JERMY'S JOURNAL
Welcome to my internet diary... I'm a local Thetford Town Councillor and a Breckland Councillor - representing the Burrell Ward. I am also a Norfolk County Councillor representing the Thetford-West division. Editor of the About Thetford magazine and I am a passionate community activist and Thetford born and bred.
Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Nutrient Neutrality Speech at Norfolk County Council - 26/09/23
Chair, earlier this month the Government confirmed that it intended to scrap Nutrient Neutrality laws. Laws regarded by organisations such as the RSPB as vital legislation that protects against water pollution caused by developments near to protected areas.
This matters to us here in Norfolk. Natural England concluded, following extensive research, Norfolk, along with 26 other areas with protected sites all over England, was on the edge. They determined that Norfolk’s river network simply couldn’t continue to take excess nutrients from house building without further damage to those habitats and species.
Councils, environmental groups and developers have spent months, and many thousands of pounds of public funds, working on a way forward, only for the Government to change course again at the eleventh hour.
It is important to understand that Nutrient Neutrality laws do not prevent development, but they do require developers to demonstrate that they have offset the pollution they will be generating by funding measures elsewhere in the catchment.
The greater the impact on the environment, the greater the offset required. The laws essentially encourage developers to adopt a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach from the outset.
And it is important to note that if nutrient neutrality laws are scrapped it will be taxpayers picking up the bill for the pollution caused by housebuilders with extra public money made available to pick up the pieces.
Recent analysis has shown that Britain’s eight biggest housebuilders have made more than £7billion pounds in profits in the two years since the pandemic.
Residents, developers, councils, the environment all need research led, well-considered laws, they need time to plan and prepare. A Government that changes policy ‘on the hoof’ serves nobody.
But it’s not just the constant changing narrative from the Government that is the problem here. As the Housebuilders Federation points out, the inaction by this Government over a number of years has led us to this latest mess. The Government has not taken seriously the root causes of river pollution – they’ve delayed and procrastinated. Allowing water companies to get away with a lack of investment and declining infrastructure which results in significant quantities of nutrients entering out waterways. Further, the Government has been turning a blind eye to agricultural runoff too and whilst nutrient neutrality laws are important, these other factors are being ignored.
It is important to consider that as well as the obvious environmental risks, scrapping these laws could have huge negative financial implications for Norfolk’s economy.
It is estimated that the Norfolk Broads alone attract seven million people a year to Norfolk, contributing around half a billion pounds to the local economy, supporting more than 6,000 jobs. And that’s just the Broads. The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is responsible for nearly 2 million overnight visits a year and contributes a further £163m.
We weaken our waterways at our peril, both environmentally and financially.
I hear the arguments about needing to scrap these laws to speed up house building. I recognise the demand. I see with my own inbox the many housing related cases. But, we can and must ensure development in the short term, does not destroy our environment in the long term.
We’re not doing nearly enough to tackle empty homes, second homes and under-occupancy in this County. In 2022, there were more than 4,000 homes empty across Norfolk, a 17% increase on the year before. In the same year there’s more than 13,000 second homes too.
Chair, we absolutely should be addressing our housing challenges in Norfolk, the affordability, the size, shape and location but we should be protecting our precious natural environment too, an environment that is integral to our economic success.
We simply can’t allow this situation to become a trade off between homes and our environment. If we can’t find a way for them to live together then neither will thrive and we’ll all be far worse off.
Thursday, 11 May 2023
Norfolk Full Council - Tuesday 9th May 2023
Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Responding to some of the usual election lies....
When you're a Councillor, and particularly at election time, you kind of get used to all manner of things being said about you.
Thursday, 23 February 2023
Breckland Council Budget Meeting - February 2023
Chairman, we have all seen the decline of our high streets - both locally and nationally. It is important that we all recognise the value of these spaces economically, culturally, and recreationally. Breckland Council has a crucial role in supporting our town centres, a role in making them places that people want to visit and importantly, spend money.
To be places that people want to visit there must be shops worth going to. When I look at the empty shops in Thetford they are often sadly long term empty properties. Large corporations that do need seem to care that they are empty, sucking the life and vibrancy out of our communities. When myself or others enquire about rents, they’re often at levels unaffordable with terms that do not make sense. It’s tough running a small business, I know myself as a run one, I speak to dozens of small businesses every month through that role. There is talent in our district, creative thinking, entrepreneurialism, but forces too great for individuals to overcome are preventing progress. We need the councils backing.
This proposal is simple, it uses Breckland Councils soon to be more generous capital reserves to purchase shop units in the district, allowing affordable rents and terms to be set, specifically to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses. With an estimated return of around 4%, this proposal would make no difference to our revenue budget, rents matching our returns from bank interest, but it will provide new opportunities for people to trade. And this council will own the capital asset. The new support with paying the rent for 6 months for businesses moving to the town centre is to be welcomed, the new Puddin shop in Thetford is a great example, but it is short term and not sustainable, what happens when the grant runs out, what happens if the rents change. Why are we as a council prepared to pay off other landlord’s mortgages, but not look to own such assets ourselves? We need to be bold.
This amendment also looks to continue the MTI scheme, no, not with murals or clocks for Dereham, conveniently kicked into the long grass until after the May elections, but with facilities that the public quite rightly have been campaigning for and recognise as a barrier to people visiting. Amenities such as new public toilets can be supported by this fund, with the hope that Town Councils will join and match fund wherever possible.
I urge you colleagues to support this amendment.