Press article on TCA grant success

Summer holiday activities for Thetford Community Association

PRESS RELEASE

Grant success for local charity

A community group in Thetford is looking forward to putting on Summer Holiday activities for young people thanks to a £4,500 grant.

The Thetford Community Association was successful with a recent funding application to the Breckland Youth Advisory Board.

The money will mean that the charity can put on three football coaching sessions throughout the Summer Holidays for youngsters aged 11-18 years and they can also continue with their gardening club for two sessions a week.

Project Co-ordinator Terry Jermy said; “We are delighted with this recent grant success as it means that we can put on some much needed Summer holiday activities. Our coaching sessions are popular throughout the year but we have very limited funds so are not always able to stage activities all year round. This money will mean that we can continue with both projects throughout the Summer”.

The money will also pay for a football themed trip, most likely to a stadium for the young people that attend, and a gardening themed trip.

A family fun day and five a side football tournament will also be staged on Saturday 31^st August as part of the Thetford Festival programme. The event will run from 11am – 4pm and take place on Melford Common. Stalls from local groups and charities are welcome, and anybody wanting to run a table top sale.

Sharon Matthews, Director of Operations for the Benjamin Foundation, said on behalf of Breckland YAB: “This exciting programme of summer activities has been funded by the Breckland Youth Advisory Board with backing from Norfolk County Council.  The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) places young people at the heart of the decision making at every step of the way.  This includes identifying young people’s priorities and needs in their area, and making decisions as to who should provide the services to meet these needs through a commissioning process.  The Breckland Youth Advisory Board also involves young people in the quality assurance of the services it has funded and will visit some of the TCA activities over the summer and scrutinise reports on progress.  We really look forward to visiting the activities put on by TCA and wish them every success”.

For more information about any of the activities, contact the Thetford Community Association on 07533204067 or email terry.jermy@googlemail.com

Not long to go now....

Housing benefit explained...

Feedback from Dane Close resident

Was really heartened to see this bit of feedback crop up today:

"Want to say a big thank you to Terry Jermy. I told him about the state of the pavement and roads along Dane Close on Sunday, then today - 48 hours later, Council officials have already come down and marked them all up for repair. That's why you have to vote for him on 1st August - as he gets things done for people and for Thetford!"

Public meeting on future of Charles Burrell School site

My comments at tonights public meeting regarding the future of the Charles Burrell School site:

We have known for some time that the Charles Burrell site will be closing, personally I think it is crucial that the local community are involved in any future plans which is why I am so pleased that this public meeting is now going ahead after I suggested it some months ago.

I am delighted that so many people are here this evening for this meeting.

Those of us that live on this side of Thetford will know that there is a distinct lack of community facilities available. Whether it be facilities available for the whole community, or space for young people’s activities or a meeting point for older residents – we have long needed better facilities.

There is also a very real danger that with all of the growth happening to the North of Thetford, all of the new facilities, including the expanded high-school, potentially the skatepark, and new community centres, we cannot allow this side of Thetford to be left behind and forgotten.

This site is a recognised hub for the community, many groups already use the facilities, usage that could increase considerably now that education usage will not take place on site, freeing up availability.

Whether it be the Dolphins that use the pool, the cookery classes in the food tech block, or the Thetford Players using the main hall for one of their productions, the whole site has much greater potential.

There are also value for money considerations as the site has seen a considerable amount of public money invested in it over the last few years – the facilities really have improved here so much, particularly since I was a pupil here some years ago.

I am sure as well that the last thing that the County Council wants is an empty site that will be costing them money, and that is the last thing the local community would want either.

From my own thoughts, and through discussions with local residents; I would like to see the front section of the site kept, the area that includes the front reception and office block, the food technology unit, the canteen and kitchens, the main hall, the swimming pool and gym area above and the classroom block to the side of the pool that used to be the science block. This section could make a fantastic self-contained community area that could provide a location for a whole number of activities.

Cost will surely be a major factor, with all local Councils having limited funds available – but we have got to explore what can be done here, rather than not considering it at all. This site has too much potential to not even consider the options. 

