Press coverage on shared services debate....

Breckland Labour Groups views on shared management plans with Great Yarmouth

It seems like only yesterday that Breckland formally began sharing services with South Holland. That was a leap into the dark for this council and as far as I am concerned there has been an insufficient amount of analysis as to whether or not that venture was a success. Can any of us say without any doubt that there has been no affect on the quality and level of services provided by either authority? I don’t believe that we have a clear answer to this question which is principally why I believe we should not be making this decision today. Given the information made available, the Breckland Labour Group does not support this rush to share services with another authority and feels that the risks associated with this move to be of concern, particularly given the limited financial savings available. One assumes, indeed, one would hope that there has been considerable debate amongst the Conservative group regarding this proposal and that members have been privy to more discussion and debate, and therefore more information than we have had. But as a Labour group, we simply do not have the information at hand to make an informed decision which is why we will be opposing this plan. On the 2nd March, I did email senior council officers and ask for information such as; figures related to staff turnover over the past few years, staff absenteeism rates and levels of complaints from the public. These for me would have been indicators of the affect of sharing with South Holland and therefore a good barometer of sorts. This information has not been provided, so I can only assume that this information has not been collated as part of this process as it was not readily at hand to provide to me. We are fully supportive that this council looks to do things differently and that it is prepared to push boundaries but, that boldness can easily become foolhardiness. The creation of “Great Shrekland”, as some employees of Great Yarmouth Council have decided to call it, does not offer the same benefits as when this council joined with South Holland, and comes too soon after this initial sharing of services took place. There is also a more fundamental issue here. I fail to understand the wider vision for this. Logic would suggest that in order to get maximum benefit from sharing services you would join up with those authorities that are geographically closest. Yarmouth is after all as close to the country of Holland, as it is to the district of South Holland. Again, to get maximum benefit from the expertise of the employees, logic would suggest that the authorities would be based in the same geographical location, facing roughly the same issues – there is little that connects Great Yarmouth to the area of Breckland or indeed South Holland. Furthermore, at what point do these councils stop adding to the family? How many should join before it becomes too many? This of course leads one to consider, what would happen if there was a view taken that shared services was no longer the best option for either district? Unsharing services would be even more difficult than sharing them in the first place. Finally, does this latest development not further make this authorities decision to spend tens of thousands of pounds on opposing a unitary council for Norfolk look even more foolish? As the shared services family grows, does this not look even more like a unitary council, just lacking the unitary governance structure.

Press release: No car parking charges petition reaches 7,000

A petition launched by the Breckland Labour Group against the introduction of car parking charges across the district has already exceeded the organizers estimation and continuing to increase rapidly with over 7,000 people now putting their names to it. Breckland Council revealed in December last year that it intended to undertake a feasibility study around charging for public car parking in the five market towns of Thetford, Dereham, Swaffham, Attleborough and Watton. This study was due to cost ratepayers up to £50,000 but that was reduced to £25,000 in light of public pressure. Terry Jermy, Leader of Breckland Labour Group, who spent last Saturday morning at the Tesco store in Thetford collecting signatures with other volunteers said; “There has been phenomenal support for our petition and I am delighted that we have now collected over 7,000 signatures. There is across the board support against the introduction of charging for car parking in Breckland”. On Saturday, the EDP revealed that Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman is planning a survey on local people’s views on the idea of charging for Dereham. Mr Jermy added; “I am delighted that Mr Freeman will be taking on board the concerns of local people with regard to this debate. I very much hope he uses some of the 1,400 comments received on our online petition which clearly show that the vast majority of people do not support the introduction of charging for our public car parks and urge him to implore his Conservative colleagues at Breckland Council to think again”. A public meeting will be taking place in Dereham on Wednesday 1st February, from 6pm – 8pm at Dereham Memorial Hall to discuss this issue. Last week Thetford Town Councillors agreed to invite Breckland Leader William Nunn, and Chief Executive Terry Huggins to a future meeting to explain the proposals and hear the concerns of councilors. To sign the online petition visit; http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/noparkingchargebdc For more information contact; Terry Jermy on 01842 750722 or email terry.jermy@googlemail.com

