Published letter re: Councillor expenses

Letter regarding Senior Councillor expenses

Further to the article last week regarding the new Breckland Council Cabinet appointments, I would also like to add my congratulations to Councillor Ian Sherwood and Elizabeth Gould upon joining the Cabinet and to thank those departing Councillors whose services are deemed no longer required. I would however like to pick up on one point in the article. Leader of the Conservative run Council Mr Nunn states; “As we face unprecedented challenges in local Government...” Indeed, Breckland like many other authorities are looking to cut services in response to diminishing funds being handed to them by Central Government. Whilst looking at his Cabinet, Mr Nunn should also be looking at how much those Councillors that hold these positions actually get paid. A Breckland Cabinet member gets £11,050 annually – on top of the £5,200 they get paid for being a Councillor. This compares very favourably to the £6,600 that the same position gets in Kings Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, the £5,700 in St Edmunsbury and the £4,600 in South Norfolk. In addition to this, Breckland Cabinet members get an additional level of support through the ‘Executive Support Member’ role, the Councillor that holds this post gets an extra £1,850 a year on top of their Councillor salary – this is a role that does not exist in many councils and one has to wonder why it is required particularly when Cabinet members themselves are paid so well. Indeed, as Leader of Breckland, Mr Nunn gets an additional £20,700 a year (plus his £5,200) whilst the Leaders of Kings Lynn & West Norfolk (£14,760), St Edmunsbury (£10,638) and South Norfolk (£9,250) are all paid considerably less. Mr Nunn of course also gets an additional £8,929 annually for also being a Norfolk County Councillor. Should Breckland not be following the Government’s line of “we’re all in this together” and looking to reduce their own allowances, especially if they are looking to make drastic cuts to the services provided to local people. Councillor salaries are often regarded as a ‘cheap shot’ when looking for cuts, however, I am a strong defender of councillors receiving a remuneration for the many hours work that they put in – indeed, I would not be able to undertake my role as a Councillor if it were not for the £5,200 that I receive and the extra £2,600 that I receive for being Leader of the Opposition (strangely somewhat less that neighbouring authorities) but that remuneration should be fair and balanced and when compared to neighbouring areas, clearly that is not the case currently.

Two press releases this week and a job vacancy...

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.

Great write-up for SORT IT in EDP Fri 02/03/12

Tables go on sale for Jubilee Street Party

The first table reservations for the mass street party taking place as part of Thetford’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations have just taken place, with organizers expecting spaces to go quickly. The event, due to take place on Thetford Market Square on Monday 4th June 2012, will be just one part of the overall celebrations planned in the town and with space for 500 people, complete with street entertainers, bunting and flags, the street party looks set to be a good old fashioned knees up. The day will begin with a civic parade from Kings House in the morning to St Cuthbert’s Church where a special service will take place. Thetford will be joined by representatives from its twin towns across Europe including Poland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Following the mid-day street party, the focus will then move to Melford Common where a free concert will be staged, showcasing many local musicians. The highlight of the day will be a concert finale - ‘One Night of Queen’ performed by Gary Mullen and The Works, quite simply the best Queen Tribute Act. Gary is a former winner of ‘Stars in their eyes’ and currently on a World Tour. This amazing night is finally rounded off with a ceremony to light one of the official Diamond Jubilee beacons on top of Castle Hill, complete with a special firework display. Tables for the street party can be reserved by contacting Thetford’s Tourist Information Office, provided by Leaping Hare, at their King Street office or by contacting 01842 751975. Table reservations cost £5 per table, and each table can seat approximately 6 people. Attendees will need to provide their own party food and drink.

How can we improve Thetford High Street? Some practical ideas....

