Independents for Frome
"Each time the people are squashed down they remember and sooner or later will play their Trump card."
Independents for Frome (IfF) is an organisation created in 2011 to support a group of individuals who wanted to stand for Frome Town Council outside the traditional party political system. People liked what they heard and IfF were subsequently given an outright majority on the council for the last 4 years. The results are a sea change in the way that Frome Town Council operates and a raft of ambitious ideas have been implemented.
In May 2015, the Independents for Frome group won all the 17 seats on the Town Council and has started its four-year term of office.
As a group of individuals we have our own interests and ideas about what we would like for Frome but the list below represents those areas of interest and ambition. We would like to:
In May 2015, the Independents for Frome group won all the 17 seats on the Town Council and has started its four-year term of office.
As a group of individuals we have our own interests and ideas about what we would like for Frome but the list below represents those areas of interest and ambition. We would like to:
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Prioritize Wellbeing – particularly supporting sport; community groups; arts & culture; walking; river corridor; intergenerational to include spaces and services for particular groups such as teenagers and the elderly; and deal with dog fouling and litter.
Actively listen – to allow for better inclusion; communications within Frome both digital and traditional; including more participation events and activities particularly with reference to the Frome Town Hall and civic pride (e.g. cleanliness) Address Inequality – looking at ways to encourage and support employment; apprenticeships; youth training ; green jobs; car club; Fair Frome; education and joined up transport (although we can only lobby on these two). Enable balanced development for Frome – economically, socially, culturally and environmentally. To include the management and development of spaces that we can control such as the river corridor, green spaces etc; and what we can lobby for, including a new development for jobs and shops. Being a registered political party allows us to have the logo on the ballot paper. But this is where any party ambitions end. Every IfF councillor will vote, not according to a mandate or a manifest, but in a way that they feel truly represents the best for Frome. Ask about our candidates ambitions for Frome and you will see that we all differ: The very fact that we are ambitious for Frome is our common ground. 
The first Town Council meeting after 2015 elections
Communication. We have increased the communication coming out of the Town Council, with a new website, Facebook postings and twitter because we believe this is what people want, and it will draw people into genuine participation.
Internally, we have made some really significant changes to how the Council is run using fewer committees and very good staff who are empowered to make things happen. There are more staff, we acknowledge that, but that’s a reflection of our ambition for the town and the need to replace projects and functions that are unlikely to be met by wider government. We’ve tried hard to ensure the first answer council staff give is “yes” rather than finding a reason not to do something… and to cultivate a lightness and positive attitude.
WHY INDEPENDENT?
More information:
Frome Town CouncillorsPublished on Mar 2, 2015
Peter was the Mayor of Frome, northeast Somerset, the author of Flatpack Democracy, and has worked in areas of social justice for 35 years. He is one of the founders Independents for Frome, created to support a group of individuals to stand and get elected to Frome Town Council in 2011.
Courtesy of the Change How website
October 2015 - Frome Town Council
wins major award Frome Town Council has been awarded Star Council of the Year by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). Read more... |
LATEST from FromeFossil Free Futures
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Frome’s first pan-European
Energy Conference.
FTC is twinned with towns in France, Germany and Poland. This foursome joined forced and successfully applied to the EU to run four conferences, one in each town on different subjects.
Energy Conference.
FTC is twinned with towns in France, Germany and Poland. This foursome joined forced and successfully applied to the EU to run four conferences, one in each town on different subjects.
SWITCH conference
a conference looking at renewable technologies and policies in France, Poland, Germany, Holland and the UK took place the next day on March 5th...videos coming soon!
more about this conference...
a conference looking at renewable technologies and policies in France, Poland, Germany, Holland and the UK took place the next day on March 5th...videos coming soon!
more about this conference...
