Mendip District Council have confirmed that the planning application submitted by Frontier Estates for Saxonvale has been withdrawn hours before the Mendip Planning Board were due to consider the proposal.
This decision is unsurprising given the changes in the retail sector since 2013; there is now little interest in building large supermarkets in the UK. Also, the Mendip planning officer handling the case had recommended refusal. Amongst the concerns expressed were the impact of such a large store on the character and appearance of the area, the impact of noise and traffic on local residents, the lack of provision for business workspace in the scheme and the piecemeal nature of the proposal which only covered part of the Saxonvale site. All of these issues and more had been highlighted by the Town Council working with Keep Frome Local, the Chamber of Commerce, Civic Society and Vision 4 Frome.
Commenting on this news, Cllr Mel Usher, Chair of Frome Town Council’s Town Centre Panel said, ‘This is really good news and well done to all those people who actively campaigned against this ill thought through proposal. A special mention for Katy Duke who has put many hours of work into the background of the scheme. We are now moving forward Plan B which is to get all of the landowners and main players together to try to find a unique solution that suits Frome. We are moving fast on this. The first meeting is next week with a series of meetings planned in early January.’
Any enquiries relating to this article please contact: Peter Wheelhouse, Economic Development & Regeneration Manager, Frome Town Council
wheelhousep@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
Tel: 01373 475573
Published 16th December 2015
