Extra funding has been agreed for a flagship redevelopment scheme in Somerset, with the district council promising that work to clear the site will begin before the end of summer.

Mendip District Council owns the Saxonvale site in Frome, and has been working with the Acorn Property Group to develop the land with 300 homes, commercial outlets and communal green space.

The council's planning board voted in late-January to grant outline planning permission for the scheme, with Homes England providing nearly £4M in grants to help clear the site to allow construction to begin.

An additional £175,000 has now been approved to speed up the remaining planning process, with the council promising the site clearance will begin by September.

This comes as campaigners from Mayday Saxonvale publicly urged council leader Ros Wyke to halt all progress on Acorn's vision to allow their alternative vision for the site to be publicly debated.

Here's everything you need to know about where things stand with the scheme:

What is the Saxonvale site?

The Saxonvale site lies between Garsdale and the River Frome near the town centre, north of the Merchants Barton car park and near the Silk Mills Studio.

The site, which includes a number of disused industrial buildings, was acquired by the council in August 2018.

Since then, the council and Acorn have been working on a scheme which brings the brownfield site back into use, providing much-needed housing and employment space which will compliment the town centre.

The council wants the site to be home to "a meticulously designed scheme, it takes the historic grain of Frome as its starting point and delivers a characterful, vibrant, mixed-use community, with flexible commercial uses to support the local economy, high-quality public realm, and homes for all ages."

Why is more money needed?

The council has already spent £9.2M on the Saxonvale site, including its purchase and the work carried out in the run-up to the outline plans being approved.

But while the planning board voted to grant permission in January (despite significant public opposition), some of the "enabling works" to clear and prepare the site cannot get under way until all legal agreements are finalised between the council and Acorn.

These works include removing hazardous materials, disconnecting services and utilities connections to the redundant buildings, clearing vegetation and demolishing "dangerous and derelict" concrete structures.

While Homes England has provided £3.95M towards these enabling works, the money has to be spent in its entirety by December.

The additional £175,000 will be used to speed up the reserved matters applications comprising the fine details of the designs – including the proposed bridge over the river at the northern edge of the site.

What has the council said about it?

The additional funding, which comes from the council's capital programme, was approved by the council's cabinet when it met in Shepton Mallet on Monday evening (July 12).

Councillor Barry O'Leary, portfolio holder for enterprise and finance, said this would "add value" to the site in the long run.

He added: "This could have been taken as a portfolio holder decision, but we chose instead to bring it through the cabinet to be transparent.

"This is an exemplar project using innovative building techniques in a very challenging site.

"In getting shovels in the ground and beginning work, we are beginning to bring this new neighbourhood into being.

"This is really the proper beginning of the renewal of the Saxonvale heritage site. There are some very strict conditions around the Homes England money, and we're up against a deadline."

Mr O'Leary also promised that construction staff would be on-site in September once all outstanding legal agreements had been signed.

He said: "The first and most obvious sign for the public is two hand-crafted oak noticeboards, made from sustainable materials by a local Frome-based firm, which will inform them as to what's progressing on the site.

"Homes England has looked at the site and want to use it as a stand-out project. This can't just be done in a casual way.

"We will endeavour to bring future decisions about the project back through the council in the normal and transparent way. This is a project that will benefit all of the district."

Is everyone on the council okay with this?

While there was no serious dissent within the cabinet, not everyone was completely won over by the proposals.

Councillor Michael Dunk (whose Frome Market ward includes the site) asked for a breakdown of how the £175,000 would be spent, and questioned why this cost wasn't being borne by the developer.

He said: "I would have thought that normally this expense would have fallen to Acorn as the applicants. Why are we paying for it?

"Is the application restricted in scope to just the bridge over the river and the public green areas? If it is, when might we expect the other reserved matters to come forward – and who is then footing the bill?"

Mr Dunk also asked to have sight of a recent assessment on the viability of the scheme – an issue which has dogged the council for nearly a year.

Mr O'Leary declined to answer Mr Dunk's questions during the meeting, but said he would receive a full written response in due course.

What about the Mayday Saxonvale proposals?

The not-for-profit group Mayday Saxonvale has put forward an alternative vision for the site, with an emphasis on increased employment space and lower-cost housing.

The proposals (which went out to public consultation in May) include:

More than 10,000 sq m of commercial space (compared to a maximum of 4,181 sq m under the Acorn plans)

Up to 40 per cent of new homes being affordable (compared to 24 per cent under the Acorn plans)

A new site for St John's C of E First School

A new riverside public lido and other community buildings

In an open letter to council leader Ros Wyke, Mayday directors Paul Oster and Damon Moore said this was "a make or break moment for Frome" and urged us to listen to alternative proposals for the site.

They said: "Saxonvale is the last opportunity for development in the town centre. It's a development that will change the character of Frome forever.

"Frome has businesses that want to grow, and new businesses that want to move here, but can't because there are no premises for them.

"Frome does not need 300 high-density apartments in its town centre, with barely any commercial space."

The directors said their vision for the site was "viable, funded and deliverable" and would "deliver a vibrant, mixed, characterful, ambitious development that is a real extension of Frome's town centre".

The council said it had not yet received Mayday Saxonvale's application, and would not be pre-emptively commenting on the proposals therein.

It did clarify, however, that the Mayday plans would not be able to utilise the Homes England funding if approval were hypothetically granted before the end of December.

A spokesman said: "The Homes England grant has been awarded to, and is unilaterally controlled by, the council to provide remediation, demolition, site investigation, site preparation, ecological and infrastructure works and/ or such other works agreed and required to develop the site for residential housing.

"The leader of the council does not respond to adverts taken out in local newspapers, and has not received a letter herself.

"The advert appears to make reference to a planning application – so again, it would be entirely inappropriate for her to respond under these circumtances."

What happens next?

Acorn has confirmed that staff from its chosen contractor Balfour Beatty will begin the site clearance in September, with the plans for the new bridge due to be submitted before the end of the year.

Robin Squire, managing director of Acorn's Bristol region, said: "We are looking forward to transforming Saxonvale from a derelict site into a vibrant new sustainable neighbourhood and a destination that Frome can be proud of."

Paul South, pre-construction manager at Balfour Beatty, added: "We are delighted to be working alongside the council on these essential clearance works.

"We look forward to building on our long-standing relationship with the council while also benefiting the community in Frome, providing numerous local employment and supply chain opportunities."