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00:00A very warm afternoon to you, people of Somerset. It's Daniel Mumby, your very warm local democracy reporter, hopefully both literally and metaphorically.
00:10And you join me once again in Froome. I'm on the very northern edge of the town in Pack Saddle Fields, this huge swathe of public open space, or at least green space with permissive paths running right through it.
00:22There's a lot of wind noise, a fair few people walking around with their dogs and quite a lot of blackberries, which I've been very tempted to sample.
00:30But I'm not here to talk about fruits today. What we are going to do is to retrace our steps from a live stream that I did coming on for two years ago,
00:39back when the development proposals surrounding this field or series of fields that I'm around at the moment were first being gone out for public discussion.
00:47And what we're going to do is going to retrace our steps down into Froome Town Centre whilst I tell you all about these fields, the planned development on here, why it's so contentious and what happens next.
00:59As per usual with the live streams, do drop any questions you have in the comments.
01:04We are on the very northern fringes of Froome at the moment, so we may have some signal issues early on, but hopefully that will abate as we get down the hill and more towards the cheese and grain, which is where we'll be ending up.
01:16We'll possibly get all the way to the high street. We'll see how much time we have.
01:20So if you're not familiar, Pack Saddlefields, where we are at the moment, lies on the very northern edge of Froome, just before you get into the surrounding parishes of Beckington, I believe is the nearest one over from here.
01:33Please correct me if I'm wrong, people of Froome.
01:35And since certainly since the 1970s, this area has been a beloved community space.
01:44It's one of those grey areas where it's not a formal public park.
01:49As you can see, a lot of it is quite over from as a result of all the hot weather that we've had.
01:54A lot of the chlorophyll that's in these long grasses have been bleached out into oblivion.
01:58But as someone who's been following this matter for the last two years, it is very verdant and there is a lot of fruit growing around here as well.
02:06Now, this piece of land was purchased back in 1973 by what was then Somerset County Council and it was originally purchased to be held in trust with the intention of eventually delivering a brand new school here.
02:23Now, numerous decades have passed. Somerset County Council, of course, no longer exists as of April 2023, so more than two years since it was formally abolished and replaced with Somerset Council.
02:36But back in 2022, shortly before it was abolished, Somerset County Council said that it was intending to sell the land for development, claiming that a school was no longer needed in this location.
02:48And they were going to offer the Live West Housing Association, which provides affordable housing at numerous developments, not just in Froome, but across Somerset.
03:00It was going to offer them the option of building on the site.
03:05Subsequently, Live West put forward plans to build 74 houses and a children's home on this land behind us.
03:13You can see there is a formal public right away snaking through it, which is what we've been sticking to.
03:18And suffice to say, the people of Froome were not best pleased with the idea to the extent that a local pressure group called People for Pack Saddle was formed and they have been fighting these plans ever since.
03:30Now, the plans have gone through various tweaks and several different iterations since the initial public consultation.
03:35I'm just going to quickly bend around here. We're not heading further along this way, but just to give them a further little plug, a lot of the people involved with People for Pack Saddle do live very close to the area.
03:47And I'm just going to hover on that. So if you want to find out more information, you can type in that website or pause this live stream when we're finished and scan out their QR code.
03:59That'll give you a lot of the background information that you need.
04:02So the reason I'm talking about this today is we are coming to the end of a long legal battle over the future of this site, whether it's going to be developed or whether it will be set aside forever as a green space.
04:18There has been an effort on the part of local residents to raise the money to buy it, to register it as an asset of community value, meaning that if someone tries to build on it, they get the first go.
04:29I think it's around 12 months that they have or possibly six months to raise the money to buy the land and therefore keep it as a green space in perpetuity.
04:37But the reason we're talking about it now is that this coming Tuesday, August the 12th, over in Shepton Mallet, a planning inquiry will get underway to decide whether or not Live West can get planning permission and go ahead with its development.
04:53Somerset Council's Planning Committee East voted to refuse planning permission for those 74 homes and a children's home when it met in early January.