SORT IT! ‘School Of Radical Thought In Thetford’ Here’s my ‘two penneth worth’ on how we can improve Thetford’s high Street as we look to submit our application to become a ‘Portas Pilot’. Terry Jermy Thetford Town & Breckland District Councillor Why is our High Street failing? And how can we re-invigorate it? High streets are failing up and down the country. Supermarkets, retail parks and online shopping is more often than not cheaper, and more convenient than shopping on the high street or at the local market. Unfortunately, it is not just as simple as “get some better shops” or “we want a Primark, a Sports shop” etc. – how do we get those shops? How do we get people to want to shop in the Thetford high street? What came first, the good shop, or the eager customer? Supermarkets and the internet have the odds stacked in their favour. But, there are steps that can be taken to address this imbalance. High Streets are business zones, they operate with regard to profit, therefore if a business is able to, or believes that they can make a profit from trading in an area than they will open up a shop to suit that demand. The Portas review focuses on the fact that high streets will continue to be beaten on price and convenience. However, the niche of the high street, or its unique selling point should be; A ‘quality’ retail experience – mixing leisure / recreation with your shopping experience - supermarkets are basically large warehouses, stacked high with goods to reduce price - they cannot compete with walking through our beautiful high streets, with their history, architecture and green spaces. Quality of the goods or service provided - how many employees of supermarkets know and understand the products they sell? High street employees, particularly independent traders and market stall holders have a wealth of knowledge. Here’s some practicable suggestions on how we could incoprorate these two points here in Thetford:- Pre-paid cards / Loyalty Scheme I don’t carry cash – or rather I very rarely do, I think it’s a generational thing. I’m always worried that I might lose my wallet and then the cash is gone and I also like to check my bank statement at the end of the month to see where I’ve been spending it all. This is one of the reasons that I think markets particularly are failing – many people do not like handing over cash or don’t carry it in the first place. Could a pre-paid card system be introduced where people load up their card with cash to spend in the high street and the market? It would need consideration with regard to safety etc and the practicalities worked out, but there is scope. For example, you could purchase the cards if you wanted to give a gift to somebody and encourage them to spend their money in the high street – a bit like a Thetford Pound idea mentioned on the 'Sort It' Facebook page (Well done Ron Wood). We also need to consider one of the reasons that the supermarkets are so successful – loyalty schemes. Think Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar Card. Very clever marketing to encourage you to regular shop in these locations to build up your points (I love my Nectar Card!). Subway of course have not long ago introduced the ‘Sub-card’ for that very reason. Once they have your details, they can market a variety of information to you, and cleverly try to sell you things that they know you like. High streets and markets don’t have that advantage. They have very limited marketing budgets – if any at all, and have to resort to expensive, and often ineffective marketing campaigns in local magazines or newspapers. They struggle to let people know about any special offers, or events they may have, and rely on customers that happen to pop in, or happen to be passing and take advantage. If we want our high street to survive, we have got to assist them with marketing that works, utilising some form of loyalty scheme and also new technologies including Facebook and other social networking – this is a new area that even the supermarkets and major chain stores are just getting into and presents some massive opportunities for local businesses. Our high streets do contain a range of goods, often at great prices, but do we know about them? A word of caution on loyalty schemes – if it’s going to be done, it’s got to be done properly. There have been numerous ‘bright ideas’ with loyalty schemes up and down the country that ultimately sound good, but haven’t been given the right focus and attention and ultimately they fail. If people are to sign up to this, it has got to be worthwhile with some real benefits to be had for those using it, not merely token gestures. Can we think out of the box a bit? Can high street retailers pay their employees a proportion of their salary, or maybe just a bonus in ‘Thetford pounds’? Can other local employers pay their workers an extra payment if they were to accept part of their wages in Thetford pounds? Can these be credited to their ‘shop local’ card? Community Land Trust One of the major problems we have in Thetford is that so much of our High Street is owned by large conglomerates, multi-nationals, pension funds, banks, overseas investors etc. For example; the Cottage Hospital is currently owned by somebody living in China, who would be perhaps more inclined to develop it if he had to look at its sorry state every day like the rest of us. The St Mary the Less Church on Bury Road is owned by a private investor in London. The three units down Riverside Walk that were formerly Sneezums, Pine World and the Fruit N’ Veg shop are all owned by a very large company, so while these shops are crucial to the rest of us, on their balance sheet they are probably of rather limited significance. I think we should do what many other areas around the country have been doing and taking matters, or rather property into our own hands. We should be establishing a Community Land Trust / Development Trust that can actually buy up the freehold of various buildings when they become available. The freehold to New Look and Yours was recently sold, the Old Court House was also recently sold, the building that Blockbusters is in was recently sold, the Bridge Pub was recently sold. Hopefully these have all gone to reputable investors or businesses. But we should not be leaving this to chance. Ultimately, it is a fact of life that they will be motivated by profit, whereas a Community Land Trust would reinvest the profits back into that property, purchase more property or reinvest the money in some form to assist the community. Shares in the Trust could be sold to members of the community, so they had real ‘ownership’ of our town and its future. Imagine if we had a fund of £1 million.... Half of that could be shares owned by Thetford Town Council and possibly Breckland Council, the other half could be shares sold to the wider community. (£500,000 worth of shares, sold at £25 each would require 20,000 shares to be sold – that is entirely achievable, 5,000 could buy 4 shares each - some may want to buy lots more than 4). You could buy £100 worth of shares, and receive a dividend each year for your investment, assuming a profit occurs – along the same lines that Co-op and John Lewis operate. Shop local Whilst we may not have the range of shops that we may want, there are