Saxonvale in Frome

The Council and its predecessor authority have explored a number of options for bringing the site forward over several years, These included previous regeneration proposals, a preferred purchaser process and a subsequent agreement to sell the site to Mayday Saxonvale Development Ltd. When that sale did not complete, the Council undertook an open market process to identify a purchaser capable of taking the site forward.

Executive approved Newcore Capital as the preferred bidder following assessment of eight bids received through that process.

The Council assessed bids against a range of criteria.

These included:

Financial offer
Proof of funds
Transaction timescales
Experience and track record
Deliverability and transaction certainty

The decision was not based on headline bid value alone.

The Council is required to consider more than simply the headline financial figure when disposing of a major asset.

The assessment considered a range of factors including proof of funding, deliverability, transaction risk, experience and timescales.

Proof of funds were requested to demonstrate that bidders had the financial means to complete on a sale at the bid level submitted. Bidders were asked to give assurance in the form of bank statements or letters from lenders. Cash purchasers with no further governance decision required to release funds gave a greater level of assurance than those that relied upon borrowing.

Those that could not demonstrate they have the financial means to pay their bid price would have scored poorly as no assurance to complete could be provided.

Future potential funding streams were not considered to be a proof of funds as these are not guaranteed. Any gap between the funding available and the bid price poses a risk to completion.

At Saxonvale, a number of alternative routes had already been explored and failed before the site was marketed through an open sale process.

Firepool and Saxonvale are different sites with different histories, funding arrangements, ownership circumstances and delivery challenges.

The Council does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to regeneration.

Firepool has already benefited from significant infrastructure and enabling works funded through the Future High Streets Fund. The Council considered that a different delivery model was appropriate in those circumstances.

The sale process is ongoing and information relating to the bids remains commercially sensitive.

Disclosure of detailed bidder information could prejudice the Council’s position and the interests of bidders. If Somerset Council becomes known as an organisation that publishes commercially confidential bid submissions, it may impact on the confidence that other bidders have for contracts across the Council, reducing competition and driving up costs.

The Council therefore considered certain information in exempt session in accordance with Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Yes.

Before exempt information was considered, the Council assessed whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

That assessment concluded that the exemption should be maintained because disclosure of commercially sensitive information could prejudice the Council’s position and the interests of the parties involved.

Some discussions involved commercially sensitive information relating to bids, financial offers and the business affairs of bidders.
Local authorities are permitted to exclude the public from part of a meeting where exempt information would otherwise be disclosed.
The decision itself was taken through the Council’s formal decision-making process.

CBRE Limited has commented on this and released this statement:
CBRE Limited has been advising Somerset Council on the Saxonvale land sale process since 2023.
CBRE Investment Management Limited (CBRE IM) is a separate company.
CBRE IM employees and consultants have had no involvement in CBRE Limited’s work for Somerset Council in relation to Saxonvale.

The Council follows its established governance and procurement processes when managing major transactions.
Appropriate checks and declarations are required as part of the process.
We are aware that a conflict has been alleged but there is no evidence that any such conflict of interest is present and so no impact identified on the process to select a preferred bidder.

Discussions with Homes England are ongoing regarding the future management of grant conditions.
Those discussions are separate from the selection of a preferred bidder and the conditions will apply regardless of the outcome of the current bidding process.

No.
The issue relating to Homes England grant conditions was not specific to any individual bidder. The Council was advised that Homes England’s position would apply regardless of which bidder was selected as preferred bidder.
Executive was therefore considering a matter that affected all bids equally, rather than an issue that favoured one bidder over another.
As above, discussions with Homes England regarding the future management of grant conditions remain ongoing.

No.
The decision relates to the sale of the site and the selection of a preferred bidder.
Any future development proposals would need to be developed by the purchaser and would be subject to consultation, planning scrutiny and the normal planning process.

Newcore Capital has stated publicly that it intends to undertake community engagement before developing detailed proposals for the site.
Any future planning applications would also include opportunities for public participation through the planning process.

The report and supporting papers are available on the Council’s democracy pages:
Executive decision on Saxonvale

Yes.
A call-in request relating to the Executive decision on Saxonvale was submitted by councillors and accepted by the Chair of the Corporate & Strategic Scrutiny Committee. The matter will be considered by the Committee on 14 October 2026.

A call-in is part of the Council’s normal governance process. It allows a Scrutiny Committee to review an Executive decision before it is implemented.
The purpose is to enable councillors to examine the decision-making process, the information available to decision-makers and any issues raised by those requesting the call-in.

No.
A call-in does not indicate that a decision was unlawful or incorrectly made. It is a mechanism within the Council’s constitution that allows Scrutiny to review certain Executive decisions before they are implemented.

A range of reports, decisions and supporting documents relating to Saxonvale are available on Somerset Council’s democracy website.
Key reports and decisions

• Executive – 31 July 2024 (Saxonvale, Frome)
  Consideration of options for the future of the site, including bids received.
  Democracy Somerset | Decision Report – Saxonvale Executive 31 July 2024 (PDF)
• Executive – 23 January 2025 (Saxonvale, Frome)
  Decision to proceed with the sale of the site to Mayday Saxonvale Development Ltd.
  Democracy Somerset | Decision Report Saxonvale Executive – 23 January 2025 (PDF)
• Executive – 24 October 2025 (Saxonvale, Frome)
  Decision regarding the withdrawal of exclusivity and next steps for the site.
  Democracy Somerset | Decision Report Saxonvale Frome – 24 October 2025 (PDF)
• Executive – 23 September 2026 (Saxonvale, Frome)
  Decision to approve Newcore Capital as the preferred bidder following the open marketing process.
  View report
  View decision notice
  View background and document history

Supporting documents

• CBRE Marketing Brochure
• CBRE Bid Pro forma

Some information considered by Executive was commercially sensitive and was therefore restricted in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972. Details of the exemptions applied are available here:

• • Reasons for restricted document 6/4
  • Reasons for restricted document 6/5