Letter sent to Duncan Sharkey the Chief Executive of Somerset Council to try to get SC to back off from the sale and development of Packsaddle Fields:

Dear Mr Sharkey, 

Somerset County Council's decision to sell Frome's Packsaddle Community Fields must be urgently reviewed  

We recently read with interest the new Unitary Somerset Council's four priorities: 

• A Greener, More Sustainable Somerset
• A Healthy and Caring Somerset
• A Fairer, Ambitious Somerset, and
• A Flourishing and Resilient Somerset.

How deeply disappointing and dispiriting it is, then, before the Council has even come into official existence, to have seen these promises so brazenly set aside.  

You may not be personally acquainted with the sale of Packsaddle Community Fields and the shameful legacy which the new Council will be inheriting. We would therefore like to share with you the details of this desperate affair, and urge you, if your four pledges are to mean anything at all, to urgently review the decision, before it is too late. 

The key facts are as follows: 

• Packsaddle Community Fields, located on Frome's northern edge, form an accessible, tranquil Green Space of just over 8 acres. 
• Packsaddle Community Fields have been extensively used as a crucial recreational resource for the last 50 years. It has been, and is, absolutely vital to the wellbeing of local residents and to community cohesion. 
• Packsaddle Community Fields are a designated Asset of Community Value (ACV). The ACV application was supported by over 100 compelling testimonies from local residents, in which they movingly described the impact of the fields on their lives.  
• Packsaddle Community Fields are on the register for listed Green Spaces.
• Packsaddle Community Fields are outside of the Mendip District Council development boundary. 
• Packsaddle Community Fields are of huge ecological value. A recent bat survey, for example, listed the area as being of 'international importance'. 
• The mature pasture, trees, ancient walls and hedgerows of Packsaddle Community Fields are of proven historical value.
• Packsaddle Community Fields have been largely left wild and undisturbed for many years. They therefore make an important contribution to local carbon sequestration, acting as a green lung for North Frome. 

The decision by Somerset County Council to enter into an Option Agreement with LiveWest for the residential development of Packsaddle Community Fields demonstrates an unconscionable disregard for climate, conservation, and the community. The decision was not commensurate with Somerset County Council's 'Climate and Ecological Emergency' policies, nor will it satisfy the Unitary Council's first two priorities - 'A Greener, More Sustainable Somerset' and 'A Healthy and Caring Somerset'? We also draw your attention to the following: 

• Mendip District Council's current advice "to preserve and enhance the biodiversity of our area" and "reduce your impact on the local environment is key to ensuring nature thrives and grows".
• Mendip District Council's Local Supplementary Planning Document to provide and protect open space and green space, as guided by Natural England recommendations. 
• Mendip District Council's declared aim to enhance the local environment and contribute to climate change goals.
• Mendip District Council's Sustainability Appraisal Objectives.
• Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (Section 40 NERC Act 2006) for planning authorities to have regard for the conservation (protection and enhancement) of bio-diversity.

The decision to build on Packsaddle Community Fields will result in an act of wilful environmental destruction which conflicts with Council and national policy and runs counter to just about everything one reads or hears about the importance of Green Spaces, from trusted national organisations, the medical profession (who are increasingly prescribing time in Green Space), important environmental groups, and a vast array of academics. It conflicts, too, with a large and growing public concern.

Moreover, what's especially enraging about SCC's conduct is the conspicuous lack of moral propriety. Here are some urgent questions about a deeply flawed process which demand your attention: 

• Why was there no public consultation prior to the decision to sell? 
• Why did the SCC decision meeting of 9/3/22 conclude:
• "Climate Emergency & Sustainability Implications: There are none"
• "Health and Wellbeing Implications: There are None"
• "Social Value: There are none" (sic)?
• Why, even after the ACV and Green Space decisions, is SCC still intent on depriving the community of this vital asset?  
• Why has the decision "not been considered by the Scrutiny Committee"?
• In advance of the decision meeting on 9/3/22, why was such short notice given to residents and Frome Town Council? Some Somerset County Council officials were involved with the decision as early as Jan 2021 (Jason Vaughan, for instance, signed off the decision on 4/1/21) and yet the community and the Town Council were informed mere days ahead of the final meeting. 
• What legitimate process was followed to negotiate a behind-closed-doors contractual agreement with a single supplier (Live West) before the decision was made?
• Why did you not follow the statutory legal requirement for a tender process or have a Secretary of State Exemption?
• If it was, and is, all 'above board', why is there still so much secrecy surrounding the decision? Hiding behind "commercial considerations" is to avoid scrutiny and accountability, and only heightens suspicion. How does keeping figures secret, like 'estimated receipt', tally with getting best commercial value?
• Why was a reckless, egregious clearance of the fields carried out by SCC last Summer, thus utterly undermining the ongoing LiveWest ecological survey? Was this calculated or simply negligent?  
• Throughout the whole process, where has been the concern for our town and our community: the very people on whose authority and behalf you are meant to act? 

We are shocked, appalled and bewildered by Somerset County Council's decision. To treat constituents in this fashion is reprehensible and inexcusable. Our appeal to you is very straightforward: this decision must be urgently and comprehensively reviewed by the new Council. The copy list below will speak to the seriousness with which we take this matter, and you should be assured of our intention to explore all avenues for recourse, including through all available legal means. Conduct of this sort is not acceptable and cannot go unchallenged. We await your response. 

Yours sincerely, 

The People for Packsaddle (PfP) Steering Committee