shops that exist, and they need our money. If we all made a very conscious effort to support what we could, this would go a very long way towards propping up these businesses and encouraging others to join. This is what we can all be doing on a regular basis. Thetford Town Council has a yearly expenditure of £800,000 – that’s nearly £1 million annually. Much of that of course goes on salaries and other services where there is little choice, but is there a conscious effort being made to support local businesses and traders? – Not yet, but it is slowly happening. I don't agree with a company based in Downham Market being employed to tend to Kings House gardens and run the public toilets on contracts worth tens of thousands, for example.. Do you work in a Thetford business? Are you a Manager? What services, equipment etc do you currently purchase that could be purchased from Thetford businesses? If you are having a buffet, are you getting a quote from Tall Orders, or Subway, or talking to Greggs or the sandwhich man at the Shambles? If you are purchasing a new fridge, television etc – are you checking to see if Cobra or Hughes can do you a good price before you check online or go to Curry’s? They may just have what you need, don’t write them off. That said – I am a realist, we all have to watch our budgets, myself included. I’m not saying purchase from the high street at any cost – it’s just not possible, but, we can give them a look in and a fair chance. Talk it up! Similarly to the above, there are a growing number of people that are getting active in the community in Thetford and speaking up. We need to accelerate this. For too long has our town been talked down, no more! We should all be ambassadors of Thetford. Acknowledge where we need to work harder, but challenge the myths, high-light the advantages, talk it up! (Hats off to Tina Matthews! – a very good example of a ‘talker-uper’). Similarly, if you work in a local shop, look to see if your business is involved in the local community. Too many of our high street retailers do not engage in local community activities. How many businesses contribute to the Christmas lights appeal? Or hanging basket fund? How many support local voluntary and community organisations. It is often the same old companies supporting the community. Argos for example, support a national charity – the last I heard it was Whizzkids. Great – but they take a considerable amount of money OUT of Thetford, they need to also support the local community. The big chain stores should be helping – Argos, WH Smith, Savers to name a few – if you work for these companies, ask questions! You can often have much greater leverage then people on the outside. Charity Shops These shops will exist – no matter what. Rather than fighting against them, we should embrace them. Charity shops thrive – because people use them! Ok, I admit it – I used to think they were full of old ladies and that they smelt of wee, (Ok, some do!) but, they do contain some good bargains, and there is a variety of items in them, and the money you spend goes to a good cause. They also provide some very good volunteering opportunities for a variety of people that get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction from the good work that they do. We live in a low wage economy and money is tight for many people. Charity shops can assist with this. Let’s challenge the stigma and embrace the variety, choice and low prices available. They should feature in any future plans for our high street. Foreign Shops “I went to town today and didn’t hear an English voice!” – really? Why is that? “there’s too many foreign shops? – really? Why is that? If only I had a pound for every time I heard those two statements!! So why is it? Because the culture of countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia etc is about supporting your local high street, about using small independent retailers. When I visited Poland, I went to a fairly major town. They had just had a Tesco open up on the outskirts and they were running a free bus from the town centre to the supermarket to entice people in. Every day that bus was empty. Entrepreneurs from different countries, (for that is what they are), are opening up shops in our high street because there is a market for them. People use them, and spend their money in them! I don’t hear people complaining about the Poles queuing up in Sainsbury’s. Many of the ‘foreign shops’ offer a range of goods and services, particularly foods – how long did Thetford campaign to have a town centre food shop and somewhere to buy a pint of milk? Let's embrace our multiculturialsm and use it. Thetford is a town with a long-standing history of immigration. London overspill? Marajah Duleep Singh? These bring in tourists that spend money. Our range of delicastessans and food retailers offering such variety already brings in people from elsewhere - money being spent in our town. Shop sizes Many of our shop units are of the wrong size. Many are too small to accommodate more well known high street retailers, and many are too large to accommodate small, independent businesses or business start-ups. We need both to be addressed. The Portas review talks about small market traders and business start-ups – we need to look at this and perhaps link it with the Community Land Trust idea as a means to funding the renovations. Walk round the Pedlars Grove area of Swaffham or the road down from the Dereham Memorial Hall – a collecting of small, quaint little shops offering a fascinating range of goods and services. These ‘micro-businesses’ are charged smaller rents, and have smaller business rates bills – but offer the consumer greater choice. We need to diversify that choice in Thetford and make it easier for such shops to compete. Play to our strengths.... Thetford is an incredibly beautiful town, it has got some fantastic green spaces and some fantastic architecture. Stand in the high street – look around, would you know this? Stand outside Boots – walk 5 minutes in either direction, you would either come to Kings House Gardens or Castle Park, two fantastic assets to our town, but often not utilised (the gardens, more so than Castle Hill). The Portas review says that shopping in our high streets should be as much about leisure and recreation as they are about the actual shopping. We are ideally placed for this in Thetford. We should be running guided tours of the Kings House gardens, and Kings House itself. If you get to Castle Hill – do you know what you are looking at? How beautiful is St Cuthbert’s Church? But when do people get to go in there? We need to play to our strengths and realise what we have got. For those of us living and working in the town we can often overlook what is right in front of us. There will be a major development taking place outside Boots in the near future, plans will be put out to consultation soon. This project is a fantastic opportunity to link in with the Portas review as we will be creating recreational space within the high street, and in particular space for open air performances – singing, acting, public speaking – all would add vibrancy to the high street. I want to see musicians – not charity muggers – in our high street. People attracting shoppers, not scaring them away!

