Instead of a car-based 2oth century supermarket at Saxonvale, this Shopping List asks for the following:
1. A New Transport Infrastucture
Don’t ruin our ancient town with fumes, noise and congestion and space-gobbling ugly car parks which will be obsolete when oil prices rocket! Instead, let’s create a 21st century development that brings people to Frome for pleasure with the following:
Don’t ruin our ancient town with fumes, noise and congestion and space-gobbling ugly car parks which will be obsolete when oil prices rocket! Instead, let’s create a 21st century development that brings people to Frome for pleasure with the following:
• ‘Frome Brunel’ - Frome Train Station renamed.
• ‘Frome Central’, a new train station in Saxonvale.
• ‘Frome Bus Station’ with expanded services.
• A new Taxi Rank.
• Home deliveries.
• Cycle and pathways.
• A third train station called ‘Frome Cheese & Grain’.
2.Affordable craft, art, music, writing and print Workshops and Small I.T. Offices at the converted Silk Mills that create real jobs in our creative industries - small businesses can’t afford industrial estates and Frome cannot live on shops and houses alone!
3. A Creative Industries Apprenticeship College greeting visitors to ‘Frome Central’ with a campus atmosphere and a superb building showcasing our talents.
• This college fills the skills training vacuum since losing our technical and YTS colleges, links to regional businesses and educational institutions and provides lifelong learning opportunities.
• The Curriculum includes ‘creative industry‘ subjects as two year apprenticeships or evening classes.
• Workshop-classrooms and integrated outdoor space define the College Campus.
4. A green anchor supermarket with these services:
• A car-free supermarket that helps fund the new transport infrastructure.
• Home delivery service
• Sells local produce.
• Sustainable packaging
• Fairtrade
• Low food waste
• A low energy building.
• Works with the town’s vision without bullying us with expensive legal costs.
• No undercutting of Frome businesses.
• A supermarket that gives-back 1% of its profits to the community and a 1% ‘skills investment tax’ to the apprenticeship college
• Adds to the ambience with a cafe linked to a children’s playground and creche.
• You will be welcome if you can meet these criteria, otherwise we can develop Saxonvale around other anchor businesses and a permanent Farmer’s Market.
• This college fills the skills training vacuum since losing our technical and YTS colleges, links to regional businesses and educational institutions and provides lifelong learning opportunities.
• The Curriculum includes ‘creative industry‘ subjects as two year apprenticeships or evening classes.
• Workshop-classrooms and integrated outdoor space define the College Campus.
4. A green anchor supermarket with these services:
• A car-free supermarket that helps fund the new transport infrastructure.
• Home delivery service
• Sells local produce.
• Sustainable packaging
• Fairtrade
• Low food waste
• A low energy building.
• Works with the town’s vision without bullying us with expensive legal costs.
• No undercutting of Frome businesses.
• A supermarket that gives-back 1% of its profits to the community and a 1% ‘skills investment tax’ to the apprenticeship college
• Adds to the ambience with a cafe linked to a children’s playground and creche.
• You will be welcome if you can meet these criteria, otherwise we can develop Saxonvale around other anchor businesses and a permanent Farmer’s Market.
5. Mixed shops and cafes with some housing giving life after the shops have closed.
~ We would like some National Stores and affordable rent ‘Made in Frome’ shops, stalls and craft displays?
~ Without cars, the mix of cafes, shops and living can be based around courtyards and pleasure gardens. ~ It is vital to design our town centre around leisure and local industries to compete with supermarkets and internet stores. Home workers can have a break at the car-free Saxonvale with its wi-fi network.
~ We would like some National Stores and affordable rent ‘Made in Frome’ shops, stalls and craft displays?
~ Without cars, the mix of cafes, shops and living can be based around courtyards and pleasure gardens. ~ It is vital to design our town centre around leisure and local industries to compete with supermarkets and internet stores. Home workers can have a break at the car-free Saxonvale with its wi-fi network.
6. An anchor office development for a city company. Frome Council can have its new offices here or in the Silk Mills, though not in the Cheese & Grain.
7. A green anchor hotel for increased visitors to Frome. Other bed & breakfast establishments will benefit from the town’s investments.
Frome can deliver a green, productive and pleasurable development that we can be proud of.
The full Shopping List has been sent to the Town Council and David Heath for passing onto government ministers and can be viewed at http://sustainablesaxonvalewebstartscom.webstarts.com/ (503 words, excluding the title)
Frome can deliver a green, productive and pleasurable development that we can be proud of.
The full Shopping List has been sent to the Town Council and David Heath for passing onto government ministers and can be viewed at http://sustainablesaxonvalewebstartscom.webstarts.com/ (503 words, excluding the title)
Tim Ashby
If space is available, can you add this last paragraph?
8. Three final controversial energy questions.
• The Saxonvale Site could, along with the towns of Frome, Warminster and Westbury, be powered by a colourful wind farm from Westbury White Horse and Cley Hill. If these towns clubbed together, we could have free electicity for decades! Discuss.
• Would solar panels be appropriate for our terracotta roofscapes?
• Does Frome have any plans to ensure that all its housing stock is highly insulated?
• Would solar panels be appropriate for our terracotta roofscapes?
• Does Frome have any plans to ensure that all its housing stock is highly insulated?
Having sent the 3442 word article from Saxonvale 1 to the editor of the Somerset Standard, I was (understandably) told that I could only have a maximum of 500 words for the letters page. Below is the reduced article.