Mary Portas is in town! I wrote to tell her all about our independent shops http://tinyurl.com/5v36pav so perhaps that's why? See a couple of pics so far from Stardust Cafe http://tinyurl.com/6gvm6l9 & Truly Sopel http://tinyurl.com/6dhgdyd

.... and this from the Somerset Standard http://tinyurl.com/6xjnghe

Together with the existing 22,000 sqfeet of the present town centre supermarkets and the Mendip Plan for another large food store it would mean that there would be more than sufficient supermarket-type shopping in Frome.

To go any bigger would be certain to damage the rest of the trade and life of the town. 
Ms Portas's statement was a general view. I think she would be first to admit that each town is different and that you have to look at their present state and plans before making a recommendation. She does favour clone type shops and is associated with vey large regional Malls which have damaged smaller towns.


Just how you would "incentivise" the owners of town centre Hypermarkets to regenerate areas especially whilst outselling and undermining local stores. By incentives does Ms Portas mean the sort of "bribery" we have seen by big hypermarkets when they give a new police station or library to the town? This would hardly be regeneration.


Frome can have another supermarket of decent size without going over the top. A balance between our present lively friendly shops and new developments would be best without planting an all-consuming monster like a cuckoo in our nest.
Don't forget that in our Mendip Council Development plan there are going to be lots of new shops. So let's do it well but let's not make a mistake and over do it."