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

My views on youth issues in Thetford

A debate recently took place through Facebook on provision for young people in Thetford, here's my contribution; My 'two penneth' for what it is worth.... we have always struggled in Thetford to provide a satisfactory level of facilities and activities for young people. We are a small market town, but with a very large youth population, we have entrenched deprivation (the child poverty rate for my Council Ward is 29%) and low car ownership - this means it is difficult for many parents to afford to access paid activities or facilities on a regular basis or to transport their children to activities that are taking place or support their membership of organised clubs etc. (watching the commitment my sister has to put into supporting my nephew who is a member of a local football team is frankly inspiring). A limited public transport network compounds the problems - ask any young person how easy it is to get to and from Bury cinema for example on the bus (let alone the cost of the cinema, drinks etc. Frankly if I did not drive, myself and my circle of friends - who don't drive, would have a much reduced social life and we're all in our mid 20's!). As a town, we have also been historically poorly served by 'the councils'. For example, Norfolk County Council who were the primary provider of youth activities, for many years provided one of the least amounts of money for youth services in the country, even before you considered the additional costs incurred when spreading that service over a large rural county. Norfolk CC "deleted" their youth service last year and made all of their youth workers redundant, practically wiped out the Connexions support service, closed the Thetford Pupil Referral Unit and much else - including cuts to teenage pregnancy support services. Added to national Government cuts to things like the Educational Support Allowance (EMA), rises in tuition fees, scrapping the future jobs fund etc - you can see why young people are getting a bad deal at the moment (nearly 1 million youth unemployed - not including the 16 & 17 year olds of course not in education or employment as they don't register on the statistics). More locally of course, Breckland Council has historically not provided many activities for young people, or indeed many cultural or sports related services, although they have increased somewhat over the last few years, the service is still somewhat inadequate and Breckland is a large rural district, and many activities take place in the villages, as opposed to towns like Thetford (although I am very grateful for the £3,000 they recently granted to the Football Coaching project delivered by the TCA). I have long believed that Thetford Town Council needs to get a grip of the situation and support young people. They are the future of our town (a much overused cliche, but it is true). Last year I asked the Town Council to create a yearly budget of £40,000 to support children and young people - even that was insignificant, but it was an important start - eventually they granted £10,000 per year, but I have hopes that this will rise. The Town Council spends £750,000 per year in total, yet contributed just £5,000 to 'youth projects' (although I except that young people do benefit from generic services such as public toilets, Christmas lights switch on for example) but the point remains, for a town where over 25% of the population is under 16 years of age, the towns budget did not reflect this and still does not reflect this. So what can we do about it? If you're a parent reading this, or a young person, get yourself to the public question time at a Town Council meeting (last Tuesday of every month, always starting at 7pm, always with a 15 minute public question time at the start) ask YOUR representatives what they are doing to support young people (I am constantly surprised at how 'anti youth' some councillors are), make sure you vote at local elections (as the point has been made earlier by Bob, some very good pro-young people candidates do not get elected, because older members of our community and far more active when it comes to elections. And also, get out there and volunteer. All the previous comments about volunteering are very valid, but I can entirely understand peoples concerns about volunteering. Working with young people can be daunting, particularly given many of the young people can be challenging (wherever you live) - and there is a distinct difference with volunteering in Thetford and some nearby leafy village. There is an important role for 'councils' and other organisations to support parents and well meaning members of the community with volunteering, to facilitate and enable that commitment to flourish, by providing training etc. I work on a self-employed basis for a local charity - Thetford Community Association - that runs football coaching sessions for young people aged 10-14 years at the Ballpark on St Martins Way, last week we interviewed two people (one from the Abbey Estate, and one from Mundford) who are going to be volunteering at our sessions, two guys with limited experience in youth work / football coaching, but a very firm commitment to wanting to help their community, which is highly commendable. There are many examples of good projects, as had been demonstrated in this post, and if people wanted to they could quite easily fit in and give a small amount of time that would make a big difference.

Letter to Norfolk County Council re: bus passes

Director of Public Transport, Norfolk County Council County Hall Martineau Lane Norwich, Norfolk NR1 2DH Friday 6th January 2011 Dear Sir or Madam, There is currently much confusion in Thetford amongst our older residents regarding public transport and in particular, what public transport they can use with their free bus pass. I would be most grateful if somebody could write to me and explain what bus services are available to the people of Thetford and which ones they can use their bus pass on to receive free travel. Of particular interest is the route from Thetford to Norwich, but I would be grateful for as much detail as possible that you are able to provide, including whether or not the bus passes can be used on National Express coaches that stop at Thetford and whether or not there are any restrictions on usage during certain times. This would greatly assist myself and other local councillors when advising residents. Many thanks, Terry Jermy Thetford Town & Breckland District Councillor Leader of the Breckland Labour Group

Letter to Secretary of State, Re: Kings Lynn Incinerator

Dear Secretary Of State, I am writing to you to ensure you are fully aware of the position of Breckland Council as regards to an incinerator in King's Lynn. I do appreciate that as Secretary Of State you will have a difficult decision to make. However, I have become aware that the Leader of Breckland Council has written to you in relation to the matter. Councillor Nunn is the Chairman of the Norfolk Waste Partnership, and it is my understanding that he has said that Breckland Council supports an incinerator in King's Lynn. As a member of Breckland Council, and as Leader of the Opposition Labour Group, I feel obliged to inform you that there has been no consultation with the Council nor indeed has this matter been discussed at any Breckland Council committee meeting. Were there to be consultation with the council, and/or the people of Breckland, I am confident that rather than overwhelming support there would be much opposition to an incinerator in King's Lynn. The Breckland Labour Group is completely against these proposals which have so clearly been rejected by the residents of the Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Council area. You may be aware that Councillor Nunn is also a member of Norfolk County Council, and that Norfolk County Council is proposing an incinerator. I can not say that this prompted him to write to you, but nor I can say it did not influence what he wrote. I believe that the Leader of King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council has also written to you. I am aware that, in stark contrast to Breckland Council, he has consulted with his council and that there was no support for an incinerator. Indeed it can be argued that KLWNBC is unanimous in its opposition to an incinerator, and that their opposition is a reflection of the views of the overwhelming majority of the district. Yours sincerely, Terry Jermy Thetford Town & Breckland District Councillor Leader of the Breckland Labour Group

Comedy Night coming up; Friday 18th November

Thetford Youth Club - Excellent press coverage!

