheme in Frome, which hundreds of residents have spent five years fighting for, also features two public squares, and a community-owned boutique hotel and cafe.
Supporters of the project, which they believe is the largest of its kind in England, say it means that the Saxonvale site in the town centre will be saved from being turned into a “cookie-cutter” development by a commercial company more focused on its shareholders than the good of the place.
Fiona Barrows, a Frome town councillor, said: “What’s really exciting for me is that it’s not actually about the amount of commercial space or the affordable housing it will provide – it’s about the sense of confidence and agency and possibility that I think it will give us as a community.”
The council decision was greeted with protracted applause, with supporters hugging and kissing. Council leader Bill Revans said he had never had such a positive reaction to a planning decision.
The progress of the scheme is being watched keenly by other progressive towns who hope they may be able to replicate it.
Tina Gaisford-Waller, manager of Winstone’s Hunting Raven bookshop in the town, said: “I hope it’s going to be a landmark moment for not just our town but all towns. If you are tenacious enough, if you fight hard enough, if you know what you’re worth, you can fight for the right thing. I think that is a message that places around the whole country really need right now, that bad development is not inevitable.”
Last summer, Somerset council agreed to sell the site to Acorn Property Group but the developer pulled out within 24 hours because of a public outcry.
Gaisford-Waller, who describes herself as a born and bred “Fromie”, said: “As a town, we’ve had an alternative spirit for such a long time. we’re kind of renegade and punk and it feels fitting that if anyone is going to get the development that they want and that they’ve pushed for and worked for so hard, it should be Frome.”
The Mayday Saxonvale scheme includes plans for 263 homes with at least 30% being affordable. It says it will also provide more than 10,000 sq metres of employment and community space and a riverside park and playground.
Mayday Saxonvale has not said how much it is paying for the site but the council says it will help bridge an £80m gap in its finances. The project hopes building work will start next year.
One of the Mayday Saxonvale directors, Paul Oster, said the council decision would lead to the “complete revitalisation” of the town. He said: “Saxonvale is fundamental to the town’s future. Bringing the community into the process, we can make sure the site delivers the best possible outcomes for the community now and into future generations.”
He said other towns were watching their progress. “Frome’s got a good track record of being quite rebellious and pushing against conventions. This is a completely different model in the sense that it’s community driven but with a team of professional professionals alongside us. So you’ve got the local knowledge but with professionals that can deliver it.”
The sustainable development company Kiss House is entering into a joint venture partnership with Mayday. Oster said: “It means you can create something that is of this place, not just a place that could be plonked anywhere. People can feel completely empowered – like they have a role in shaping their own built environment, the places where they work, where they live, where they gather. It’s quite a powerful thing.”
The decision to sell to Mayday was agreed by the council at an extraordinary meeting of its executive at Frome town hall on Thursday afternoon.
A Frome Green party councillor, Shane Collins, said: “It represents a huge victory for the people of Frome and progressive green development. We look forward to a swim in the new lido in a year or two.”