Round up of recent press coverage re: Breckland Car Parking charges

Letter to Thetford & Brandon 19.01.12 - re: Car parking charges

Terry Jermy to Lead Labour Group on Breckland Council

BRECKLAND LABOUR GROUP - PRESS RELEASE: Thetford town and district councillor, Terry Jermy, is to succeed veteran Labour councillor, Robin Goreham, as leader of the opposition Breckland Labour Group. Robin Goreham has been a member of the authority for sixteen and a half years. He has spent four years as chairman of the council’s Overview & Scrutiny committee and eight and a half years leading the opposition Labour Group. He is currently Vice Chairman of the authority. Robin commented: “It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the Labour opposition on Breckland since the spring of 2003. Labour has a new leader nationally in Ed Miliband and I feel it is time for a younger man to lead the Labour fightback locally over the next few years. In Terry Jermy, we have a young man with intelligence, determination and a vision for the future of Breckland”. Terry – who is 26 years old – commented: “I am very grateful for the support of my fellow Breckland Labour Councillors in electing me as their leader. Despite my relatively young age, I have been involved in community and political life for many years. My experience as a youth worker, and as a community worker means I have a very engaging style and consider listening to be an important part of leadership. I look forward to championing the views of the Breckland electorate and scrutinising the work of the Council”. Commenting on the outgoing group leader, Mr Jermy added; “Robin has been an exceptional leader. He has always stood up for what he believes to be right and in the best interests of Breckland residents. He has been a particularly great ward councillor and has stood up for Dereham – Central residents admirably. Robin’s calmness, compassion and ability to use humour so well have made him a revered ally, and opponent”. Mr Jermy is an avid user of social networking sites, and hopes to use such tools to engage a new generation with local politics. He can be followed on Twitter via ‘CllrTerryJermy’ or through Facebook. He also runs his own blog, that can be accessed via www.jermysjournal.blogspot.com

Joint letter to Thetford and Brandon Times...

Dear Editor, Following the recent decision by the Moving Thetford Forward board to continue with their proposal to move the bus station from Bridge Street to Minstergate, we – elected representatives of the people of Thetford wanted to write and share our frustration at this decision but also to praise those people that did participate in the democratic process by voting in the Parish Poll. A majority of Thetford Town Councillors voted to keep the bus station where it is. A decision endorsed by the clear result from the Poll that took place on the 9th August. (81% of those participating voted ‘NO’ to moving the site with a turnout of 14.7%). Whilst we are very angry at the scant regard for public opinion throughout much of Moving Thetford Forwards decision making in recent years, we wanted to write collectively and reassure the public that we will continue to fight for what we regard to be in the best interests of the people of Thetford. This, we believe, is why we were elected. Many residents have spoken to us as councillors about their frustration and disappointment at the bus station news and questioned if the poll was worth it. Whilst it is indeed disappointing, we urge people not to lose heart. We believe a corner has been turned and that residents of Thetford collectively, including many of their elected representatives are now more vocally expressing their concerns and opinions and standing up for our town. This should be welcomed and encouraged. Best wishes, Thetford Town Councillors; Sylvia Armes, Brenda Canham, Carl Clark, Denis Crawford, Corine Fulford, Terry Jermy, Terry Lamb, Dennis Sully & Stuart Wright,

Thetford Bus Station Poll; Vote No!