Letter to Norfolk County Council re: Charles Burrell and Thetford Schools

Dear Mr Murphy, As you will be aware, the Thetford Academy will be re-locating from a two site school to just one site, with the building that was once Charles Burrell High School no longer being required. Instead, what was previously called Rosemary Musker High School – now Thetford Academy North Campus, will provide all the education facilities for Years 7 pupils upwards. As the three elected Breckland District Councillors for the Thetford – Saxon Ward, we wanted to write to you regarding some concerns that we have, but to also outline a potentially very important opportunity that we believe now exists; 1. Transport provision for young people from South of Thetford: A majority of the young people from the Thetford – Saxon Ward currently attend the South Site as it is so geographically near. Many students and parents are rightly concerned about this change and feel that it would not be appropriate or indeed safe to expect children from the South of Thetford to walk to and from the North site each day. We strongly urge you, and the Academy Management and Lead Sponsors to ensure that adequate transport provision is in place prior to this change. We want our young people to arrive ready for their education each morning, after a 45 – 60 minute walk across town, potentially in wet and cold conditions, we do not feel that this would be possible and their education would suffer as a result. 2. Croxton Road safety concerns: We also have considerable concerns about the safety of the Croxton Road and Mundford Road that leads to the North Campus site. There has previously been a fatality on this road involving a school child, and a child was knocked down by a car just the other week – although thankfully the injuries were not too severe. We urge you to ensure your transport officials investigate all possible options for safety improvements in this area and to put pressure on the Academy to ensure that road safety is an important part of the schools education programme. 3. Charles Burrell site – opportunity: We believe that a fantastic opportunity now presents itself with the South Campus site. For very many years the South of Thetford has suffered from a distinct lack of community facilities. This will be further exacerbated if those dual usage facilities at the school move. We urge the County Council to retain the swimming pool and main hall at the Charles Burrell site for community usage. We would welcome the creation of a Community Trust, or similar organisation that these assets could be transferred to, we would be happy to help facilitate this and believe we would have the support of Thetford Town Council in doing so. Crucially, we would support the County Council if it were to redevelop the remaining site, which could be utilised for housing provision – with a Section 106 put in place that could contribute to the sustainability of the community buildings? We recognise that it is important that the County Council realises the full value of its assets, and would support this if it also resulted in a sustainable community asset being created. This proposal would be a massive boost for the wider community which has suffered from entrenched deprivation for many years. We urge you to consider our proposals. Best wishes, Terry Jermy Thetford Town & Breckland District Councillor Sylvia Armes Thetford Town & Breckland District Councillor Mark Robinson Breckland District Councillor

Breckland Leader article in Thetford and Brandon 03.11.11

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,

Saxon Ward casework

I've been a bit trigger happy lately with my camera and have sent all sorts of issues to Breckland Council and others to address, a selection below....

Thetford Town Council objects to concentration of 5,000 homes

Radio Norfolk Interview Morning after Parish Poll results

Listen to the MTF Board Member on the morning after the Bus Station Parish Poll....

Thetford Bus Station; The MTF response

Last Thursday (22nd Sept) saw the delayed Moving Thetford Forward Board meeting take place - it was originally scheduled for early September, but was put back to consider the implications of the Thetford Parish Poll that occurred on the 9th August. I really wasn't sure what to expect from the meeting, would they eat humble pie after the poll and concede that the public wanted the bus station to stay where it is, or would they dismiss the poll entirely? What happened however surprised me. We first heard from a senior finance officer at Breckland Council who outlined the financial risks associated with changing the decision. I expected this to be quite doom and gloom - "we'd lose a fortune if we now didn't move the bus station" - but that was not the case. A lot of the costs incurred could be recouped, so from a financial sense, the MTF board could have changed their mind and kept the bus station where it is. What happened next though was fascinating; up got a senior transport officer from Norfolk County Council, and the architect employed to develop proposals for the Minstergate bus station and regeneration proposals for the current Bridge Street site. They flashed up the two proposals that the 'No' campaign developed in August prior to the Parish Poll taking place (which incidentally they received from third parties), then they proceeded to pick the proposals apart, explaining why they were "not deliverable" and then told the audience how their plan was the only viable option and the bus station should be moved. I was incensed. No-body from the MTF team had bothered to contact myself or other No campaigners prior to the Board meeting, no courtesy phone call to say that the plans would be "objectively assessed" at the meeting, no "let's have a coffee and you can talk us through the rationale behind your proposals", no professional courtesy of contacting the local architect who produced the proposals so that he could explain the background to them. They could have stood there and said whilst the plans have merit, they are not as far advanced as the MTF plans - (of course not, they're just initial proposals), but we cannot wait to develop them further and we want to go ahead with our developed and tested option - that would have had more credibility. What they did in that 15 minutes, really encapsulated what is wrong with the whole MTF process so far, they treated the local community,and local activists with contempt, in a quite nasty way they pulled apart a set of proposals, whilst claiming to do so objectively and impartially, and then ended with saying that their proposals were better - well, you're being paid an awful lot of money, so I should jolly well hope so! But it's the contempt for the local community, the lack of communication and understanding that is the real story of this whole situation.... all very sad indeed, I hope the Government inspector will see all of this! Oh, and by the way, as a Breckland Councillor, I was allowed to attend the meeting that was scheduled to start at 10am. So most of us mere 'observers' arrived from 9.30am - 9.55am or so - interesting then that on the official signing in sheet for the building, i.e. the one they use for the fire register, it had the vast majority of names listed as arriving from 8.20am... I wonder what was being discussed in advance of the rest of us attending? One word of praise however, the Chairman, William Nunn (also Breckland Council Leader) did allow us observers quite a bit of time to speak, which was quite courteous, now he probably knew how the vote would go, so had nothing to lose in allowing us to speak, but credit where it is due.

