Independents for Frome town councillors Mel Usher, Peter Macfadyen and Jean Boulton were joined by Green Party councillors at Mendip Distrct, Stina Falle, Des Harris and Shane Collins, to talk about their experiences in representing Frome. Green candidates for Somerset County Council, Martin Dimery, John Clarke and Pepita Collins also spoke, about their ideas for what they want to achieve at county. 

 

Among the many issues that emerged were:

- More local funding for education, from primary through to further education

- More job opportunities in Frome, and more affordable housing

- Young people’s mental health and wellbeing

- Joining up of health and social care

- Pooling ‘intelligence’ and learning – how to share ideas/information and resources across all layers of council

 

 

Des Harris described the problems with the three tier council system - Town, District and County. Most people have no idea which council does what, and communication between the different councils can be poor. Mel Usher stated that two of Frome's current county councillors have never been to a Town Council meeting. He argued that innovative approaches to service provision are desperately needed, with cuts threatening many services like social care. The town council want to explore such approaches, but the disconnect with Somerset county makes this extremely difficult. Cllr Harris echoed this dissatisfaction - as a councillor at Mendip District, he spoke of his experiences of working fruitfully with the Town Council, but finding Frome's county councillors unresponsive. 

 

It was suggested that communication problems may result from county councillors' unwillingness to work with others outside their own party. John Clarke responded that Green county councillors would always seek to work together on any issue with councillors in other parties who share their values and goals. Shane Collins spoke about his success in taking such a collaborative approach as a Green District councillor, working with both the Town Council and local groups like the Mount Community Association to secure three green spaces in Frome (at Packsaddle, Chapman's Close and Tower View) as community assets, which would otherwise have been sold off for development. 

 

Martin Dimery spoke of his goal of getting a 'Fair Deal for Frome' from Somerset, contrasting the progressive, solution-focussed approach taken by the town council with the county's lack of interest or investment - in particular expressing surprise that a growing town the size of Frome should have only one secondary school, and a shortage of primary school places. Cllr Usher suggested that resource allocation at Somerset is about 'who shouts the loudest' and that Frome has not had county councillors willing to demand that the town receive its fair share, or to put the case for investment that would work for Frome, such as a more pedestrian-friendly town centre. Cllr Boulton spoke of the work going on to bring more employment to Frome. She said that the nuclear and aeropsace industries in other parts of the county tend to be the focus at Somerset, rather than the more entrepreneurial ‘microenterprises’ which we see in Frome. She raised the issue that the County has plans to set up a Somerset University, but that she had been told that there were no plans currently for any part of the new University of Somerset to be based in Frome.

 

Peter Macfadyen described how a key part of the Independents for Frome approach is increasing democracy and engaging people, for example with recent experiments in participatory budgeting, and how the Green county candidates' message of community engagement sits well with this approach. John Clarke said that if elected he and the other candidates would aim to be open and transparent about their activities at county, and to consult with community groups and voters on the issues which are most important to them. 

 

Stina Falle has already been taking this approach as a District Councillor, and described her weekly Goodwill Cafe where residents can drop in to get help with problems. As well as making a positive difference to people's lives, Cllr Collins said that being a councillor can give a platform to raise the profile of important issues, like Somerset's pension fund's heavy investment in fossil fuels, even when in a minority, as the Green group are at Mendip. Pepita Collins agreed that there is value in being 'an irritant' as part of a minority group, standing up to corporate interests, and working together with other groups to fight for green goals and fairer decisions at Somerset county. 

 

The meeting was organised by East Mendip Green Party, who would like to thank Michael Gay for chairing, and everyone who attended. The Somerset County Council election takes place on Thursday May 4th.