Problems around Dane Close

Dear Flagship, Breckland and County;

Please find attached some photographs of the Dane Close area and the Icknield Way garage block.

FLAGSHIP

I am aware that the Icknield Way garage block belongs to Flagship, and I have asked via your Facebook page that the garage that is currently full of rubbish, is cleared and boarded up securely, and that the mattress and other debris is removed.

I assume that the garage block in Dane Close itself is also a Flagship one - I note that the guttering is in a mess and needs addressing and there is a boarded up garage that could do with a new metal door if possible please.

NORFOLK CC / BRECKLAND DC

I am not sure if the pathway is a Breckland pathway or a Norfolk CC one? The pathway is opposite number 23 Dane Close - perhaps you could check your records and deal with this as a priority as it is in an appalling condition.

In addition to this, there are two grit bins in the vicinity that are according to residents not re-filled with grit / salt when necessary - do they appear on the NCC system?

The drains in this area are very full, and need clearing out to prevent the area flooding - according to residents this is a regular occurrence. 

I'll be most grateful if you could deal with all these matters as a priority as they have been outstanding for sometime.

Many thanks,

Terry Jermy

Town & District Councillor, Saxon Ward

Further email correspondence from residents...

Hello,

Firstly, thank you for your hand delivered personalised letter with regard to the forthcoming local elections.

I note with interest that you have lived in Thetford all your life (age 27) and your wishes to improve Thetford in many ways.  I also note your comments that in recent weeks you have spoken with "100's" of people, knocking on "100's" of doors obtaining views, opinions etc!!

I would however like to say that I moved to Thetford in December 1972 (I make that 40 years and seven months), I have worked full time in Thetford all those years, paid ,my taxes, and am still working full time at age almost 59.  In all those years no County Councillor  has ever knocked on my door to ask my views / opinions or concerns that I may have, obviously you included as the letter was posted through my letterbox with no attempt to knock at my door, incidentally I was at home at the time the letter was delivered.

You ask for our votes, but how would we know if we are making the right "party" choice, remember we have never spoken, and you certainly don't know the issues I would raise if given the chance.

Anyway, I would like to wish you good luck in the elections.

Best regards

XXXXXXXXX

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Dear Mr and Mrs XXXXXXX

Thank-you for taking the time to email me.

Apologies that I have been unable to canvass your area as of yet for this election. There are 10,000 electors for the Thetford-West County division and it is physically impossible to talk to every single one, but I am making as much effort as possible to talk to as many as I can. So far myself and the campaign team have spoken to 2,400 people as part of the campaign and we will be continuing up until polling day.

If my information is correct I believe you live at xxxxx Road? in which case I did manage to door knock your area prior to the May 2nd election, but of course not everybody will be at home each time I do this - so apologies for that. I do however know your area very well as I deliver the monthly About Thetford magazine to xxxx Road etc - if I remember correctly your house is the one with the nice front garden!

Not only have I lived in Thetford all my life, I was born not too far away from where you live. I was born at Ash Close and now live at Elm Road. If there is anything that voters wish to ask me about then they can either telephone, or email or request that I visit them - which I am very happy to do. I'm always very happy to hear peoples opinions and issues - that's what being a Councillor is all about for me.

Best wishes,

Terry Jermy

Answers to some recent Twitter queries...

I have spent today knocking on hundreds of doors and talking to people about a whole variety of issues - I love that side of elections, I really do. Discussing local issues, outlining my own thoughts, and encouraging people to vote is what elections for me are all about. Thank-you to the numerous people that have helped my campaign today - I really appreciate it!!

What I dislike most about elections however is the nasty comments from other candidates and supporters and the accusations that they are prepared to make about somebody's character - often when they are without the full facts. I always avoided this and try to avoid engaging in personal criticism about the other candidates, even when encouraged to do so by the public. I do however get annoyed when people deliberately mislead the public, and where necessary I attempt to set people straight, but on the whole, negative campaigning gives politics a bad name.

