Chair’s reflections – Operations and Assets Committee 26 November 2025

I’m Anne Hills, Chair of FTC’s Operations and Assets committee. As the name suggests, it’s not the most glamourous area of council business, but you could say that it’s the least glamourous things we do as a council that make the biggest difference! The committee looks after ‘nuts and bolts’, like finance, IT, HR, health and safety and some of the councils ‘bricks and mortar’ assets, although decisions about the larger buildings we own or manage, like the town hall or the Key Centre, will always be made at full council meetings. We also look at civic or twinning matters.

The time set aside for questions at the November meeting featured lively, in-depth discussions about bins, toilets, graffiti and litter (I said we covered the things that are important, but not glamourous!). There was a general acknowledgement that more clarity is needed for the public as regards who is responsible for Frome’s bins – bins on open spaces are town council bins, but managed via a contract with Somerset Council, who also manage all other bins. Councillors and staff, including county councillor Adam Boyden will continue working to tackle issues with the delivery of both contracts to tackle this important issue.

On a lighter note, Lenka Grimes of Fair Frome thanked FTC for organising the Christmas event on 21 November and reported fundraising of an amazing £1,000 at the event towards the Frome Christmas Get Together on Christmas Day!

Next up was an update on the ongoing conversation about the toilet block at Market Yard, currently closed apart from a Changing Places cubicle, due to their poor condition. We’ll be using our new digital platform in 2026 to help us gather people’s thoughts and ideas for what should happen with the block. That doesn’t mean we’ll stop using other channels – look out for us out and about and you can call, email or write to us, too.

Environment Manager Rob Holden gave an update on FTC’s open spaces, including management plans for the new water meadow at Adderwell and the Old Showfield and the community woodland at Spring Gardens, recently seeded with wildflowers by shire horses. 10,000 bulbs have been planted this autumn by 360 children and young people and 40 adults across nine sites in Frome, plus a further 4,000 crocus bulbs at Frome College – amazing!

Another success story, of Ranger Mike tackling graffiti around the town centre was frustratingly short lived, as lots of it has returned very quickly. We talked about ways to combat it, including designated areas or opportunities for young people to practise, but also using CCTV and linking in with local networks to identify the one or two individuals who are clearly  responsible for most of the antisocial ‘tags’.

Some new HR and town hall policies, and a budget update for 2025/26 followed. FTC will meet to set the budget for the year and agree the council tax precept payable in early 2026.

You can watch the meeting in full on our YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/operations-and-assets-26-nov-25.

View agenda items and related decisions in the table below: