Full Breakdown
Frome Council Sells Saxonvale Site to Newcore Capital, Dashing Community-Led Regeneration Bid
By Drooid · · How we work
Council Decision Overturns Community-Led Regeneration Plan
Somerset County Council announced that the 5-hectare brownfield site in Frome’s town centre will be sold to Newcore Capital, a real-estate investment firm based in Soho, London. The decision was presented at a packed town-hall meeting, where council leaders described the sale as “unconditional” but said they would seek cooperation with the new owners. Residents who had spent months developing the Mayday Saxonvale proposal expressed shock and disappointment.
Community Initiative and Funding
More than 1,000 Frome residents formed the Mayday Saxonvale community benefit society, raising close to £1 million of private contributions. The plan aimed to deliver affordable homes, workspaces, a riverside park and a lido on the 12-acre site. In addition, the society secured a £1.2 million commitment from the social-impact fund Resonance, the largest single investment offered to the project.
Official Statements from Council, Mayday Saxonvale and Newcore Capital
Mayday executive director Paul Oster described the outcome as a lost opportunity for the “UK’s largest community-led regeneration project.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “The people of Frome haven’t simply expressed an opinion. They organised behind this vision and invested their own money.” — Guardian He