I have had several tweets today asking me a variety of questions. You do not get much space to response on Twitter, so I shall attempt to answer some of those points here;

1. Do I get paid for some litter picking services? I currently supply services to Thetford Community Association, a registered charity, on a self employed basis. I have done this since 2009 - before this date, I supported the TCA in an entirely voluntary capacity, since its creation in October 2000. The support that I provide is very varied but mainly focuses on project management / co-ordination, particularly in relation to the community football coaching project and the horticulture work that the TCA undertakes. I also write funding applications on behalf of the charity and take care of monitoring reports etc. As part of this self employed work I personally ensure that the Ballpark is kept clean, safe and usable - and as part of this, I do on a regular basis clean the Ballpark, i.e. I remove the broken glass, the dog faeces and any other dangerous materials and I do pick up the litter when necessary. I allocate 2 hours per week for this, but it nearly always consumes more than 2 hours worth of my time - for which I do not claim for. 

I also participate with, and help organise litter picks on a voluntary basis in a variety of areas in Thetford and have done so for many years. 

Some of the rubbish collected during a recent Ballpark litter-pick.

2. My support for Thetford Free School; Nico Dobbin, the Principal Designate of the Free School used to be my teacher - so you could say I have a vested interest in this, or you could say that I know those behind it well enough to know that it would be the type of project that I would wish to support. The Thetford Free School will cater for those young people that are shut out of mainstream education and those at serious risk of falling into a downward spiral. The staff involved have the best interests of the children at heart and are very good at working with this hard to reach group. Since Conservative led Norfolk County Council removed services such as Norfolk Youth Service, Connexions and then closed the Thetford Pupil Referral Unit - this has made the sort of provision that the Thetford Free School will provide even more crucial. I have been a long-standing supporter of the Free School for Thetford, and find the comment expressed on Twitter earlier that I am only supporting it now because of the impending by-election, to be particularly distasteful.

3. Bus station campaign - "What bus station campaign?" asks Tristan Ashby. Not for the first time my Conservative opponent in this election shows his naivety and lack of local knowledge with this question. There was a Parish Poll on where the bus station should be sited, it was a simple yes or no question - i.e. Do you support moving the bus station, or not. I was a member of the Vote No campaign team. I co-ordinated the design and printing of the Vote No literature and I stood outside numerous supermarkets and in the Town Centre talking to people about the poll and discussing why they should vote. I lobbied for the Town Council to support the poll, which they did. For the record, Conservative Town Councillors voted FOR moving the bus station, AGAINST having the Parish Poll, and then AGAINST promoting the parish poll when they lost the vote on whether to have one at all. That's right - they voted AGAINST promoting an election to people where they had a democratic right to vote.

Here's the Radio Norfolk discussion on the morning after the Parish Poll vote when a Conservative District Councillor said that nearly 2,000 people (81%) voting no was irrelevant! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g76sb8PKuZk

4. Norfolk County Council / Charles Burrell High School; We have known for quite sometime that CBHS site will cease to be used for education. I was very aware from an early stage that it would be crucial to the Barnham Cross community, particularly, that part of the school remained of use to the community. Thetford Dolphins had also lobbied the Town Council as they had been made aware that at some point they would not be able to use the site. I spoke with my two fellow District Councillors for the Saxon Ward - Sylvia Armes and Mark Robinson. I drafted a letter to Norfolk County Council on the matter and asked Sylvia and Mark if they were happy to add their names to it - Sylvia agreed, and then Mark agreed, which I was pleased about. Because, despite the fact that Mark is a Conservative District Councillor, I believe that once elected we should all work together. Interestingly, I can recall that Mark got into trouble with his Conservative colleagues for signing the letter with us.

