About Us

So what is Vision for Frome?

Vision for Frome (V4F) is a voluntary group of Frome residents, working in partnership with the town and district councils.  Its aims are to reach out to the local community through a wide consultation, to get their ideas and suggestions for shaping Frome over the next 20 years.  These will be turned into a Community Strategic Plan, containing a series of actions resulting from the consultation.  It will become a ‘material consideration’ in planning matters and also be used as an evidence base for the local authorities.  All partners involved in it, the V4F group, the Town, District and County councils, will have a role to play in implementing the Plan and ensuring that the opinions of Frome residents are delivered as actions ‘on the ground’.

History

The seeds of V4F were sown at a residents’ public meeting held in November 2006. Several members of the present V4F management group – Cath Haines, Peter MacFadyen, and Maggy Daniell, who facilitated it, were there from the start; as was Alex Malcolm, V4F’s first Chair.  Originally called ‘Frome 26, a vision for the next 20 years’ it re-formed and changed its name to ‘Vision for Frome’ after receiving £20,000 as the result of a bid to the Market and Coastal Towns Association (MCTA). 

Funding

MCTA’s mission for their ‘Initiatives’ is to provide for the development of vibrant, healthy and sustainable towns via a community-led process; it is government-funded through SWRDA (the South-West Regional Development Agency).  The MCTi contribution was match-funded with £25,000 from Mendip District Council. There was £45,000 to spend on undertaking a full consultation, encouraging as much participation as possible with people in Frome and the neighbouring villages which depend on it.

Who is running it?

A V4F management committee is in place, made up of local residents with different skills and experience and a wide range of interests – such as youth, education, business, planning, ecological, leisure activities and voluntary groups, etc. Local councillors and local business people are also part of it, and the committee has the support of the Area Regeneration Officer for Frome, Katy Graham, from Mendip District Council.  It requires all those involved to come together as a team and work with the aim of achieving the best for the people of Frome.

What is happening now?

A Consultant, Julian Mellor, collected data about Frome and its environs, in order to establish  a baseline ‘Social and Economic Profile of Frome’.  He conducted interviews with a wide cross-section of local people, including employers, the elderly, retailers, PCSOs, sportspeople, etc. His remit was to identify current issues and appropriate responses as well as defining trends.  The final report has now been completed and you can request an electronic copy by emailing vision4frome@v4f.org.uk

Consultation events have been held throughout Frome through March, April and May, together with approaches to local businesses, community groups and schools. The information from these events and consultations are now being collated and analysed and will form the basis of the community plan for Frome.

Other towns

V4F is following in the footsteps of a large number of other towns which have already been through this process, including 10 in Wiltshire, 2 in Bath and NE Somerset and 7 in Somerset (one of which is Shepton Mallet, with its Shepton 21 Regeneration Partnership).  These towns are implementing their proposals, mostly using outside sources of funding.

What issues? 

Basically, anything about Frome as it is now can become an issue in the future.  Some global trends will also affect the town and there may be a local response.  Some issues are known, others may need highlighting.  It is up to the people of Frome, of all ages and backgrounds, to identify any problems they see and to share their ideas and aspirations for the town. 

What next?

The consultation for the draft community plan is now mostly complete and there are ongoing workshops to start drafting the topic areas for the plan.

The next important stage will be the production of the draft community plan by the end of June 2008. The draft plan will then be available for further comment and input from the people of Frome, as well as the councils, agencies and organisations that will play a significant part in delivering the actions “on the ground”. We expect to have the final plan completed by the end of November 2008.

And then what…?

The Community Strategic Plan will NOT then be put on a shelf and forgotten about!  Instead, it will be a living document which will be used in a variety of ways. 

Councils have funding for projects which is unavailable to community groups.  Similarly, community groups have access to funding which is unavailable to local authorities.  The MCTi process, which V4F is engaged in, encourages good partnership working between communities and local authorities, and gets maximum benefit for the town through funding for projects from different sources, using the Plan as evidence for these bids.

At Mendip District Council, it will be incorporated into the Local Development Framework (LDF) on the same basis as Parish Plans, and be used as a reference document for future planning applications.  The Town Council, Mendip District Council and Somerset County Council will all be able to use it as an ‘evidence base’ for anything they plan to do which affects Frome.

After the Plan is created, V4F needs to become an implementation body, to take forward some of the projects, apply for funding and make sure what the people want is delivered.  This will be the on-going community role.

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