In August 2018, Mendip District Council purchased two areas of Saxonvale, a site in Frome which has been neglected for over 20 years. WCI has been supporting Mayday Saxonvale, a challenger application for the site’s redevelopment.
Mendip District Council has been seeking to redevelop the Saxonvale site near the River Frome. Having twice granted permission for a scheme by Acorn Property Group, the Council have received hundreds of objections to the scheme.
Mayday Saxonvale is an alternative scheme which has gathered significant public support and which now has the Council’s planning board’s approval. The revised plans aim to better support the community and present 182 rather than the 300 homes originally granted. Of these 182 homes, 40% will be affordable – higher than the council’s own 30% target for new developments.
The plans include a hotel, a spa, a lido, a music and performance space and a new footbridge over the River Frome.
WCI supported Mayday Saxonvale with the preparation of a highly progressive sustainable drainage scheme (SUDs) based on a detailed Flood Risk Assessment. Our SUDs scheme received rare praise from the Councils Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) who said
“The strategy as a whole makes good use of source control measures throughout the development and minimises the use of below ground attenuation (less than 25% of the total attenuation provision). The overall approach to the Priority of SUDs across the site is deemed appropriate and one of the best we have seen for a site of this size and complexity”