05:03And there were numerous concerns raised at the time, including the desire to protect the landscape.
05:10Just to give you an idea of how high up we are.
05:13Froom, of course, is built on a series of hills stretching down to the river as we head down the public footpath.
05:20And in addition to the desire to protect the landscape, there were numerous other concerns raised, including the fact that only 22 percent of the homes within the site would have been affordable.
05:34That's the equivalent of 16 properties.
05:36Normally, with new developments in the former Mendip area, which includes Froom, you're looking at 30 percent affordable housing.
05:43It does go down if you're building on brownfield land because of all the difficulties dealing with contaminated land and marginal viability that creates.
05:51But when you're dealing with Greenfield, which the Pack Saddlefields site is, then 30 percent is what's expected.
05:58But Live West argued it couldn't provide the affordable housing and put the children's home there, which, of course, would be run by a separate company on behalf of the council.
06:08So the Planning Committee East took the view back in January.
06:12I think it was January 7th.
06:13They made that decision that that balance wasn't acceptable and therefore they refused permission.
06:19But Live West weren't going to take that lying down.
06:22And they decided to lodge an appeal, which is now going to be held by the planning inspector at an inquiry starting this Tuesday, August the 12th at 10 o'clock.
06:31At the former Mendip Council, Mendip District Council offices, I should say, at the Shape Mendip campus in Shepton Mallet.
06:38I was there last week for a separate public inquiry into the planned Selwood Garden community on the southern side of Froom.
06:46And that was an interesting affair.
06:49We heard the opening statements.
06:50We've got full coverage of that on our website.
06:53And we're expecting the Secretary of State, Angela Rayner, to make a final ruling on that sometime before Christmas.
06:59The public inquiry will be getting underway.
07:02The pack saddle will be a more traditional affair where it will be up to the inspector.
07:06We don't know exactly how long the inquiry will sit for.
07:09We don't actually know.
07:11Something I should have checked in advance.
07:13Whether Somerset Council will be defending this.
07:15I had some unconfirmed reports that they were.
07:18But there have been three recent occasions, including two in the former Mendip area, where they have declined to make any formal legal defense.
07:28Essentially employing barristers to go along to an inquiry and saying, yeah, we're not offering any evidence.
07:34We're not calling any witnesses.
07:35We'll help with the legal agreements.
07:37But other than that, you can do what you like.
07:39And unsurprisingly, that led to the inspector ruling in the developer's favor and the homes going ahead.
07:47So we're now heading down Park Hill Drive.
07:51What I'm intending to do is not just retracing my steps from a couple of years ago, but it's showing the route that people will be taking to the town center if the new homes are approved.
08:02Live West have not indicated how soon they would intend to begin construction, given the fact that the appeal result probably won't be known until just before Christmas.
08:12We're probably looking mid 2026 before any work starts and therefore at least three or four months before the first homes are built and occupied.
08:20Obviously, there'll be various conditions attached in terms of contributions to local facilities and how many of those are to be delivered before the first homes can be put forward and occupied.
08:30Standard boilerplate stuff when it comes to planning.
08:33But as we know, with Somerset Council having very limited planning resources, especially when it comes to enforcement, that's keeping an eye on what developers get up to once all the slotted lines have been signed on.
08:46Well, suffice to say, I will be keeping a very close eye on them as I do with all the other major developments in our beloved county.
08:54In addition to the housing, it should be pointed out, for which Live West have promised, like I say, 16 affordable properties out of the 74, the others of which will be run at market rate or offered at market rate, I should say.
09:09They've also promised to provide nearly £157,000 towards local schools and more than £248,000 towards upgrading the Bekington and White Row roundabouts, which are part of the main infrastructure between Froome and Bath near the villages of Bekington and Row, of course.
09:30So, it will be interesting to see, like I say, not just whether the Council defends the appeal, but the stance they're going to take on the reasons for refusal, how many of the committee's chosen decisions will be, or chosen reasons for refusal, I should say, will be carried forward by their barrister.