Dear Editor, On Tuesday 9th August, I will be voting NO to the moving of the Thetford Bus Station in the Parish Poll. Does that make me part of the “old, boring, Dads Army brigade”? I really don’t think so. And it is quite wrong to label those fighting against this proposal in such a way. Am I then not wanting to protect Thetford’s historical assets? Far from it. Of course, that would mean that I would be against investment in our town, against a cinema and other improvements? How utterly ridiculous! I want all these things! I will be voting No for two main reasons. Primarily because I would prefer to see the bus station kept where it is – the current site is much more accessible, it is much larger than the proposed site at St Nicholas Street and it has much greater potential to be turned into the sort of bus station that I would like to see in our town – something on a par with Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds. What is being proposed for St Nicholas Street is woefully inadequate. It seems as if we are going to get a nice new tarmac surface, with a few shelters for people to wait. What’s different to what we have now? Apart from it looking all nice and shiny and new. I am also very concerned about the safety of the new site and the amount of buses that will be charging down St Nicholas Street past Minstergate Street. The second reason for my decision to vote NO is because I am sick of organisations like Moving Thetford Forward and Breckland Council taking our town for granted. How dare they claim to be listening to the people of this town. Their consultation exercises have been ridiculous. If more people participate in this poll, than have participated in the MTF official consultations, then perhaps they might actually realise that people have not participated previously as they felt that Breckland and others had already made their minds up and the views of local people did not count. We’re told that this poll may result in investment in this town being lost and the Grade II Cosy Carpets building not getting the investment it needs. Well, as has been said before, Breckland Council have the power as a local authority to force the owners of historic buildings to protect them, but it chooses not to – perhaps this has something to do with its budget for heritage being absolutely Zero. Think no further than Abbey Barns, St Mary the Less and others. No support for them hey! As for investment, if Breckland did more to keep Thetford clean and tidy, develop a sense of community pride, invested in tourism and listened to the people of Thetford that would go a very long way towards making Thetford more prosperous, instead they charge ahead, sucking the lifeblood from our community and trampling anyone that gets in their way or who dares to propose an alternative. I urge every resident of Thetford, VOTE NO on Tuesday 9th August 2011! Terry Jermy Thetford Town and Breckland District Councillor, Saxon Ward Elm Road, Thetford (Aged 25!)

St Mary the Less Church Letter

Dear Editor, Anybody who has travelled along the Bury Road in Thetford recently surely would not have failed to spot the now gaping hole in the roof of St Mary the Less Church. I suspect many people in Thetford feel as disgusted as me that this has been allowed to happen. A much smaller hole first appeared at the start of 2009, and the photograph above shows the extent of damage on the 4th May 2009. The other photo above shows the damage as of this week. In the not too distant future I suspect it will get worse, particularly with the wet and cold weather we will no doubt have over the coming weeks and months. Myself and many others have made Breckland Council aware of this issue on numerous occasions over the past year in the hope that they will take action, it would appear they have done nothing. They have a statutory obligation to protect historically significant buildings. St Mary the Less is a Grade 2 listed building, and on the Buildings at Risk Register. Its churchyard contains notable Thetford figures including Sir Richard Fulmerston. Neither the owner, or Breckland Council have done anything to safeguard this important building. What exactly is required to occur before something is done? Maybe they are waiting for it to completely fall to the ground?

EDP 31.12.09

hmmmmm, just a thought, has anyone (other than Breckland Council) actually spoken to these individuals?

