Mayday Saxonvale

03/06/2026

Hi ! Join us tonight (Weds) for our Mayday Saxonvale Private Launch Event as we officially open the private investment phase of the Community Share Offer 🚀

📍 Westway Workspace, Westway Shopping Centre, Frome
🕖 Wednesday 3 June, 7:30pm–10pm
🎟 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/MaydayPLE

Come and meet the team, hear more about the vision for Saxonvale, ask questions in person and connect with others interested in the future of our town.

Guest appearance from The Cheese Lord and a paid bar will be provided by local wine shop and bar The Stores in Frome.

With thanks to Diana at Westway Workspace for hosting us in her beautifully converted workspace, one that demonstrates the growing need for flexible commercial space in Frome.

We look forward to welcoming you there!
Team Mayday 🪂

Join us at the Westway Workspace as we officially open the private investment period for the Mayday Saxonvale Community Share Offer.

01/06/2026

Good morning !

REMINDER Mayday Saxonvale Community Share Offer Webinar is tonight at 7:30pm!

We'll will be covering our vision, how the share offer works, investment structure, risks, opportunities and Q&A. It's free to register and everyone is welcome: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/webinar-mayday-saxonvale-community-share-offer-tickets-1990455791855?aff=whatsap

If you haven't accessed our Share Offer and Business Plan yet, you can get these on our website: https://maydaysaxonvale.co.uk/register/

Please share and see you later!

We’ll be hosting a live online webinar covering our vision, how the share offer works, investment structure, risks, opportunities and Q&A.

29/05/2026

“Resonance is proud to back Mayday Saxonvale because it represents a new generation of community-led regeneration – one where local people have a real stake in shaping the future of their towns and high streets.

“Across the UK, we are seeing growing momentum behind community ownership and locally rooted development models. Communities increasingly want regeneration that delivers long-term social, environmental and economic value, which creates stronger, more resilient places.

“Mayday’s vision stands out because it combines ambition with local engagement, credible partnerships and a clear readiness to deliver. The team has built strong community support and developed a model that keeps decision-making and value anchored locally.

“Our investment reflects confidence not only in the project itself, but in the principle that patient capital can help unlock transformative local change. Unlike traditional investment models focused on rapid returns, patient capital allows communities the time and stability needed to create lasting impact.

“We’ve been on this journey with the Mayday team for some time, and we’re excited to reach the point where the community now has the opportunity to play its part in matching our support through the community share offer.

“If successful, Saxonvale has the potential to become an example of how community-led regeneration can retain wealth locally, support inclusive economic growth, and create places that genuinely reflect the needs and aspirations of the people who live there.”

Jon Rolls, Head of Developing Communities at Resonance

Did you know?

Jon has been involved in senior roles in the social impact sector for over 20 years. He was Chief Executive of Cornish award-winning social enterprise ReZolve which focused on sustainability projects, working closely with local agencies, and supporting a range of community environmental initiatives.

Jon was also the Commercial Director for the Real Ideas Organisation, a leading social enterprise in the SW with a focus on reviving heritage assets.

More recently Jon has been consulting with a range of social enterprises in the SW helping them to access social investment. Jon was a founder and pioneer shareholder of Community Benefit Society Par Track Ltd. Jon is also a BLeader and Carbon Literate.

27/05/2026

"This moves Saxonvale from something that we in Frome have debated for years into something tangible that people can properly engage with.

"We completely empathise with the feeling of frustration about how long Saxonvale has sat empty and how many plans and proposals have come and gone.

"What matters now is that people can see the detail behind a serious community-led approach for the regeneration of the site.

"Receiving the gold standard mark for community share offers ensures that our offer is transparent, honest, and meets national standards of good practice."

Mayday Saxonvale Director, Holly Lawton

Somerset regeneration site could be bought by local people: https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/26130113.somerset-regeneration-site-bought-local-people/

via Daniel Mumby @ The Somerset County Gazette

Residents could purchase shares in the regeneration of the Saxonvale brownfield site in Frome town centre for at little as £250

27/05/2026

What is a Community Benefit Society, and why does it matter?

A Community Benefit Society (CBS) is a legal structure created specifically for organisations that exist to benefit the wider community, not private individuals.

That matters because when local people are investing in a long-term project like Saxonvale, the structure itself should create protections and accountability.

Here are 5 important things a Community Benefit Society can’t do:

1. It can’t operate for private profit
Mayday legally exists for community benefit, not personal gain.

2. It can’t give larger investors more control
Every member gets one vote, regardless of how much they invest.

3. It can’t distribute surplus for private gain
Any surplus generated must be reinvested back into the Society’s purpose.

4. It can’t simply sell off community assets
The Society has an asset lock designed to protect long-term community benefit.

5. It can’t operate without democratic governance
A Community Benefit Society is accountable to its members and operates under democratic rules.

That is why the structure matters.

Unfortunately, you cannot always rely on good intentions alone, luckily a Community Benefit Society is designed so you don’t have to.

It's designed to protect community benefit, community assets and keep long-term value rooted locally.

And perhaps most importantly, it allows us to raise community shares so we can all have a real say and a real stake in the future of our town.

Because it's our town, our Saxonvale, let's own it!

21/05/2026

Our town. Our Saxonvale. Let's own it.

Frome’s last major regeneration opportunity is now on the open market.

Together, we can keep long-term value rooted locally and build a lasting legacy for the future of our town.

