On the 31st of July 2024, Somerset Council’s Executive will hold a public meeting at Frome Town Hall. At that meeting they will publicly announce who will be chosen to develop Saxonvale, a 12-acre Brownfield mixed-used site in the heart of Frome.

The choice is between Acorn, a residential developer, and Mayday Saxonvale a community-led not-for-profit social enterprise, with a model of community ownership and value retention.

Mayday’s scheme is well supported in the town, and its model could be an archteype for a new, perhaps better way of doing development. But, with a local authority on its knees financially, and rumours of secret contracts and closed-door deals, is that enough?

For the past six months, I’ve been conducting interviews and researching what could be called the Saxonvale saga, a story that’s far from having an ending.

Why has this brownfield site garnered such strong local feeling, made national news and why do many think that Somerset Council’s decision will heavily influence the future of the town for the decades to come?

Links

https://maydaysaxonvale.co.uk/

https://www.saxonvaleredevelopment.org/

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Produced, presented and written by Samuel Saunders. A Straw Dogs Media Production.

Music by Kjartan Abel

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