09:51And I will be bringing you live tweeting coverage of the morning session of that from Shepton Mallet on Tuesday.
09:58It is very warm today. I'm fortunate that there's quite a lot of breeze in Froome.
10:02I may have to shout a little bit as we head further into the town centre, but so far, hopefully, I've been pretty comprehensible, as well as comprehensive.
10:13There is just one slightly difficult junction here that we need to navigate.
10:17Fortunately, it's sort of later in a Saturday afternoon, so things are a little quieter.
10:24I'm having to point the camera this way so that we don't take pictures of all the children using the play area.
10:31I hope you understand.
10:32So, we're now coming along into the Welsh Mill area of Froome, and we're going to move down into the town centre,
10:42past this park, but the allotment's not too far away.
10:47So, we pass Flying Gardens on our right.
10:51And then it's just a case of getting onto the footpath, which I believe is on this side of the river.
10:57This footpath forms part of National Cycle Network Route 24.
11:04Make sure we get out of the way of this cyclist.
11:10And we will head down towards the cheese and grain.
11:14If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Munby here, your local democracy reporter.
11:21I'm in Froome.
11:22We're right next to the river Froome with the Welsh Mill Weir.
11:26Welsh Mill Sleuth, I should point out.
11:28We started our journey today from Pack Saddle Fields, off Pack Saddle Way, at the very northern edge of this town,
11:35the largest town in the former Mindip district.
11:39We are now tracing the steps of how the potential residents of a new development put forward by Live West
11:48will get to the town centre if Live West wins a planning inquiry that starts this coming Tuesday, August the 12th.
11:56We should point out the reason why the inquiry is being held in Shepton Mallet rather than in Froome itself.
12:03It's not any slight against the residents.
12:06It is to do with the size of the chamber that's needed and the proximity of equipment to allow the inspector to do their job properly.
12:16I'm sure that people for Pack Saddle will be putting forward a statement or two over the course of the inquiry
12:25and their views are very well documented, not just on their website but on the Somerset Council planning portal.
12:33So you can be sure that if you object to the development your views will be represented.
12:39Let me know in the comments if you're actually in favour of building on that green space.
12:44I mean Froome compared to some parts of Somerset is relatively blessed when it comes to public open space and its parks.
12:54And of course we have the beautiful river just running through here.
12:58If I'm not mistaken, and if the good people of Mapmen have not deceived me, Froome actually comes from the Celtic word Frama meaning flowing.
13:09And I'm assuming that refers to the river rather than anything else.
13:13But do correct me if I've got that wrong.
13:17Certainly with this amount of shade on a very warm mid-summer day, it's very nice to be out and about in this part of Somerset.
13:27And like I say, this development has had considerable opposition, not only from the public as we pan across the Welsh Mill woods there,
13:39but also from numerous local councillors, including Adam Boyden, who represents the Froome North division that includes the site.
13:49This is what he had to say back when the plans were refused by the Planning Committee East in early January.
13:56He said,
13:57People have used the permissive paths and public rights of way within the site, and there is evidence of extensive public use.
14:04If this application is granted, we would lose something very special.
14:09A view that I'm sure plenty of other people will share.
14:14Councillor Michael Dunk, who represents the Froome West division, also stated at the time,
14:21We haven't covered ourselves in glory here as a landowner.
14:24What we're looking at here is a failed opportunity.
14:27It's a disappointing application with the loss of productive farmland and public immunity.
14:32The housing does not really fit in with the existing housing and have an adverse effect on the character of the local area.
14:39Speaking of the character of the local area, we're now just passing the cheese and grain on our left, one of Froome's main cultural and musical venues.
14:50Of course, this is where the Foo Fighters played just before one of the recent Glastonbury festivals.
14:56We're still on the National Cycle Network Route 24, which runs all the way out into the northern countryside,
15:03eventually linking up with the Collier's Way towards Radstock.
15:07We've done a lot recently on the Froome's Missing Links project, which endeavours to create a complete, as far as possible, off-road walking and cycling link
15:18between Froome and the neighbouring villages, both north towards Radstock and Great Elm and south towards Longleat Safari Park.
