Block Management in Frome
Over 350 listed buildings, more than any other town in Somerset.
As managing agent for blocks in Frome, Plymouth Block Management would look after estate and leasehold matters for RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders. With over 350 listed buildings and a conservation area covering 14.3 per cent of the town, a central block should be assumed designated until checked. River flooding is confined to named streets such as Willow Vale and Market Place, while surface water is the wider exposure.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Frome
Assume Conservation Area Status Until Checked
The conservation area covers 14.3 per cent of Frome, with Trinity one of its ten character areas, and the council counts over 350 listed buildings. We would confirm a block's designation and listing, then obtain any consent needed before specifying external works.
ConsentsPrioritise Radon Measurement on the North Side
Two squares around Welshmill and Innox Hill reach class 4 and one class 5, while the centre is class 2. For a block on the north side we would recommend radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas and record the result.
ComplianceInspect Drainage Along Surface Water Routes
The flood risk assessment records surface water risk along roads and flow routes toward the river, and BA11 is the most frequently sewer-flooded postcode district in former Mendip. We would add drains and gullies to a block's scheduled inspections.
InspectionsCheck Flood Cover on the River Streets
The in-town warning area names Willow Vale, King Street, Saxonvale, Market Place, Bridge Street and Welshmill Road. For a block on one of those streets we would confirm flood cover and claims history at each insurance renewal.
InsuranceManaging a Block in Frome at a Glance
- Local authority
- Somerset Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Somerset Building Control, the council's own service covering the four former district areas
- County
- Somerset
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 99 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Frome to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Over 350 Listed Buildings, More Than Any Somerset Town
One conservation area covering the town, first designated in 1973 with boundaries reviewed in 1976, 1986 and 2004, and appraised on 18 June 2008. There is no separate Trinity conservation area. Trinity is character area 2 of ten within the single designation, described in the appraisal as one of the earliest examples of industrial housing in England. It is an area of extensive planned industrial housing dating from about 1665 to 1725. At 0.991 square kilometres the conservation area covers 14.3 per cent of the built-up town, so a central block should be assumed to be inside it until checked.
The council's 2008 appraisal states that there are over 350 listed buildings in Frome, more than any other town in Somerset, and that the town centre and Trinity have an extraordinarily high density of them. Historic England's current data gives 368 in the built-up area, with 344 inside the conservation area. Of those, two are Grade I, the former Rook Lane Congregational Chapel and the Blue House, and 21 are Grade II*. The 2008 appraisal counted three Grade I, including St John's Church, and 24 Grade II*, but Historic England now lists St John the Baptist at Grade II*. A block in the town centre or Trinity should have its listed status confirmed before any major works are specified.
Frome West Holds over Half the Town's Flats
Across the town, 1,992 of 12,141 households were in flats at the 2021 Census, 16.4 per cent. They are made up of 1,423 in purpose-built blocks, 243 in a converted or shared house, 219 in another converted building and 107 over commercial premises. The internal variation is the useful part. Frome West returns 1,077 flats among 4,704 households, 22.9 per cent, including 148 in other converted buildings. Frome East is 15.1 per cent. In Frome West's converted buildings, lease apportionment and consents for listed fabric need particular care.
River Risk Follows Named Streets; Surface Water Spreads Wider
Fluvial on the Somerset Frome, a tributary of the Bristol Avon, and tightly confined to the river corridor. The in-town warning area covers just 2.6 per cent of the built-up area and the alert 3.9 per cent, with 1.5 per cent of the town in Flood Zone 3 and 3.9 per cent in Flood Zone 2. The in-town warning area names Willow Vale, King Street, Saxonvale, Market Place, The Bridge, Bridge Street, Westway, Scott Road, Justice Lane and Welshmill Road and Lane. The upstream area adds Wallbridge, Harris Close, Tucker Close, Waters Edge, River Walk and Ellworthy Court. River risk in Frome is a question about a specific list of streets rather than about the town. Surface water is the wider exposure. The strategic flood risk assessment records that Frome is at risk even from relatively frequent surface water flooding along roads and topographic flow routes toward the river, with many properties affected in the 0.1 per cent event. It names Frome among the places in the district with the greatest number of historic flooding incidents. The BA11 postcode district is the most frequently sewer-flooded in the whole of the former Mendip area. The Welshmill revetment was built in 1971 after severe flooding in 1968, and Environment Agency commissioned repairs to it were due to begin on 1 September 2026 for about six weeks. For any block in town, drains and gullies belong in scheduled inspections, and blocks on the named river streets need flood cover confirmed at renewal.
Low in the South, Elevated Around Welshmill and Innox Hill
Mostly low with a north-side tail. The town centre returns class 2, 1 to 3 per cent of homes at or above the action level. Across the fourteen one-kilometre squares over the built-up area, eight are class 2 and two are class 1, but two reach class 4 at 5 to 10 per cent and one class 5 at 10 to 30 per cent. The elevated squares are in the north around Welshmill and Innox Hill. South and east Frome is low; the north side is not, so blocks there should have radon measured in ground-floor communal areas.
A Three-Part Mendip Plan and No Article 4
Decided under the Mendip Local Plan, which is in three adopted parts. Part I, strategy and policies for 2006 to 2029, was adopted 15 December 2014, and Part II, sites and policies, was adopted 20 December 2021. A Part II limited update adopted 25 September 2025 identifies nine replacement housing sites, including in Frome, following a judicial review that deleted five allocations on 16 December 2022. Core Policy 6 sets the Frome town strategy. A Neighbourhood Plan for Frome 2008 to 2028 was made in December 2016 after a referendum on 20 October 2016, in which the town council reported 86 per cent of those voting in favour. It was the first neighbourhood plan referendum in the Mendip district. The Frome Town Design Statement was adopted as supplementary planning guidance on 22 October 2015. There is no Article 4 direction in Frome. The council's schedule of directions removing householder permitted development rights lists Shepton Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury and Buckland Dinham, and the 2008 appraisal only recommended one for Frome. External works on a block turn on the conservation area, listing and the Town Design Statement.
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Frome Questions
Is Trinity a Separate Conservation Area?
No. Frome has one conservation area, first designated in 1973 and appraised on 18 June 2008, and Trinity is character area 2 of ten within it. The appraisal describes Trinity as one of the earliest examples of industrial housing in England, planned between about 1665 and 1725. The whole conservation area covers 14.3 per cent of the built-up town.
Is There an Article 4 Direction in Frome?
No. The council's schedule of directions removing householder permitted development rights lists Shepton Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury and Buckland Dinham but not Frome, and the 2008 appraisal only recommended one. Listed building consent still applies to the town's listed stock, which the council puts at over 350 buildings, more than any other town in Somerset.
What Is Happening at the Welshmill Revetment?
The revetment was built in 1971 after severe flooding in 1968, and Environment Agency commissioned repairs were due to begin on 1 September 2026 for about six weeks. The river is the Somerset Frome, a tributary of the Bristol Avon. Welshmill Road and Lane are named in the in-town warning area, so a block there should have flood cover confirmed at renewal.
Nearby Areas
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