Inquiry requested following death

Taken from EDP website on 27/12/09. Article written by Ian Clarke. Norfolk's chief constable has been asked to order an urgent inquiry after a Polish man froze to death in a tent in Thetford. The body of Mariusz Fidos, 33, was found at Barnham Common five days before Christmas and he had been sleeping rough in the area with other men, including his twin brother Piotr. It remains unclear how long they had been staying in the area, but there are reports they had been there for several weeks. Peter Smith, Labour parliamentary candidate for South West Norfolk, said he was “extremely concerned” about the events surrounding Mr Fidos's death, especially what had been done to help him and other men . Breckland Council said four men were found sleeping in the area in October, but the Fidos brothers were not among them. Mr Smith said: “I am alarmed that a situation, which was known about for some weeks, was not acted upon in sufficient time to prevent this completely avoidable death.” In a letter to Norfolk police chiefs, Mr Smith said: “What we now see is a concerted effort by Breckland Council to promote the idea that officers and councillors had done everything possible for Mariusz and his fellow 'campers'. This is so evidently not the case.” Mr Smith added: “I am therefore asking you to initiate an urgent police inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding this tragedy, including the roles of all the agencies involved. It is indeed an irony that the Safer Thetford Action Group, knowing in advance of this developing situation, was unable to ensure the safety of this unfortunate man.” A post-mortem examination revealed early indications are that Mr Fidos died from hypothermia. The case has now been passed to the coroner. Police said the man's death remains “unexplained” but a spokesman said there were no suspicious circumstances. Police did not want to comment on Mr Smith's letter. Thetford town councillor Terry Jermy said: “I think we owe it to Mr Fidos to properly examine what happened and learn lessons so that this cannot happen again. I cannot believe that in this country today, someone can be allowed to die from the cold in a tent.” A Breckland Council spokesman said: “In early October, the housing advice and homelessness service visited Barnham Cross Common to offer advice to four men who had been reported as sleeping in a tent. Mariusz and Piotr Fidos were not among the men who were occupying the tent at that time.” A statement said the men were offered help to travel to their home countries, but they declined and expressed a wish to continue living in the tent on the Common. The council has not said how long it though the Fidos brothers had been on the Common.

Homeless man dies on Barnham Cross Common from hypothermia

Taken from the EDP website, story printed on 22nd December 2009.The body of a man who had been sleeping rough in sub-zero temperatures has been found on the outskirts of Thetford. The dead man, who was from Poland and was found in a tent on Barnham Cross Common has been named as 33-year-old Mariusz Fidos. Yesterday team rector of Thetford, Canon Bob Baker and Thetford mayor, Pam Spencer, both spoke on behalf of the town of their sadness over the tragedy. "The people of Thetford are shocked and saddened. We don't know what the circumstances are surrounding this man's death but clearly, if there are lessons to learned, we must learn from them and ensure that this does not happen again," said Canon Baker. Mrs Spencer said: "My thoughts are with the relatives and friends of the deceased at was must be a particularly difficult time." It is understood that Mr Fidos was sharing the tent with his twin brother and a friend, all three being Polish nationals. A fourth man, also believed to be Eastern European, was in a tent on his own by the dead man's tent. The three other men have since been provided with emergency accommodation in Norwich. Mr Fidos was found dead on Sunday. A post-mortem examination carried out later that evening revealed early indications are that he died from hypothermia. The case has now been passed to the coroner. Police said the man's death remains "unexplained" but police said there were no suspicious circumstances. John Walker, of Breckland Council's housing advice and home-lessness service, described Mr Fidos' death as an "appalling tragedy". He said that the authority was not aware that Mr Fidos was sleeping rough on the Common and had not had any direct contact with him. He said Breckland Council was working hard with the police and other agencies in the Thetford area to ensure that everyone was aware when people were sleeping rough and then provide what help they could. Council officials, had, however, been aware in October of three men sleeping rough on Barnham Common. The group were advised of their housing options and also offered assistance to travel to their home countries but they declined such help. "We can't force people to return to their home countries if they do not want to go," said Mr Walker. Thetford town councillor Terry Jermy, whose ward covers the Barnham Common area, said that although housing officers were aware of people sleeping rough on the Common, he did not feel it was a priority to them. He was angry at the situation and suggested that a caravan could have been provided on the town's travel-lers' site which had not yet been used. "At least on that site they could have been free from harm," he said. He is calling for a serious look at the homelessness issue in Thetford. There is a facility for the homeless in Thetford at John Room House but it is currently closed for major refurbishment. Breckland Cabinet member with responsibility for housing, Paul Claussen said the authority took the homelessness issue very seriously and would be working with partner agencies to ensure that such a tragedy did not happen again. Mr Claussen stressed he was not aware of all the details of the case, but Mr Walker and his team did their utmost to find accommodation for people in difficulties. "We do encourage people to be our eyes and ears and let us know when they are aware of people facing difficulties with accommodation," he said

