About Frome Town Council

Frome Town Council is the parish authority for the town of Frome and is the largest of the 52 parish/town Councils in the Mendip District. It is the third tier of local government, after the County Council and the District Council. Its legal powers are granted to it and regulated by various government acts. The Town Council supplements the provision of local government services in Frome, and provides a range of social and recreational facilities, while promoting and representing the town with other national and statutory bodies.

Quality Status

Frome Town Council is accredited with the status of a Quality Town Council, granted by the Accreditation Panel of the Association of Local Councils. In order to achieve Quality Status, parish and town councils must demonstrate that they have reached the standard required by passing certain criteria including having an appropriately qualified Town Clerk/Chief Executive and by submitting applications that test the Council's processes, their engagement with the public, communications, community leadership and partnership working.

Structure

Frome Town Council has 17 Councillors which are elected every 4 years. They represent six Wards – BERKLEY DOWN WARD (3 Councillors), COLLEGE WARD (3 Councillors), KEYFORD WARD (3 Councillors), MARKET WARD (3 Councillors), PARK WARD (3 Councillors).and OAKFIELD WARD (2 Councillors).

The Town Councillors are unpaid, and currently do not receive any attendance allowance or payments for their duties which they undertake on a purely voluntary basis. The Mayor receives a small allowance to cover the expenses of their public office.

The Civic Year runs from May to April with the election of the Mayor, who is also Chairman of the Council, taking place at the statutory Annual Town Council Meeting each May.

What do we do?

Noted below are some of the key functions of Frome Town Council:

• We manage and maintain green open spaces in the town such as Victoria Park, Mary Baily Playing Field, Murrhardt Gardens, Château Gontier Walk, Zion Path, Rodden Meadow, Weylands and Welshmill.
• We keep Frome blooming with floral displays around the town.
• We provide Christmas lights displays and decorations for the town and organise an annual Christmas event.
• We provide 7 allotment sites which are administered by Frome Allotments Association at Cranmore View, Queens Road, North Hill, Singers Knoll, Orchard Street, Welshmill and Vallis Road.
• We fund and maintain street furniture, signposts, bollards, seats, bus shelters, litter, grit and dog waste bins etc.
• We consider planning applications and pass our views back to the relevant planning authority.
• We support the Town Mayor and the Town Crier as part of the civic tradition and social life of the town.
• We provide community grants to local voluntary or other organisations who demonstrate significant local benefit through their projects e.g. youth activities, Police Community Support Officers, activities for older residents, twinning, the Frome Festival, school crossing patrols etc.
• We provide partnership funding for town CCTV coverage, as part of community safety and anti-social behaviour reduction initiatives with Mendip Community Safety Partnership.
• We support the provision of 'Alcohol Restricted Zones', giving police increased powers to tackle anti–social behaviour related to excessive drinking.
• We encourage and support Twinning activities with our 3 twin towns in Murrhardt, Château-Gontier and Rabka-Zdrój, working in partnership with the Frome Twinning Association.
• We promote tourism, including the presence of an Information Centre in the town and the development of town literature.
• We act as an agent for County and District Council services reporting blocked drains, defective street lights, waste issues and vegetation overgrowing public footpaths. If you notice a defective street light, please make a note of the number on the post as well as the street, as during the day it is impossible to tell which light is not working!
• We consult and engage with residents and the community on matters that are important in the town, then lobby the relevant agencies and third parties on these issues.

How are we funded? How do we spend your money?

Each year the Town Council calculates the money it needs to raise to provide its services and any projects planned for the year ahead. Then it deducts the income which it expects to receive from fees and charges such as the hire of sports facilities, agency work etc. leaving a net amount that it needs to deliver those services and projects. This sum, called the precept, is the amount it levies on Mendip District Council and which is collected by them as a proportion of the total council tax paid by Frome households. For the financial year 2012/2013 the precept is £964,609.