Parish Poll Campaign Almost Over

The past few weeks have been fascinating. For those looking in from outside, I am sure their overwhelming feeling is one of bemusement - 'people in Thetford are holding a referendum on where their bus station is located' - how very odd. What started with a couple of people asking for a 'Parish Poll' at a Town Council meeting soon became over 150 people attending a Public meeting just 7 days later at the Town's Guildhall - overwhelmingly demanding a vote on the bus station's location. The vote was called - and will be held tomorrow - Tuesday 9th August from 4pm - 9pm. The campaign has been fascinating to watch, and indeed to be a part of. Almost immediately, Breckland Council painted this issue as 'old Thetford, v.s new Thetford' - the Leader, William Nunn, appearing on Anglia News labelled those calling for the poll as 'stuck in the past', that stereotyping soon encompassed Dads Army, and if you did not support the bus station moving - you were branded as "old, boring and part of the Dads Army brigade" - that really set the theme for the 'Yes Campaign'. Quite nasty and really quite personal. For example, myself and others supporting 'No' have been quite regularly slated on Facebook - both the 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns established Facebook 'pages'. (Note the Royston Vasy image on the Thetford Parish Poll Facebok event page) Apparently if you did not want the bus station to be moved, you did not want a cinema, you did not want investment, you therefore want Thetford to die - odd, given that so many on the 'No' campaign have done so very much to promote Thetford, (think Dads Army, Leaping Hare, think Thetford Society, dare I say - think Thetford Community Association and Benjamin Foundation - two charities I have worked for supporting young people in Thetford) However, no-body could comment on the Yes campaign Facebook page unless they 'liked' it, (i.e. they signed up to say they supported it) and even if you did 'like' it, but the organisers did not like you - so to speak - you were removed, and your comments deleted; it very much presented one side of the argument. The 'No' page on the contrary, which I set-up, did not delete a single comment or member. Another interesting twist in the saga came at the July meeting of Thetford Town Council. Several members (at risk of being partisan - I will say that they were Conservative) argued in favour of the Town Council doing nothing at all, not even doing anything constructive to inform people that a vote was taking place and encourage participation. Odd you may think given that a few weeks before the Council voted with a majority to support the bus station staying where it was. Sitting on the fence was the preferred option - in my humble opinion, it is precisely because of such action over many years that organisations such as Breckland Council and Moving Thetford Forward feel they can do whatever they like to our town. We have several splinters from such fence sitting! I did not hear of those same Councillors arguing at their Breckland Council meeting for a similar stance - indeed, Breckland/MTF (forgive me, I fail to distinguish between them) rushed to have pictorials produced and displayed at both the Bridge Street site and the Cosy Carpets site within days of the Parish Poll being called - presenting it as a fait au complait and no doubt reinforcing the view amongst many that the decision has been made and "what's the point" - if I had a pound for every time I heard that I'd be a rich man - hey, I could fund a new bus station ;). The Town Council did vote and committed £400 and booked the front cover of the About Thetford magazine to inform residents that the poll would be taking place - some members voted against this - against informing the electorate of their right to vote in a democratic poll. In addition, those of us supporting the No campaign did organise ourselves quite well and enlisted the support of a friend of mine - Jon Chambers, who designed for us very quickly a simple Vote No campaign flyer and accompanying website - www.thetfordvotesno.com - that flyer was delivered to 10,000 houses in Thetford - much to the alarm of those supporting Yes, who probably had not envisaged the extent to which 'No' would go to in campaigning (the entire 'No' campaign incidentally has been funded by personal donations). The leaflet offered to take people to the polling station if they needed to (if people had transport, mobility, disability issues etc) which was again attacked by those on the Yes side - hardly democratic. The issue has really captured the attention of many in Thetford with a succession of letters appearing in the Thetford and Brandon Times, with some from No campaigners and some from Yes campaigners - The Times did itself credit by publishing so many of the letters. What a shame so many people in Thetford do not receive that newspaper so that they too could have had access to such information. However, I was disappointed that both the Thetford and Brandon and Bury Free Press published the article by Moving Thetford Forward/Breckland Council on both their front pages, depicting the saga as Thetford's battle to move forward - 'Let our town move forward' - cried Neil Stott and Kevin Ward - neither Thetford residents, both with vested interests. A really crucial element of the No campaign was demonstrating that the bus station could remain on its current site, access could be improved (the original reason for wanting to move it) and the site could support regeneration - we enlisted the support of local architect John Atkins, who came up with some fantastic proposals in a rapid period of time - they were not detailed, fully costed etc - but showed what was POSSIBLE. However, the press allowed Breckland Council/MTF to comment on the proposals - no such right was afforded the previous weeks with the councils plans were presented in the newspapers - understandably, the council rubbished the plans - "a visual depiction of a pipe dream" - Mark Robinson, Conservative District Councillor and MTF Board Member (Mark, we both know that you did not write that statement, but they attributed your name to it - I've never heard you talk in a way that resembles the quote they used). So, despite all of that, everyone in Thetford will have the opportunity to go to their local polling station tomorrow. Given that there were no formal poll cards issued, no ability to vote by post or by proxy, given that it is August and many people are away, giving that the hours of the poll are limited to 4pm - 9pm, I am not expecting a huge turnout - not least because democratic involvement in Thetford is low anyway - perhaps that has something to do with the view that the local Council/s' do not listen and we are combating 20 years of induced apathy. Personally, I would be pleased with a turnout of anything over 10%. Do I expect the No campaign to win? I do. But by how much will be the interesting factor. If the turnout is over 10%, and if the No vote wins by more than 60-70%, and IF more people participate than those that have so far participated in any Moving Thetford Forward consultations, I seriously hope Breckland Council and MTF are gracious enough to admit that they need to look at things again, and look at their approach to consultation - and the extent to which they listen (and act upon) feedback. If, after tomorrow, they continue to arrogantly charge ahead, I am not sure what will happen, but I do not think the people of Thetford will continue to take it laying down. Tomorrow for me represents a new dawn for Thetford, a day when collectively as a town it declares enough is enough, our destiny must be shaped with us, not for us.