Thetford and Brandon Letters 29th July 2009

Sticking to an election pledge

When I stood for the Town Council by-election in July 2008, I listed three priorities on my main election leaflet. One of which was to campaign for more facilities and activities for children and young people in this town. We have a higher percentage of children under the age of 16 than any other place in Norfolk. 25% of Thetford is under 16, the national average is 17%. Imagine my horror therefore when I read the latest edition of Breckland Voice (the propaganda newspaper produced by Breckland Council, affectionately known as the 'bin-rag' by some, and worse names by others). I digress. Breckland Voice detailed two pages of activities for children taking place across the district, all free! great! Errrm. No. Not a single one taking place in Thetford. (Although, not many in Dereham either to be fair). I contacted Breckland Council and asked why. Because deadlines were missed. OK. What is happening? Activities at the Sports Centre provided by Parkwood? Hold on, Parkwood are a private company, they are charging for all their activities, one was £18 per child per day! Can parents across the Saxon Ward, and Thetford afford that? No. Furthermore, they are a sports centre, activities are sports related. Not all kids like sport. The activities detailed in 'Voice' were a mix, including arts and crafts related. So the bottom line is, it is not like for like. Once again, Thetford is being missed out. Don't children and young people in Thetford deserve something to do over the summer holidays? It would be worth mentioning Norfolk Youth Service at this point, part of Norfolk County Council, whom it would appear are also inadequately serving the needs of young people in this town. I contacted the Bury Free Press and shared my frustrations. They picked up on the story, and initially wanted a photograph of me to accompany the story, I suggested they speak to the parents who had contacted me initially asking about activities for children and hence the above lovely photo of bored children, has ended up on this weeks front page. Providing more activities for children and young people is of paramount important in this town and I will continue to do whatever I can to chip away at the issue. Here is the link to the story; http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/thetford/Nowhere-to-go.5468253.jp UPDATE: From a parent who contacted me about the lack of childrens activities who's child I invited to be in the photo for the newspaper: "I couldn't believe it when I saw it, I went to buy it and noticed they got front page! I was really pleased because people will have to pay attention now :) if it gets the message through then its all worth it because our children are the future an they will determine what happens next; if Thetford is going to be a respectable place with many opportunites or whether it will be known for crime and anti social behaviour !! thanx mate for giving me the opportunity to play a part in what happens to my childs future :) xx

24% of people in Breckland think they can influence how things are run

I found the last statistic given in this article on the EDP website very interesting. "On the outskirts of Norwich, 82pc of people under Breckland Council, were happy with their area as a place to live; half were satisfied with the way the council runs things; 42pc felt the council provided value for money and less than a quarter, 24pc felt they could influence the way things were run". Indeed, I think we have a democratic defecit in Breckland.