Here is said letter, on the 11th November 2011: 

http://jermysjournal.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/letter-to-norfolk-county-council-re.html

That letter led to a meeting with Norfolk officers at County Hall - Myself and Sylvia attended this, but Mark was unable to. The then County Councillor for Thetford-West, Mr Mike Brindle was also invited, but could not make it. Officers at the meeting made clear to us that the Conservative Cabinet member responsible for what would happen to the land once the school had finished using it (Cllr Cliff Jordan) had made it clear that they wanted the best possible financial result from the land and that community use wasn't favoured as "Thetford already has enough community facilities' and that sort of usage wasn't sustainable and there was no business plan etc - indeed, there wouldn't be, but one could be pulled together if there was the political will to make it happen. 

5. Town Council support for groups that I am involved in; Yes, groups that I have been involved with have received funding from Thetford Town Council - when required I always declare whether I have a disclosable pecuniary interest - as per the code of conduct, and my necessary details are recorded accurately on my register of interests - held by the Council and available for all to inspect. I have not taken part in votes when organisations that I get paid to support have had financial contributions discussed. This is the type of mudslinging that I particularly dislike - I could highlight all sorts of 'dodgy' goings on with local Conservative Councillors, but I won't! 

I think that's about it.... until the next load of questions, I'm sure :(

Recent email correspondence re: UKIP

Hi Terry,

Thank you for taking the time to write me a letter with regards to our conversation.

I would be very interested to know your thoughts on a couple of questions I have.

UKIP have just posted their leaflet through the door, the most attractive thing they talk about is leaving the EU, they make this sound like a positive move due to the fact that will stop more foreign people joining the UK, where do you stand on this?

I noticed you mentioned that Thetford Academy is under incredible pressure which includes a large number of special educational needs children. My son XXXX would have been one of a special needs group had I not found out what caused his behavioural/listening skills problems. Since changing both xxxxxx and xxxxxx diet 6 months ago they are different children for the better, the improvement is massive and I am sure it could help a large number of children. Strangely enough its not just bad food that caused the problems, when xxxx ate an apple and became aggressive I researched further and came across Salicylates and the www.fedup.com.au website.

Please feel free to contact me should you like to discuss any of the points in more detail.

Kind regards, 

XXXXXX

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Hi xxxxxx

Thank-you for your email.

I do not support leaving the EU entirely, I think the benefits to Great Britain, particularly with regards to trade links are too strong for us to leave - think of how many jobs would be lost if trade to European countries were to be interrupted or made more difficult?

I do however support reviewing the UKs welfare system because of Britains membership of the EU. I.e. we need to re-evaluate when people are entitled to certain benefits if they move to this Country. You cannot take out of a system until you have adequately paid into it, in my opinion.

All of this is slightly misleading however - this is a Norfolk County Council by-election, should the UKIP candidate be successful, there will be absolutely nothing that he can do with regards to immigration or the EU. He should be talking about services that Norfolk CC are responsible for, such as education, children's services, roads and public transport, adult social services. etc. Their literature rarely talks about matters directly associated with the actual poll, but they seek the votes from people regardless - this is very misleading. Their leaflet about Romanians and Bulgarians for example is nothing short of scaremongering.

I notice from the UKIP leaflet that I received that it mentions planning maters and protecting our local heritage - again, this is a Breckland Council matter as they are the planning authority.

Regarding your point about special needs children; Yes, we do have a considerable number of special needs children in Thetford - this is not helped by the fact that nearly £1million pounds worth of special needs funding has been taken out of Thetford by Norfolk County Council, including the closure of the Pupil Referral Unit and other services. Advice such as yours, e.g. improving diets etc. is very valuable advice that should be made available to parents to address issues before they develop too far - scrapping early intervention services and advice projects, e.g. Connexions, Norfolk Youth Service and Thetford Education Partnership, will not help the situation. These are services that I believe in and will continue to fight for.

I hope that helps outline my position?

Best wishes

Terry Jermy

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Hi Terry,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

I feel UKIP are out of order for sending that misleading information, so many people will vote for them on the back of their false leaflet!

I am please you are keen to support our children, I found that the NHS system were unable to diagnose Edwards problems and I had to source support from Australia, I would be pleased to help where ever I could should the opportunity ever arise.

We will be voting for you!