SWITCH seminar
Speakers from UK, Poland, France Holland and Germany at Rook Lane, Frome, following the SWITCH seminar on European renewable energy trends, Friday, March 4th 2016
Speakers from UK, Poland, France Holland and Germany at Rook Lane, Frome, following the SWITCH seminar on European renewable energy trends, Friday, March 4th 2016
Flatpack Democracy - the latest blog from Peter Macfadyen HERE
4-5 March 2016:
SWITCH TO A RENEWABLE FUTURE
Frome Town Council hosts TWO international seminars on Europe's hopes for a renewable energy future.
4th MARCH, 14:00 – 16:30 Planning, Policy and Finance to enable carbon reduction – Local, Regional and European Perspectives.
Rook Lane, Frome, BA11 1DN
Local, Regional and European experts to discussed how towns like Frome can support low carbon retrofit and renewable energy through finance, policy and planning.
Speakers included: Kate Watson of Bristol City Council’s Energy Service, Jan-Willem from Mongoose Energy who are launching the UK’s first community energy tariff in Frome in Spring 2016 and experts from Frome’s twin towns in Murhardt (Germany), Chateau Gontier (France) and Rabka (Poland).
Rook Lane, Frome, BA11 1DN
Local, Regional and European experts to discussed how towns like Frome can support low carbon retrofit and renewable energy through finance, policy and planning.
Speakers included: Kate Watson of Bristol City Council’s Energy Service, Jan-Willem from Mongoose Energy who are launching the UK’s first community energy tariff in Frome in Spring 2016 and experts from Frome’s twin towns in Murhardt (Germany), Chateau Gontier (France) and Rabka (Poland).
5th MARCH
DISCUSSION OUTLINES HOW FROME COULD BECOME A FOSSIL FREE TOWN
At ‘Switch to a Renewable Future’ at the Cheese and Grain in Frome on 5 March, Frome Town Council launched a ‘discussion document’ outlining how Frome could become ‘Fossil Fuel Free’ by 2046. The document will then be taken to Council, for decision later on in the Spring.
Leader of the council Peter Macfadyen said “Generating the power we need to live, work and travel without producing greenhouse gas pollution is a huge challenge but it is one every village, town and city will need to address. Becoming fossil free is about making Frome even cleaner, less polluted and more efficient than it is now. It’s about creating new skilled jobs and businesses opportunities and attracting investment in the town and it’s about the community having greater control and ownership over our essential energy services.”
The announcement follows the United Nations discussions on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015. At the convention global governments including the UK agreed to reduce emissions to ensure that global temperature increases remain ‘well below 2deg.C’. To achieve this virtually all heat and power the world requires will need to be fossil free by 2035. Bristol City Council have also recently announced they will become a zero carbon city by 2050.
For more information visit: www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/switch
or contact: Anna Francis, Resilience Officer, Frome Town Council
Tel. 01373 475574 Email: francisa@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
At ‘Switch to a Renewable Future’ at the Cheese and Grain in Frome on 5 March, Frome Town Council launched a ‘discussion document’ outlining how Frome could become ‘Fossil Fuel Free’ by 2046. The document will then be taken to Council, for decision later on in the Spring.
Leader of the council Peter Macfadyen said “Generating the power we need to live, work and travel without producing greenhouse gas pollution is a huge challenge but it is one every village, town and city will need to address. Becoming fossil free is about making Frome even cleaner, less polluted and more efficient than it is now. It’s about creating new skilled jobs and businesses opportunities and attracting investment in the town and it’s about the community having greater control and ownership over our essential energy services.”
The announcement follows the United Nations discussions on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015. At the convention global governments including the UK agreed to reduce emissions to ensure that global temperature increases remain ‘well below 2deg.C’. To achieve this virtually all heat and power the world requires will need to be fossil free by 2035. Bristol City Council have also recently announced they will become a zero carbon city by 2050.
For more information visit: www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/switch
or contact: Anna Francis, Resilience Officer, Frome Town Council
Tel. 01373 475574 Email: francisa@frometowncouncil.gov.uk