15:26And we're hoping to be back on one of those missing links in the coming months to see what progress they're making.
15:32But that's one to watch this space about.
15:37Again, just bending down the cheese and grain. As we look back, the river's now well concealed by all the foliage around here,
15:44including, again, large amounts of brambles.
15:48I wouldn't want to fall into those, but again, loads of juicy blackberries.
15:51So tantalising.
15:56Now, I did read out a couple of statements just there from local councillors, Adam Boyden and Michael Dunk, who were against the application.
16:06And for the sake of balance, I will just provide you with a statement that Live West provided through their consultant D2 Planning Limited.
16:13And here's what they had to say about why the development should go ahead.
16:18We just see the local market packing up there.
16:21They said there is a substantial need for additional housing in the former Mendic district, particularly affordable housing and in Froome.
16:31Hence, the provision of housing on the site should be given significant weight in this appeal.
16:35Froome is a highly sustainable location with a full range of facilities available in the town and with good connectivity by rail, bus and road to keying nearby centers.
16:45Strategically, it is a highly advantageous location for growth to meet the needs of the former Mendic district and should be preferred above other less sustainable and accessible locations.
16:57They go on.
16:58Delivery of homes in the town has not been keeping pace with need and there is no indication that there are deliverable sites available for development to meet needs in the local plan period for the next four years.
17:09The benefits of the scheme include the delivery of market and affordable housing in a variety of tenures, that's social rent, affordable rent, so on and so forth, as well as the delivery of a children with disabilities home, employment generation during the construction phase, financial contributions to education facilities in the town and the creation of a softer urban edge to the town with the location along with the provision of a new public open space.
17:31So that's Liv West's reasoning behind it, and funnily enough, plenty of the reasoning they gave was almost identical to the arguments that the Selber Garden Community Consortium made at last week's inquiry, looking into 1700 homes on the southern edge of Froome, talking about the fact that delivery of new housing in Froome has declined.
17:53We are in a housing crisis, we are in a housing crisis, there is a marked need for affordable housing, Froome is one of the more sustainable parts of the former district in terms of the range of services it offers, and therefore it's beneficial and preferential to put new homes here, so they claim, rather than dotting them around all the different villages in this predominantly rural part of Somerset.
18:20Of course we are also not far from the border of Wiltshire, plenty of people who live in Froome commute out to Warminster or Westbury or further afield to work, and those people have got to live somewhere.
18:32It is complex debate, there's lots of different perspectives, different sides that you can take, and I'm not here to tell you what to think, but I hope that this live stream has given you some valuable context of why this development has proved so contentious, and if you do want to get along to the public inquiry as an observer, you can.
18:55It's too late to register to speak, although the planning inspector may give some discretion on the day, but the hearing will begin at the Shep's Mendit Campus, the former Mendit District Council offices, off the 8371 Cannards Grave Road in Shepter Mallet this Tuesday, August 12th at 10 o'clock.
19:15And like I say, we should get a ruling on the fate of the Pax Saddlefield site sometime before Christmas.
19:22There is a backlog of decisions by the planning inspectorate at the moment, but depending on how many witnesses we get, how much evidence is offered, and what position the council will take, hopefully we will get something before the year is out.
19:37Well that's it for me today, it's been a little bit shorter than the last few streams we've done, unfortunately the signal has held up reasonably well, we've reached Froome Town Centre, if you've missed any part of this live stream, do feel free to watch it back, it'll be available here for the next 30 days, and I shall be back for another one next Saturday.
19:54At the moment, it looks like I'm going to be way at the other end of the county, up in Selworthy, between Minehead and Porlock, talking all about active travel within the Exmoor National Park.
20:04If that changes, I'll let you know via my Twitter feed, at Daniel Mumby.
20:08In the meantime, from the beautiful Froome Town Centre, this is Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter, saying enjoy the rest of your weekend, and stay cool.
20:17Bye for now.
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