The 'Vote No' campaign flyer

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!)

Thetford and Brandon Letters Page 09.02.11

My letter to Thetford and Brandon re: Sweyn Close

Dear Editor, Following the article last week regarding the housing scheme at Sweyn Close on Barnham Cross, I should like to comment further and clarify some points. Particularly considering there has been much misinformation in this debate. A group of organisations have been working to improve the Barnham Cross community for several years, its loose title has been Barnham Cross Regeneration Steering Group. It has achieved some notable accomplishments, not least the redevelopment of redundant garage sites at Fir Road and Ash Close. Further improvements will take place this year in the form of increased parking and landscaping and further dwellings constructed at Mingay Road in the shape of much needed bungalows. The primary focus was always on the regeneration of Sweyn Close given the deterioration of those houses. Much consultation took place across the Barnham Cross community regarding Sweyn Close, many meetings were held and plans were drawn up – I was involved with this process and devoted many, many hours to it. At every step along the way, the regeneration at Sweyn Close was going to consist of a ‘mixed tenure’ – in other words, there would be a significant number of social housing units (what many people will know as ‘council houses’) and there would be several privately sold and some for shared ownership. For me, and others – this mixed tenure was crucial, for several reasons. 1. Primarily because all national guidelines state that a mixed tenure development is the right choice. Not compacting as many of one type together. 2) There were people that owned their house at Sweyn Close that had to move out for this scheme to go ahead, and expressed an interest in returning to the area if they could, and we do need more homes for sale in general towards the South-West of Thetford. 3) Shared ownership – I have had several people contact me, desperate to get onto the housing ladder and were keen for shared ownership properties to be incorporated into this development. I know from personal experience having just bought my own house (on the Barnham Cross Estate!) that it is incredibly difficult to get onto the housing ladder. Furthermore, the community consultation and the planning application to the Town Council and Breckland Planning Committee stated there would be a mixed tenure development. The planning application does not have to be looked at again because of this change. In many ways, this application was viewed under false pretences. Last Wednesday, I requested that Thetford Town Council put onto its Agenda a motion that, if agreed, would call for a letter to be sent to the Homes and Communities Agency (the national organisation that awards money for social housing, and the ones we were told that were insisting for entirely social housing in this development) I explained my reasoning for this at the council meeting, and explained that I thought it was unfair for a national organisation to be dictating to Thetford how this should proceed. We were told it was this way, or there would be no money, effectively scuppering the whole thing. I was delighted that 6 councillors supported me (2 did not, and 3 abstained). However, since then, the council and councillors have come under considerable pressure. Senior Breckland Council officers have told us that our actions may cost this entire re-development and the investment of £10 million pounds into Thetford. I have spoken with the HCA, they respect that Thetford Town Councillors have a democratic right to express the views of the people they represent. What sort of world do we live in where councillors cannot do this, in fear of national organisations acting like small children and taking away their toys? I am disappointed that 7 Thetford Councillors have now called for our original decision to be re-tracted. A special meeting of Thetford Town Council has been called, on Wednesday 9th February 2011 at 7pm in the Town Council Chambers. I thought on this issue Thetford Town Council may put the people of this town first. I hope after Wednesday night this remains to be the case. Yours sincerely, Terry Jermy Thetford Town Councillor – Saxon Ward Elm Road, Thetford

Thetford and Brandon Times - 2nd February

My letter to the Thetford and Brandon Times, 31.01.11

Dear Editor Following the correspondence recently concerning the ability of the Town Council to instigate change in Thetford, as someone who has now served as a Town Councillor for 3 years, I would make the following points. The Town Council has a yearly expenditure of nearly ¾ of a million pounds, it spends £750,000 per year, the majority of which (£500,000) comes from council tax payers in Thetford, with the remainder coming from different sources of income – particularly rental income from Town Council owned buildings. I do not think this level of expenditure is insignificant – if spent wisely and with due regard to value for money, that level of yearly expenditure could achieve a significant amount in our town – bear in mind of course that the Town Council is able to reclaim VAT, so that yearly expenditure is already worth more than many regard. Furthermore, the Town Council does own considerable assets; The Guildhall, Carnegie Room, Red Lion, Royal British Legion building, Rudlings and Wakelam building, the Shambles, London Road cemetery chapel and cottage and others. In addition, The Town Council has significant financial reserves – several hundreds of thousands of pounds in fact. And of course, all Town Councillors are Trustees of the Staniforth Trust, responsible for Kings House and Kings House gardens and with other financial reserves as well. The Town Council is also responsible for land, not least our Common Land – Barnham Common, Melford Common, plus all of the allotment land in Thetford, and it is responsible for Castle Park and the surrounding land – including Castle Hill. The Town Council has significant resources, not least our staff team with a whole range of skills at its disposal. So, far from being remote and irrelevant, the Town Council has a significant role to play in the life of our town. It does not have to sit back and moan about the shortcomings of Breckland Council (numerous as they are), but could work towards improving our town and the quality of life for residents – putting Thetford first. This all of course is what is possible. Despite some notable accomplishments, there remains so much more that the Town Council could be doing, not least providing a strong and passionate collective voice for our town. I have often felt in the past that our Town Council has ‘mumbled itself into insignificance’. Alas, all is not lost. Elections to Thetford Town Council are taking place on the 5th May 2011, and I urge everyone in Thetford not to disregard this, take an active interest and participate in your democratic right to vote. The Town Council could achieve so much more, and I sincerely hope that it does. Terry Jermy Elm Road, Thetford Thetford Town Council – Saxon Ward

