Plans to transform Packsaddle Fields, a beloved green space at the northern edge of Frome, into a housing development are moving forward amid strong community resistance. For over 50 years, Packsaddle Fields has served as a popular walking area for local residents and families, offering a vital natural refuge.
Owned by Somerset Council, the land has been targeted for redevelopment through an agreement with housing provider LiveWest. Despite two planning refusals for proposals including 74 homes and a children’s home on the site, the council has recently fenced off most of the fields, restricting public access to only the existing permissive path.
This action prompted the People for Packsaddle group to stage a protest in March, demanding the removal of the fencing and protection of the fields from any construction. However, the council remains steadfast, with senior officials affirming that Packsaddle Fields is “an appropriate piece of land to be developed as housing.”
Jackie Wheeler, spokesperson for People for Packsaddle, raised concerns at a Somerset Council scrutiny committee meeting in Taunton. She highlighted that Packsaddle Fields is an officially listed Asset of Community Value, lies outside the town’s development boundary, and has never been earmarked for housing. Wheeler criticized the council’s decision to fence off the fields without prior consultation, depriving the public of long-enjoyed green space.
Chris Hall, the council’s Executive Director for Community, Place and Economy, updated Frome Town Council in March 2026. He clarified that fencing the site stemmed from concerns over potential legal threats linked to LiveWest, although he emphasized this was a simplification of the decision-making process. Hall noted that the land, while registered as an Asset of Community Value, remains privately owned by the council and designated for development, not as public open space.
“The permissive path allowed access was always a tolerated convenience, not a public right,” Hall explained. “Broader recreational use had been withdrawn by Somerset County Council in 2020. We have fenced the site to prevent unauthorized access and trespass.”
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to building new homes on the site and supporting LiveWest’s development plans, citing the signed contractual obligations and local housing needs.
The controversy underscores ongoing tensions between community desires to preserve green spaces and local government priorities to address housing demands.