Michelle RuminskiSomerset political reporter

BBC Saxonvale site in the middle of Frome looking derelict. Tree in the foreground and old empty factory buildings in the background There are bits of greenery among the paths. There are a couple of sets of railings, one of them above a wall of graffiti. — The 12-acre Saxonvale site has lain derelict for decades and has been the subject of several failed regeneration plans

A social enterprise is to launch a community share offer to raise the money it needs to buy and redevelop a 12-acre town centre site.

Mayday Saxonvale plans to build the UK’s first “community-led masterplan” in Saxonvale, a derelict brownfield site in Frome, Somerset, and promises to reinvest profits back into the community.

In October, Somerset Council withdrew its offer to exclusively sell the land to the group, when it failed to complete the sale because of a lack of funds.

Mayday Saxonvale’s chair, Brigid Clarke, said: “Unless we act now, Saxonvale will be bought by a private, profit-led development in an open market sale and any profits will leave Frome.”

“This is an extremely exciting opportunity and we are inviting you, our community, to become co-owners of Saxonvale with us,” she added.

Clarke continued: “Mayday’s community share offer will help ensure we keep value here within our town and our community. We have one chance to buy this land and protect this place we all call home. This is real, people-powered development and a once-in-a-generation chance to protect and shape the future of our town, our Saxonvale.”

The minimum amount people are invited to invest is £250.

In return, they will get a vote in decision-making and a say in the long-term future of the site, which has lain derelict for decades and been the subject of several failed regeneration plans.

Mayday Saxonvale has secured £1.2m from the Resonance Community Developers Fund to support its new bid to Somerset Council.

Its plan includes building more than 260 homes, of which at least 30% would be affordable.

There will also be employment space and community assets, which include a lido.

Jon Rolls, head of developing communities at Resonance, said the social impact fund “supports communities to own and develop assets in their local neighbourhoods because we believe this helps communities to be more sustainable and resilient”.

He added: “We hope that the community gets behind this once-in-a-lifetime chance to steer the regeneration of Frome.”

Artist’s impression of what the regeneration of the Saxonvale site will look like if developed by Mayday Saxonvale

Studio Saar Artist's impression of what the regeneration of the Saxonvale site will look like. There are numerous buildings drawn in black, which are surrounded by green trees. The River Frome is shown in the lower left corner of the image. There is a dotted arrow in the bottom of the image pointing to the left, labelled 'The Blue Way' and another pointing towards the top right saying: The Green Way'. — Artist’s impression of what the regeneration of the Saxonvale site will look like if developed by Mayday Saxonvale

At a meeting in October, Somerset Council’s ruling executive voted to pull out of a deal to exclusively sell the site to Mayday Saxonvale after giving the social enterprise nine months to find the money to buy it.

The authority said it intended to put the site back on the open market.

This means it will be able to work with a different developer or negotiate a new deal with Mayday Saxonvale, which plans to launch its community share offer in late January.

Somerset Council has been contacted for comment.

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