Kind regards,

XXXXXXX

Living Wage for Breckland

Candidates confirmed for by-election

Thetford West by-election leaflet

Thetford Town Centre Masterplan

My comments to Breckland Council Cabinet in relation to Thetford Town Centre Masterplan

THETFORD TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN

Apologies from Cllrs Sylvia Armes and Brenda Canham who are attending a Thetford Town Council meeting on the future of the Charles Burrell School site, but have provided me with their thoughts.

On the whole; it is good to have this focus, and it is much needed, the optimistic person in me would say that any attention and focus is well worthwhile. Pessimist in me would say "we've seen it all before and what a waste of money".

There are a variety of specific comments about individual proposals and ideas. As ever the devil is in the detail. For example; Many people would object to additional housing in the Town Centre area and in particularly in the close proximity of the Carnegie Rooms. I won’t dwell on the comments in relation to car parking charges as my views are well known, but it remains inconceiveble that the High Street wuld improve with car parking charges introduced. Concern from residents about proposals in relation to King Street, and Ford Street. Alarm at proposals re: Post Office.

It Certainly didn't help that a summary of the masterplan has appeared in the local press, without the narrative to go with it - this has generated considerable concern amongst the local community, who see all things Breckland and Moving Thetford Forward as a fait au complait, rather than viewing these are suggestions and options, which I hope this document represents.

Document feels very unexicting and very much like a "tick-box exercise".

COMMUNITY BUY-IN: it is absolutely crucial that there is buy-in to any plans such as this from the existing local communities - that has been severely lacking in my opinion with all things Moving Thetford Forward, some of the projects that have happened have infuriated local residents, particularly those that are very proactive in the local community and this is a very poor situation and will hamper all future efforts. Townsfolk know their community best and they can proactively develop their town and we need them to promote it far and wide.

Second point:

  2. DELIVERABILITY; many residents will simply see this as another worthless document - an expensive regurgitation of ideas previously mooted, but continually failed to deliver upon. Certainly reads like numerous similar documents over the past 15years and perhaps longer. For me the worth of this document will be in whether or not it is realised? Or will it merely be yet another reference document on what could be rather than what is.

Thoughts on Thetford UKIP resignation

I am currently on a family holiday in France, but I have received news that Peter Georgiou - UKIP Councillor for Thetford-West has resigned, and there will now be a by-election, I've been asked for my thoughts, which are;

"I am pleased that scrutiny of UKIP policies and candidates that was so lacking prior to the election is now taking place to some degree. On a personal level, this must be very sad for Mr Georgiou and his family, but I think that he has made the right decision and I wish him well for the future. Residents of Thetford deserve the best possible representation at Norfolk County Council and I hope that this can occur quickly so that somebody can be in place addressing the very many pressing issues that exist"

Votes cast for candidates - May 2013

Thetford County election stats

Thetford and Brandon Times post elections coverage

Don't get mad, get active!!!!

Well there we have it folks! I lost - albeit by 1!!! I have known for weeks that it would either be myself or UKIP that wins the seat, and they won. Their 814 votes to my 813. That result also made UKIP the official opposition on Norfolk County Council with their 15 seats to Labours 14.

Despite the loss, I actually feel OK about the situation. Years spent working on local issues, days and days spent campaigning over the last few weeks - I knew that myself, and the people closest to the campaign did everything we possible could and therefore I have absolutely no regrets.

I've already been through so many 'what-if' scenarios in my head - but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss! and we did all that we could and there is no point dwelling on the situation.

The result was very interesting for a number of reasons;

1. The complete collapse of the Conservative vote: They polled 882 votes in 2009 - this time around they got just 353 - I would imagine that a very significant number went to UKIP. A similar story for Thetford-East - where previously over 1,000 votes were polled, compared to just 502 yesterday. I am sure that the absence of local candidates assisted angry Conservatives in moving across to UKIP on this occasion. 

