On a wet and windy January day Frome Town Council Met for the first time this year. Mayor Sheila Gore welcomed a full house.
Shane Collins from Mendip District Council told attendees about the recent vote for MDC to go single use plastic free. In the space of 8 weeks Glastonbury Town Council, Frome Town Council and now Mendip District Council has renounced single use plastics, as well as Norwich, Brighton, Penzance and many other Councils in the UK.
Bob Ashford from Fair Frome and Martin Dimery from Frome Festival spoke about their organisations. Fair Frome primarily spend their funding on providing the food bank, while the grant from FTC to the festival enables them to plan ahead for art projects that they would otherwise not be able to stage. Both ultimately benefit the whole community.
Councillor Heather Wride gave an impassioned speech about the rising level of poverty in Frome, especially those working on very low incomes. She applauded the work of Fair Frome and proposed to increase their grant by £3000 so that they can provide more support to people who are struggling and Councillors agreed.
Following concerns expressed regarding the state of the property owned by Nott’s Industries Pension & Assurance Scheme at Saxonvale, Frome Town Council has received a statement from the Scheme trustees:
‘The Scheme trustees are aware of concerns regarding the Property and are actively taking steps to implement site security and related appropriate measures imminently. Additionally, a new professional pension trustee is to be appointed shortly following which the Property will be re-marketed with a view to an early resolution. The Scheme trustees are in liaison with both Mendip District Council and Frome Town Council and will continue to keep them abreast of developments.’
Cllr Toby Eliot, the Leader of Frome Town Council said: ‘The Town Council is delighted to hear this news. The site has been in a poor condition for some time and we have been working with our colleagues at Mendip District Council to secure action. The news about the re-marketing of the site is equally encouraging. We hope that this will be the catalyst now for the site to be comprehensively redeveloped in a way that the town can be proud of. As always Frome Town Council will continue to work energetically with its local authority partners and other landowners to contribute to a successful regeneration.’
Finally, Councillors agreed that the Merlin Theatre, Trinity First School, Young People Frome, Frome Allotment Association, Songs for the Memory, Open Story Tellers and Fair Housing for Frome should all be given Community Grants to continue the outstanding work they do in Frome. Many more community groups were given funds of up to £300 from the Mayor’s grant. See our grants story for further information.
