Stories, a socially responsible property development company, has been announced as the preferred joint venture partner for Mayday Saxonvale's alternative development plan for Saxonvale, Frome.

Paul Clark, Stories co-founder said: "We are excited at the prospect of working with Mayday Saxonvale to deliver on their plans for the Saxonvale site.

"Our principal role as joint-venture partners will be to provide access to the necessary funding and delivery expertise for the scheme.

"We are fully aligned on delivering the maximum social, economic, and environmental value to Frome.

"We believe that people and communities flourish in better built environments and we aim to realise this vision for Saxonvale, by putting the people of Frome and their lives at the heart of the process.

"As developers, we hold ourselves to account against a triple bottom line and build empathetic, transparent partnerships.

"We will apply our Impact Model, which leverages our team and our partners' extensive track records to deliver the right outcome needed for Frome's town centre."

Stories, a pending B Corp certified organisation, is working on a number of socially responsible developments across the UK, including Bath Quays North, strategic development support to Oxford University and Legal & General, and St Mungo's homeless facility in the City of Westminster.

Paul Oster, Mayday Saxonvale director, said: "We are delighted to announce Stories as our joint-venture partners, which we see as a crucial step in our ambition to provide Frome with a fully funded and deliverable plan for Saxonvale.

"Stories will provide decades of experience in delivering schemes at this scale. This represents an exciting opportunity to demonstrate a different model of community led development working alongside a social impact developer, with social value, rather than just profit, as the objective.

"Working with a property developer that is aligned and committed to creating long term sustainable value, we can ensure a future for Frome that is economically, socially and environmentally secure."

After the successful consultation, which saw more than 200 of Frome residents giving their views, the plan is now moving towards an Outline Planning submission in June.