Saxonvale should be a community, not a development
For our community
We’re delivering an ambitious range of place making community spaces, a new dedicated town centre, community buildings, a public Lido, and other resources.
We are committed to creating community and social value in Saxonvale. As a natural extension of the town centre, Saxonvale should become integral to the daily lives of all of Frome’s residents.
The only way this can level of ambition be achieved is by reversing the conventional developer model, with all investment going into the site, and not into shareholder profit.
Community design
The Mayday plan seeks to create a new ‘place’ in Frome, of social value, with it’s own character, green infrastructure, junctions, and avenues that lead to a better community living and well being. A place is not the sum of its buildings, but the carefully created spaces that sit between, encouraging walking, meeting, sitting, thinking.
Roads take a back seat, pedestrians and cyclists are centre stage. Green corridors weave throughout the site, with further communal green spaces providing places to meet and congregate. Building height is low, letting light flow and lines of sight appear.
We’re creating a place where people can live, work, play, grow and celebrate our unique history.
Green Spaces
Use of the new Riverside Park can be maximised for recreational use, for example, sports, play and forest school learning.
The site also gives the ability to cycle and walk to work via new green corridors, enlivening connections with the town centre, and creating people-friendly localities.
Community Owned Assets
A range of buildings and the public realm to be owned by, and directed by, the community in perpetuity. This includes the riverside open air lido and hotel.
These assets will be places where the priorities of the community can play out.
Where these assets return a profit, these will be fed back into delivering further social value in Saxonvale and Frome.
Buildings for our community
The Mayday plan will deliver new buildings as community assets totalling over 3,000 sqm. some of these buildings will operate as social enterprises, owned by Mayday Saxonvale, with any profits reinvested in Frome.
- The Pavilion Building feature building of 560 sqm overlooking the riverside park and lido with space for community cultural activities and a Mayday run café and office suite.
- In Historic Merchants Barton, the Western Warehouse and other ancillary buildings will deliver 2,360 sqm of community assets. Current intentions include a live youth music venue, workshop space, a community regional business centre, and space for the Black Swan Arts centre.
Frome’s freshwater spring spa
Our plan will use the benefits of Frome’s freshwater spring to create a new community-owned spa, named after Merchants Barton.
Using the underwater natural spring beneath the site, the spa will offer a variety of treatments and therapies, and projected to support over 20 jobs.