News from Councillor Martin Dimery.
Originally published in Frome Times (Councillor’s Corner, March 6th issue)
I cannot remember a busier or more contentious time in nearly 8 years as a Somerset councillor. Decisions currently being made will have the most enormous impact on the future of Frome.
Firstly, the agreement by Somerset Council’s Executive to sell Saxonvale land to the Mayday group was historic. It is the first time a community interest company has been awarded such a large development in the UK. Many other towns and councils will be looking on to see if Mayday can fulfil the promises where many large commercial developers had failed. I wish them well.
The proposed 1,700 house Selwood Garden Community development will now be decided by a government appointed Inspector. My fear is that the hearing will be determined by the government’s recent change in planning regulations with a remit to “build, build, build”, rather than the justifiable concerns of the local community.
There was delight in the council chamber recently when two Frome applications were refused by the Planning committee. One was for the proposed 70+ houses on the Packsaddle Fields. This was significant over-development and I was happy to propose refusal. The other matter was the installation of a battery storage facility near Styles Close. I am in favour of building the right sort of houses and the storing of electricity, but in both cases, access to and from each site was totally inadequate, amongst other reasons to refuse.
It is also time to vote on Somerset’s budget for the coming year. As you will know, Somerset Council is in financial crisis and the Community Tax will rise by more than usual. This still may not be enough to avoid effective bankruptcy. I note the usual on-line accusations of mis-spending and corruption etc. In reality, 70% of Somerset’s budget is spent looking after adults in and children in need. The remaining 30% is allocated to repairing roads; schools; housing; planning; traffic calming and waste collection, amongst much else.
Unlike Central Government, our councils actually deliver most of the services people rely on. It is about time they were funded properly.
M Dimery March 25.