The future of Frome starts with us

🪂 12 acres town centre brownfield site

🪂 £1.2m government backed funding committed

🪂 £1.5m min. community share target

🪂 £2.7m min. total funding package

We need to raise a minimum of £1.5m through community shares to help bring Saxonvale into community ownership.

Alongside £1.2m already committed through the Resonance Community Builders Fund, which will create a minimum £2.7m funding package backing a serious community-led bid for the site.

Our bid is supported by key partners Stories, Studio Saar Architects, Landstory, Frome Area Community Land Trust and specialist consultants across planning, engineering, transport, valuation and development finance..

🤝Join over 600 supporters who have already pre-registered for our share offer. Register and receive our Share Offer and Business Plan straight to your inbox, with access to our private investment period before the public investment opens Monday June 8th.

Our community share offer has been awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark: the national quality mark for community share offers, awarded only to offers that meet high standards of transparency and good practice.

Together, we can create:

🪂 Affordable homes for future generations
🪂 Spaces for local businesses, makers and jobs
🪂 Public and cultural spaces designed around people
🪂 Long-term community ownership and stewardship
🪂 Value reinvested back into Frome, not extracted from it

Unlike conventional development models, community ownership allows long-term value created at Saxonvale to stay rooted locally: strengthening our town for generations to come.

For too long, communities have watched major sites sold off to speculative development models where value leaves the town and decisions are driven by short-term return.

We believe communities can do better.
We believe we can do better.

If we are successful, Frome would be home to the UK’s largest community-led regeneration project.

Opportunities like these rarely come along for towns like ours.

And this is it. This is our moment.

We cannot do this without you. Will you join us?

🪂 Register and access our community share offer now: https://maydaysaxonvale.co.uk/

07/05/2026

Mayday Saxonvale Board Update

We are sad to announce Damon Moore has stepped down from his role as Director at Mayday Saxonvale. Damon has been part of our story from the very beginning, founding Mayday with his wife Kate. We would like to thank them both sincerely for their huge contribution and ambition, and the significant role they have played in shaping our vision. Those founding principles remain firmly at the heart of everything we do.

We have continued to grow and evolve from a small group of people into a much broader, stronger and soon-to-be community-owned organisation. As we move into this next stage and bring in investment from our community, we recognise our responsibility to ensure clear governance, accountability and the long-term stewardship of what we are building. Becoming a Community Benefit Society is an important part of that, strengthening the protection of our vision and community assets, while providing the transparency and democratic oversight needed for a project of this scale.

Mayday was created in response to a development system that too often fails to deliver the outcomes our towns need, bringing forward an alternative model not only for Frome, but for communities everywhere. What we are trying to achieve is not only ambitious, it is extremely challenging. It only works if we are all willing to work together, collaboratively in building our town’s future.

We respect Damon’s decision, and as owner of the Silk Mill, he remains an important part of Saxonvale's story. We will continue to work with our community to secure a thriving long-term future for Saxonvale.

A future that remains true to the vision Mayday was founded on.

Brigid Clarke, Holly Lawton, Paul Oster, Anita Collier, Hannah Stopford, Caroline Wajsblum, Kerry Smith and Peter McGuinness
Mayday Saxonvale

20/02/2026

Just up the road in Bath, a community came together and did something brilliant.

When The Bell Inn’s future was in doubt, a community share offer raised over £700k. The pub is now “owned by people who love, live and breathe The Bell.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM6LRMPTjt0

They didn’t just save a pub.
They bought it.
They own it.
They shaped what it is today.

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗯…
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲.

Imagine scaling beyond regulars and bar stools – to homes, workspaces and community places – with long-term value rooted locally.

Imagine having a real stake in shaping what happens to our town, Frome.

Community ownership isn’t sentimental. It’s structural.
It keeps value where it belongs: in the community that creates it.

This is the opportunity in front of us now: Saxonvale.

If a pub can transform a neighbourhood, imagine what 12 acres could do to a town. Our town.

It's , , let's own it!

Find out more and to register your interest with no obligation visit: https://maydaysaxonvale.co.uk/community-share-offer/


Community Shares Unit Co-operatives UK Frome Area Community Land Trust

A Community Shares Unit film, telling the story of how a community came together to save one of the country's most iconic pubs. The Bell is a much-loved free...

31/01/2026

Our Director, Holly Lawton, is featured in the Financial Times today, speaking about Community Ownership at scale and what it means for the future of town Regeneration.

Huge thanks to Sarah Langford for the thoughtful interview and for giving community-led development a national platform. The article highlights how ownership models are moving beyond single assets and into large, complex sites, focused on long-term stewardship, resilience and keeping value local.

Great to see the inclusion of drawings from our architect Studio Saar and picture from local photographer Garfield Austin Fabulous Frome

We’re also pleased to see our funding partner Resonance highlighted in the piece, who are supporting our community share raise and bid for the Saxonvale site here in Frome.

Other inspiring projects featured include Fordhall Organic Farm , Plunkett UK and Câr-Y-Môr.

The article is front page of the House and Home section and online here: https://www.ft.com/content/a604f3a5-d1c3-4431-b122-7ce315a6905e?accessToken=zwAAAZwT-mRBkdOmBPOl0cNEMdOxInzjFaaQXg.MEQCIC_2bWajOVUDlX-l9zz-iGDey44b8xh3-hxq2z5Qb6umAiBw-HHYLRxkZmM7MCZXw2hFSqjGabMej_iR6Z-TM1ztUw&segmentId=e95a9ae7-622c-6235-5f87-51e412b47e97&shareType=enterprise&shareId=4fe029f4-18a2-4cfb-953c-b51c23b482a8