21st April 2009; Public Meeting at the Carnegie Rooms with Breckland Council

On Tuesday evening, I attended the 'Thetford Neighbourhood Forum' which is basically an opportunity for Thetford to keep the pressure on Breckland Council to actually deliver a reasonable level of service in this town - this was the third meeting, with the first being initiated by the Thetford Society and then the event became consumed and stage-managed directly by the Council. I found the 'you said, we did' presentation particularly interesting for a variety of reasons. Anyway, I too the opportunity to ask two questions, 1) Would Breckland Council commit to keeping the Redcastle Community Centre open for community use when the lease expires at the end of July as at present - the centre will be closed from August and will be a great loss to this community and 2) Would the Council support groups such as the Thetford Ballpark whom, like so many other organisations and facilities in this town and so greatly under-supported and constantly at risk. These were the only questions asked, out of approximately 30 questions, to prompt the Leader of Breckland Council - William Nunn, to jump up and answer, rather than the Chief Executive Trevor Holden (more about the questionner rather than the questions??) A fairly wishy washy answer to both parts resulted, but nethertheless, I did raise the point and hopefully some good may come of it. The main bone of contention on the evening, as expected, was the Abbey Barns. A day earlier Breckland Council's Development Control Committee had controversially agreed to grant planning permission to turn this historically significant site into housing. The state of St Mary the Less Church on Bury Road was also discussed. We have serious issues in Thetford with buildings, some historically significant (E.g. Abbey Barns and St Mary the Less), others just visually significant (E.g. Pine Close shops) just being left to rot, and sit as a severe risk to the health and safety of the community. Breckland Council has a statutory obligation to ensure the protection of these buildings and safeguard them. They fail miserably in this respect. Breckland Council claimed at the meeting to be doing all they can to force landlords to protect buildings, this is simply not the case. I reminded the Chief Executive that if a local authority was to serve an 'Enforcement Notice' on a landlord, demanding work is carried out, if such a notice was ignored, other authorities would undertake this work, and then promptly issue the landlord with the bill for it, with failure to repay resulting in court action. This is a power available to Breckland which it does not utilise. Breckland has no budget for 'works in default' and as I stated on Tuesday; "it will not be enforcement ACTION if there are no teeth, behind the words".

Barnham Broom Golf Club Wores

Fears over Barnham Broom hotel site Barnham Brrom Hotel and Country Club - hopes for expansion ELAINE MASLIN 23 October 2008 06:46 Owners of a hotel and golf club who lease a site bought using £7m of council tax payer's cash have said their business will no longer be viable unless they can expand. The claim has been made by Barnham Broom Hotel and Golf Club in a renewed attempt to expand its facilities, potentially with £4.5m of council tax payer's money. In a planning application for a new 42-bedroom wing, link corridor and new car park, the club says it needs to expand in order to make the business viable in what it says is an increasingly competitive market in the greater Norwich area. And that “maintaining the status quo is leading towards a decline in business viability”. The application was lodged in the same week Breckland Council, which bought the freehold of the site for £7m in 2006, revealed it had earmarked £2.8m for upgrading its controversial asset in its proposed 2009/10 budget, with a further £750,000 in the years before and after - cash which looks likely to be put towards the planned expansion. When the council bought the site the deal included the council spending £4.5m on upgrading the facility. However, a previous attempt to get the go-ahead for the expansion last year was thrown out by South Norfolk Council over concerns about trees on the site. Last night Breckland had not responded to a request by the EDP to reveal how much cash it makes out of its £7million investment of council tax payer's money in the club. Previous statements by the council have said it would make them about 2pc more than having the cash in a bank account. The new planning application has been lodged with South Norfolk Council with a public consultation on the scheme due to end ob November 4. It says: “It has been apparent for some time that Barnham Broom needs to embark on a new phase of expansion and redevelopment if it is going to remain competitive in the greater Norwich marketplace and effective in the future. “Failure to do so will see the viability undermined.” It adds the club has “traded consistently well” over the last 18 years, “but 100pc of all the profit has had to be used to re-invest and support the facility. It goes on to say that their vision is to see Barnham Broom become Norfolk's flagship leisure hotel and a “destination facility of choice”. The improvements would also mean it could be upgraded from a three star to four star facility. Barnham Broom's finances had been called into question earlier this year when figures lodged with Companies House revealed a loss of £245,000 last year. The current three star hotel has 52 en-suite rooms, restaurant, sports bar, spa, health and fitness facilities, sports and function facilities next to two 18 hole golf courses over 300 acres and 175 car parking spaces. There is an existing consent for an additional 42 rooms, restaurant/function room with kitchen and car parking, first given in 1995 and renewed a number of times since.