11/12/2019
Frome has a growing housing problem ...Nick Dove FACLT Director
Frome has an affordable housing problem. Private rentals are very expensive, there is a real scarcity of social housing and the opportunity to buy is beyond the reach of many of our young people. Finding an affordable home in the town they have lived in for years and where the friends and family live is often too costly. Many are moving to other cheaper places or sharing with friends and families, this can’t be right.
We live in a fantastic town, friendly, unique and with a real mix of people some working locally in our independent businesses, some travelling to Bath, Trowbridge and beyond for work. We have a vibrant artistic community, great local schools, a train station and a fully independent council focused on local needs. So what can we do to help local people, who have helped make Frome ‘great’ continue to live in this fantastic community?
A solution.
A group of local volunteers have decided “enough is enough” and have a vision to address this growing problem. They have formed Frome Area Community Land Trust (FACLT) to help local people find somewhere secure to live. FACLT will obtain the funding to build energy efficient, well designed and inexpensive homes for local people to live in. They have already secured funds from a government department, Homes England, that was set up to support Community Land Trusts (CLT). This initial funding will enable them to secure land and conduct feasibility studies. Their initial goal is build 15 homes in Frome, these would be rented at a below market rent to local people. A small beginning but FACLT see this as just the start and will work tirelessly to enable the building of more affordable homes for local people and give young people in particular the choice to stay in their home town.
Your help is needed
However FACLT has a significant obstacle to overcome and that is finding land. They hope by reaching out to the people of Frome some land will be found. It has to be in Frome or on its borders and it has to be affordable. They can’t compete with private developers but can, in some cases, obtain land that private developers cannot build on.They’d like the community to help them to identify land in Frome that might be a potential site. They don’t need to build all 15 houses on one plot so any size plot that might be available would be of interest. FACLT would like to hear from anyone who potentially has a plot of land or think they know of somewhere suitable. A quick email into [email protected] and the FACLT Directors would immediately research the site and establish its feasibility.
For more information on the Frome Area Community Land Trust go to www.fromeareaclt.org or check out the page Photo by Mark Brookes