2. The complete collapse of the Liberal Democrat vote: They polled 934 votes in 2009, and won the Thetford West seat. This time around they got just 122 votes! I am sure that the fact that Mike Brindle did not stand again would have had quite some impact. He polled 99 votes alone for the Abbey Ward District by-election just last September and that's under half of the area for Thetford-West. On Saxon Ward not so many years ago Lib Dems were polling 300-400. For the Thetford-East seat there was a similar story, where Margaret Rutter in 2009 polled 665 votes coming in 2nd, this time around Bodo Rissman (or Frodo as he was called by somebody) polled 63 votes - 63!! the Green candidate got more than that with 85!

3. Other parties: The first time a Green has stood for Thetford-West....ever? or for a long time. Still, they only polled 64 votes - were they ex Lib Dems? or were some of them previously Labour? 134 votes for Carl Clark, Christian People's Alliance candidate - I'd imagine many of those were previously Labour votes for sure and a bulk of them would have come from the Abbey Estate area as that is where he is most known.

What of those 12 spoilt papers!? 3 of them for accidentally / intentionally (we'll never know) voting for more than one candidate and therefore voiding the vote. I think all three had a cross in the Labour box - but also a cross in another. Many people get confused that they can vote for 5 candidates for town, 3 for District and just 1 for County. Of the 9 that voted for nobody, would they have voted if they had thought that UKIP would win?

My own vote

I was pleased to have increased my vote from 706 in 2009 to 813 this time around despite the fact that many Labour people would have crossed over to UKIP. Time and again people came to my local polling station (Pine Close) and say "Terry, if it wasn't for you, we would be voting UKIP" - and I am so very grateful for them sticking by me and having faith.

UKIP won due to national concerns about the Conservative led Government and a media obsessed with talking about UKIP and giving positive publicity - both TV and newspapers. People have genuine concerns about immigration etc. and turned to UKIP for salvation rather than seeing any other party as the answer - and that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. I respect peoples verdict. I don't agree that UKIP are the answer - but, I respect peoples choice to vote for them.

I think my comments to the EDP immediately after the result was declared pretty much summed up my own thoughts:

Mr Jermy, Labour leader on Breckland Council who lost agonisingly in Thetford West, said: “I worked as hard as I possibly could so I have no regrets. I was born on that estate and lived there the whole of my life and worked so hard and we still got defeated on national issues. I’m disappointed.

“On the door step I rarely heard people talk to me about immigration. People were talking about their local community and in the vast majority of cases they were respectful of the work I had done.

“UKIP tap into people who don’t vote. Angry men voted yesterday, hard working people who feel let down, and unfortunately it was not the Labour candidate [they supported] but that’s how they voted and I respect their decision.”

Peter Georgiou, the UKIP candidate who defeated him, said people were angry about wasteful council spending, and added: “I feel proud to have beaten him because he is a very good candidate. He has done a lot in the town and I hope I can live up to the voters’ expectations.”

I'd like to pass on my congratulations to Peter Georgiou, as I did on the day, and wish him well in his role as a Councillor. I'd also like to thank the other candidates for standing and congratulate them for the votes that they secured. We had a very active campaign - particularly from myself for Labour and from Tristan Ashby for the Conservatives. I hope that Tristan will find his way onto a Council soon, probably Breckland, where I am sure that he will have a very worthwhile contribution to make. The harder Tristan worked - the harder he made me work! I may have lost by 100 instead of 1 if it wasn't for the effort that he put in. At times the campaign became too personal, which is always sad, but is testament to the passion on all sides.

So what now??? My absolute main message to people has been and will be - DON'T GET MAD, GET ACTIVE!!! Just 23% of the Thetford-West electorate actually voted - something like 2,000 out of 9,000 registered. The importance of every single vote could not be more clearly demonstrated than in this result. Elections can be won and lost on a single vote - so make sure you vote every single time and make sure you do all you can to get everybody you know to vote.

Also, get active in other ways. For a start - why not join a political party? I'd highly recommend the Labour Party (of course!) but failing that, join a party and stand up for what you believe in. If you are aged 14 - 26 then membership of the Labour Party is just £1 for the year. If you work 16 hours or less or are unemployed then is is just £1.88 per month. 

