The many faces of one quaint market town's housing crisis

Behind Frome's quaint exterior, its residents are facing a housing crisis, with soaring rents and battles over new developments, as ITV News Investigations Editor Dan Hewitt reports

Words by Isabel Alderson-Blench, ITV News Investigations Producer

With its cobbled streets and artisan shops, Frome often appears at the top of ‘best place to live’ lists.

But as the popularity of the quaint town has risen, so have property prices. So much so that last year, Frome Town Council declared a housing crisis.

With the average rent of £1,500, almost half the average Frome salary, housing has become unaffordable for many locals - none more so than 35-year-old Lucy.

Lucy grew up in Frome and has lived here all her life.

'Our plan was always to save up for a mortgage and buy, but it's just a pipedream now,' says Lucy

“Born and bred,” she says proudly. Now a mum of two, we meet her at breakfast time in the kitchen of her childhood home, where she is living.

Lucy works in a local shop and her partner works in construction. They had dreams of getting onto the property ladder and living as a family but they still can’t afford anywhere.

“Frome prices are beyond a joke,” she says.

“Our plan was always to save up for a mortgage and buy. But it’s just a pipe dream now.”

They can’t even afford to rent - Lucy shows us three-bedroom properties available in the local area on her phone.

“It’s £1,200, £1,300 - crazy money. I don’t earn that much. I’m, sort of, stuck,” she says.

Lucy’s youngest child is six-months old. He sleeps beside her in her childhood bedroom. The space is cramped. He has almost outgrown his cot, and soon, the family will outgrow this house altogether.

Lucy is on the list for a council house, but the expected wait is around two years. She is out of options.

“I’ll probably have to declare myself homeless. I’m trying to put it off as long as I can, purely because I don’t want to be in a Travelodge, with two kids. With no kitchen.”

Just two minutes drive down the road from Lucy’s house is a 240-acre site where developers are proposing to build 1,700 new homes, of which they say more than 500 will be affordable.

It’s a sunny, June morning and the greenfield site is undoubtedly beautiful. It’s a stark contrast to the hectic and cramped house that Lucy and her family live in.

Despite the desperate need for more, affordable, homes, not everyone wants to see them built.

Tina Meldon moved to Frome from Kent more than 40 years ago. She lives on the other side of town, but has come to meet us by the site.

“I don’t want to see the town ruined by this massive parasite on the edge of town, just sucking the life out of the rest of it,” she says.

Tina is part of a local campaign group to stop the development happening. So far, they’ve been pretty successful; the plans were submitted to the council three years ago and are still yet to be approved.

Harold Shaw - originally from Yorkshire, but a long-time Frome resident - is retired and lives a stone’s throw from the edge of the site. He doesn’t think the development is the answer to the town’s housing crisis.

“We all appreciate houses are needed,” he says. “But houses of a certain type.”

“Build more council houses,” he suggests.

Would he approve of the development if it was 1,700 council houses? We ask.

“Well…” he looks unsure.

'There’s no guarantee that this will be the affordable homes,' says Lollie Melton

Lollie Melton is at least a generation younger than Tina and Harold. She is the only one of the group who doesn’t own her own home - she rents privately and says buying a house in Frome is out of her reach - but still doesn’t think development is the answer.

“There’s no guarantee that this will be the affordable homes, the starter homes, something that one day might be within my price range,” she tells us.

When we ask them if their opposition is typical of those who are against development in their local area - NIMBYism, or 'not in my back yard'.

They all shake their heads.

"That's rubbish," Harold says.

Frome is not alone in its housing struggle; planning approvals have slumped everywhere. Almost 30% fewer homes were approved to be built in Britain last year compared to 2019.

The man trying to get the 1,700 homes approved in Frome blames a slow planning system, and one that gives too much power to locals who oppose the plans.

'These policies are more political than focused on what we really need to do in the country,' says James Tizzard

“It’s frustrating,” says James Tizzard, partner of Land Value Alliances.

Of the public consultations where people like Tina, Harold and Lollie raise concerns with plans, James says: “It would take a very brave person to turn up in that environment and say, ‘I want housing.’ The [planning system] is in a bad state.”

“I think these policies are more political than focused on what we really need to do in the country, which is build and deliver houses.”

James believes that after years of delays, the final approval from the council will come soon.

For Lucy, and many others like her, locked out of a broken system and stuck in limbo, the future is far less certain.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...