Frome town councillors voted in favour of a groundbreaking change to leadership structure at the Annual Council Meeting on 21st May.
Cllr Fiona Barrows was chosen by peers as the new Chair of the Council 2025/26, chairing council meetings and acting as leader of the council. Cllr Anita Collier was chosen as Deputy Chair and will perform the civic side of the chair’s role, acting as Frome’s mayor, representing the council at local events and wearing the mayoral chain.
This dual approach marks a departure from the norm for town councils in the UK and has been proposed to enable Cllr Barrows and future councillors of working age or with other commitments to take on leadership roles within the council. Additionally, the move offers a fresh opportunity for Cllr Collier, who previously served as Mayor in 2020/21 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cllr Collier said: “I loved serving as your Mayor in 2020/2021, but the lockdown and some personal health issues meant many missed opportunities that I look forward to putting right. I’m excited to serve the town once again, and proud to be part of a town council which is truly ‘made differently’, a champion of equal opportunities, unafraid of a fresh approach.”
Town councillors also discussed allowances, and in particular the Chair’s allowance. They judged that the size of the Chair’s allowance represented a significant barrier to access and could prevent some councillors from putting themselves forward as Chair of the Council. The Chair’s Allowance was therefore set at £15,000 for 2025/26 by a majority vote, in recognition of the significant, consistent time commitment of around 20 hours per week associated with the role. The allowance for other councillors was set at £1,291 per annum for 2025/26.
Cllr Barrows said “Until recently, I never imagined myself in this position – not only because I doubted my abilities, but because I knew my financial situation would make it too difficult to fulfil the role. You haven’t just voted me in: you’ve also created the conditions that allow me to take on this role, and hopefully to do it justice. I believe inclusivity in this space really matters, because I genuinely believe local democracy really matters. I’m really excited for what I ambitiously hope will be the start of the next chapter at FTC and want to say thank you again for voting for me.”
Outgoing Leader of the Council Cllr Steve Tanner said: “We want to make sure that anyone – regardless of income or background – can consider standing to be a councillor or Chair of the Council. By properly recognising the scale of the Chair’s role and offering support to all councillors, we’re taking an important step towards a more inclusive and representative local democracy.
“The proposed Chair’s allowance reflects the scale and complexity of the role in a large and ambitious town council with a £3.5m programme of work, which will only increase with the devolution of Somerset Council services. It is not a salary, nor does it make the Chair an employee – but it would help defray the considerable costs involved in fulfilling the role effectively.”
Also discussed at the 2025 Annual Council Meeting were a new committee structure, designed to free discussion space at council meetings, a new meeting calendar required for the new committees, and the announcement of an extraordinary meeting of FTC on Wednesday 4th June to discuss next steps at Badgers Hill. Watch the full meeting at bit.ly/ftc-annual-council-mtg-2025.