Get active by delivering leaflets, knocking on doors - all sorts!!! Had I have had a bit more practical help from the many people that I know support me, than who knows - I could have got those few extra votes.

Don't want UKIP representing your community? then do something about it!!!

May 2015 - a date for your diaries, the next set of elections - this time for Thetford Town Council and Breckland Council, with these results we could see our Town Council run by UKIP! and a VERY sizeable number of UKIP District councillors? Don't want that? then time to start doing something about it.

I want the most amazing slate of 16 fantastic candidates for Thetford Town Council and 54 amazing Breckland District Council candidates - want to be part of the team? Then get involved now.

As for me personally, I shall simply repeat what I put on my Facebook page: 

Thanks for all the kind messages, texts, emails etc. Will endeavour to respond to all as soon as possible. Feel naturally very sad and disappointed - but know that personally I did all that I could, and I couldn't have asked for more from certain people who have been absolutely amazing and gone beyond the limits of friends / supporters / loved ones. Anyone that knows me will know that I have always said that I would rather lose by loads, than a little - and 1? really? 1? Got to laugh really!!! I actually do not know what the future holds for me personally - I've given up so much in my own life to work for this town, I've been living off a very low income and not devoting enough time to my loved ones, only to not succeed, so have some thinking to do :)

I'll finish by just posting some of the truly amazing comments that I have received on polling day and on the day of the count:

Cheryl: Not long to go now!! Just wanted to wish you all the best and hope things go in your favour. Voted for the first time today!!! Inspired by everything you do for our wonderful town. Good luck xx

Andrew: Just wanted to offer my commiserations for today's election results. In my eyes you were clearly the stronger candidate and I think Thetford will be the worse for you not being elected. Please keep working hard for the town because it needs people like you if it's got any chance of moving forward. Best wishes, 

Michael Berry ‏@michaelberry9513h

@CllrTerryJermy absolutely gutted to hear the news! Labour are well and truly back on the map thanks to you in Thetford! Hang in there!

Tristan Ashby ‏@ThetfordBlue15h

@CllrTerryJermy Thanks Terry, you taught me alot for my next campaign. All the best in your next endeavour. We need more young councillors.

Anne Powley ‏@spice_media16h

@CllrTerryJermy - I don't support Labour but I'm sorry to hear this. Remember, plenty of people voted for you.

Jack Eddy ‏@DrunkLikeAFox19h

@CllrTerryJermy SO CLOSE! A magnificent campaign. You showed us all in rural Norfolk that we CAN win if we do it right. Just wasn't to be.

Jon W. Chambers ‏@jonwillchambers19h

I think if I was @CllrTerryJermy I'd be the proudest person ever come win or lose - such a fightback in Norfolk because of his vision.

Richard Howitt MEP ‏@richardhowitt20h

I hear there's a recount in #Thetford West and it could be as close as one vote. Desperately hope the excellent @CllrTerryJermy win

Gordon

Hi Terry, I can’t find the right words to express how sad I am you were not elected. I feel it was a total fluke. You were the right man with the right campaign and it is a tragic injustice to have to suffer that result please keep the faith and stick with it. I feel sure you are destined for great things and I look forward to the day when I can tell everyone yes well he used to live across the road from me before he moved to number 10!

Chris Harvey

Nothing will take away the disappointment of Friday but think of the future you are only young with so much to offer the Labour movement it’s only a skirmish not the war. We owe it to the people to keep fighting injustice, intolerance etc. the red flag never falls

Ju-Ju Julie

Okay Terry you lost by 1 vote, lets look at how we can make this a positive thing....lets come out fighting and make people see that UKIP is just the BNP in sheep's clothing, what we need to be doing is putting the facts of immigration to the voters not the sound bytes. I'm not the normally the most politically minded person, but seeing how passionate you appeared to be about our town this inspired me to vote for the 1st time, and im sure, the same thing applied to an awful lot of people as-well. Now is not the time to give in, its now the time to re-group and prepare for the next onslaught, im sure you have the backing of many in this town!
 