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?

Thetford Meet-up Cafe Project Update 2

Today was my 7th working day at the new project… time flies hey! A lot has happened since that very cold first day on the 4th January!! We (myself and Tina Westgarth – Cafe Development Worker) spent the first week pretty much engaged in cleaning what we could and putting initial things into place. Once the heating was sorted, there was a whole list of other contractors / suppliers we needed to speak to. The carpets need to be cleaned, the curtains in the hall as well, need to get the whole place painted and decorated, electricians quotes, new windows etc etc etc It is all being hampered by the fact the hole in the roof remains and we have been unable to obtain quotes as companies could not get onto the roof and assess what is needed while it was covered with snow. Now that it has all gone, we are hoping to make some quick progress with this. The downside of having a non-frozen roof of course is that all of the water is now coming through again and we have a wet carpet! Today I got all of the window shutters up and attacked the very thick cobwebs and some mean looking spiders with a big broom!! Windows need to be cleaned, and frames repainted. We’ve been very fortunate to have a number of people pop-in and offer to volunteer, probably about 7 people have now completed volunteer application forms and a number of others have said they will pop-in at some point. Much work to do in terms of processing these, completing CRB checks, arranging for inductions and sourcing the necessary training, getting name badges sorted etc. Tomorrow will be a very good day as we should be having our new computers delivered and getting connected to the internet and email!! that should help us get things underway. Been having lots of conversations about the sorts of activities that can take place in the building, hope to involve as many people as possible in due course to get ideas and get many people involved in supporting the project. I’ve now created a Thetford Meet-up Cafe user on Facebook, so feel free to ‘Add as a friend’ if you use Facebook!! Also, click here to see a great article about the project in last Thursdays EDP:- http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED13%20Jan%202010%2017:44:28:480

Thetford Meet-up Cafe Project Update 1

Well, today was the first day of my new job managing the Inspiring Communities project in Thetford with the Benjamin Foundation. (Website: www.benjaminfoundation.co.uk) I’ve left the world of Keystone behind, and am now managing this new project in Thetford which will see the redundant community centre on the Redcastle Estate transformed into a community centre, cafe, and learning hub for young people. I intend to record as much about the journey of this project as possible, and day 1 seems a good bit to record! What is the project? In August, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) awarded 15 lots of funding to projects around the UK. See here – http://www.lgcplus.com/children-and-education/latest-childrens-services-and-education-news/inspiring-communities-projects-named/5004789.article The project submitted by the Benjamin Foundation was successful and over £400,000 was allocated. A major achievement! The only project in the whole of East Anglia, and to a town the size of Thetford on top of the other sums of money given to the town (Growth Point, Healthy Towns, SRB, European Objective 2 and others). The project in Thetford will “include running a community café as a social enterprise that will act as a vibrant community focal point and provide training opportunities, voluntary and work experience placements and information and signposting services. Intergenerational gardening programme, a school and community radio station, and skills swaps are some of the other activities on offer”. In short, it is about creating a hub for the community, a vibrant community centre for all sorts of community activities but a specific focus on children and young people and a specific focus on training and skills improvement. The building will host a community cafe which will act as a regular drop-in for young people where they can go to complete their homework, seek advice and support, or just chill-out with friends. Other elements of the project will develop over time including media related activities and community gardening. The project will no doubt benefit the whole of Thetford, but a specific focus will be placed on the three West Thetford Estates – Abbey, Redcastle and Barnham Cross, for it is because of these areas that the funding was awarded. Many of the activities for this project will be located away from the building as well to ensure that as many young people as possible benefit from what it on offer. Today was day one, and the challenge we face was clear. The building was very cold, the heating did not work and much of the plaster-board to the roof inside had collapsed due to the leaky roof, it smelt of damp, and the buckets strategically positioned around the building were full of smelly rain water. Week 1 will see us cleaning as much of the building as possible, and getting to grips with what we need to do. Getting the heating working again is the number 1 priority, getting the roof fixed is also clearly a priority – it is however dependent on the weather as the roof is covered in snow so we are unable to get it sorted. Other tasks will include; Getting the oven working, electrical sockets checked, ordering all new equipment, cleaning – or replacing the carpets in some areas, re-painting the whole building, setting up our office, ordering or, sourcing all kitchen equipment – cutlery, pots, pans, dining tables and chairs, cleaning the windows etc etc The next few weeks, and probably the whole of January and into February will be focused on getting the building fit for purpose.

EDP 31.12.09

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