Corinne Fulford

Oh my word - Terry Jermy missed out by 1 vote. Whatever your political persuasion, no-one can ever doubt Terry's passion for Thetford. For those of you that don't vote but moan incessantly about what does/doesn't get done here - good luck!

Sheron Rourke

What can I say?! Disappointed in the people of Thetford. So devastated for Terry Jermy. The only person that actually puts his heart and sole into this town. If you didn't vote and you feel the need to moan about the failings of thetford...DON'T!! you haven't earned the right to. Your vote could have made all the difference!

Housing; Your thoughts and concerns....

Artists impression of the entrance to the new Sweyn Close

HOUSING

Throughout the election I have been highlighting some of the key areas of all our lives that Norfolk County Council are responsible for or have an impact upon. I want to get your feedback on these subjects and outline my thoughts and considerations in an online canvassing / debating process. I will share my own thoughts and considerations and I will highlight the relevant sections from the Norfolk wide Labour manifesto. I started with Education, and will move on to discuss housing:

For those that have a home, the issue of housing is likely to be of little concern. But as soon as you may need a home you quickly realise how desperate the situation is.

Up until recently there were over 5,000 people on the housing waiting list in the Breckland area – with approximately 500 properties becoming vacant each year you have some idea of how long it might take until you may be eligible for a property and that is not including the numerous people that will likely be added to the list over that time as a higher priority. The number of people registering as homeless in the District has increased dramatically over the past few years as a result of the economic climate and in addition to this, demand for local Food banks has increased significantly.

The simple truth is we have not been investing in the social / affordable housing stock for years and we are now suffering as a result.

Two key examples;

Right to buy income; Each time a ‘Council house’ is sold in Breckland a portion of that money goes to Breckland Council. In the last 10 years approximately £3.5million has been received in income from right to buy receipts. During that same time just £2million has been spent on new homes by Breckland with the remaining £1.5million disappearing into the general Breckland pot – no wonder our stock of homes has been disappearing and failing to meet our needs as a district. I called on Breckland to ring-fence all right to buy receipts for new housing, but this was rejected.

See letter to Thetford and Brandon Times dates 26.09.12 below:

Council homes sale; Breckland received over £50million in 1993 following the sale of all ‘Council homes’ to Flagship Housing. It is the interest from that money, in part, that has been used to keep Council tax lower than it would otherwise be and money that has been used to purchase assets – Barnham Broom golf club for example. Again, I challenged the Council through the recent budget to have a greater commitment to housing - I was reassured that they agreed that it was a priority and I have a feeling that there will be moves afoot soon at Breckland level for perhaps Breckland to start building housing itself - a welcomed step, but we have a massive backlog that needs addressing.

An important point to make however is that it should not be assumed that all new housing needs to be on greenfield sites - there are many brownfield sites across Thetford in need of regeneration. I have been involved for the last 7 years in the Barnham Cross Regeneration Steering Group that has seen redundant garage blocks converted into social housing, and the appalling properties at Sweyn Close cleared to make way for a much improved development - (although I do have some concerns about the final outcome!), it is certainly a significant improvement. This approach could be replicated elsewhere - regenerating eyesores and providing much needed homes.

Housing is not a Norfolk County Council matter, it is the responsibility of the District Council, however, Norfolk CC can still have a very important part to play in assisting with the creation of new homes. Myself and Brenda Canham lobbied the Norfolk Labour Party to make housing a key manifesto commitment and we were pleased with this addition;

"Norfolk Labour will set up set up a subsidiary company to build small groups of houses throughout Norfolk. This will mitigate the effects of homelessness, rural decline, second homes and rising house prices that have seen local people being priced out of the communities that they were born and brought up in. The company will develop sites which the County Council already own to generate further profits to cross-subsidise the provision of homes in areas where private developers would not be interested".

This follows an effort by George Nobbs (Norfolk Labour Leader) earlier this year on the issue which we very much welcome:

ANY THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS??? PLEASE LET ME KNOW