Potential legal challenge to Thetford Area Action Plan....

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Excellent family event coming up soon in Thetford

Some recent press articles....

Labour selects candidates for District By-elections...

BRECKLAND LABOUR GROUP SELECTS CANDIDATES TO CONTEST BY-ELECTIONS

Monday 18th June 2012


The Breckland Labour Group has selected two strong candidates to fight the upcoming by-elections in the district, both of which are strongly against the introduction of car parking charges.

John Williams, a journalist and strong campaigner will be contesting the Attleborough Queens Ward by-election following the resignation of Simon Rogers and Stephen Green will be contesting the Harling & Heathlands Ward following the resignation of Lady Kay Fisher.

John Williams has lived in Attleborough since 1987. John lives on Besthorpe Road, which is within the Queens Ward. John is a sports journalist. He has been a member of the Labour Party for more than 30 years and has previous experience of contesting both district and county elections, coming within 17 votes of winning previously in Attleborough. He is married with two sons, who both attended local schools. John has served as a school Governor both in Attleborough and London. He is an avid sports fan with particular interest in football, cricket and boxing. This year he was elected a life member of the National Union of Journalists.

Stephen Green is 42 years old and lives in the village of Blo Norton. He is married and has one son who is 18 years old and three step-children. He has a firm interest in the local rural community, and has been Treasurer of the Village Hall Committee and active in village life. He is particularly passionate about local transport links and supporting children and young people. Stephen previously contested the ward in May 2011, achieving over 400 votes.

Stephen said; “I often feel that our rural communities get left behind. There is so much more that can be done to support them which is why I have put myself forward once more as a candidate. I am strongly against the introduction of car parking charges. Residents in villages such as mine rely on being able to pop into the towns for vital services that are just not available locally. We are already being forced to cope with high petrol charges and we do not have the luxury of being able to use public transport as in so many cases it just does not exist. This idea from the Breckland Council Conservative group will hit rural residents and town centre shop keepers at a time when they could frankly do without it”.

John Williams said; “If elected, I would make it a priority to speak out against any plans to impose car parking charges in the district. Local shops and businesses, including ones here in Attleborough are already finding trading conditions difficult enough without this added burden that can only have a detrimental effect on trade. In addition, parking charges will only encourage on-street parking in residential streets off the town centre - a further problem in an already overstretched road system. As a rapidly expanding town, Attleborough badly needs an improved infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing population and I pledge to campaign for the following improvements: A free-flowing road system, improved sport and leisure facilities and play areas, Provision of green spaces and Accessible junior schooling”.

Some words following Carl Clarks decision to leave Breckland Labour Group....

I am naturally disappointed that Carl has chosen to leave the Labour Party.

But it is an unfortunate fact that people can fall out of favour with the party they once supported. Just over 12 months ago Carl was elected as a Labour councillor for the Abbey Ward and was supported by the party in doing so, and he has been helped ever since with training and guidance. The honourable thing for Carl to do now would be to resign his seat and contest it once again as an Independent, or under the colours of a new party, and I would urge him to do this. A great many Abbey Ward residents would have voted for Carl as their Labour representative and he has a moral responsibility to not abuse their support now that he has changed his allegiances.

Town Council searches for a hero to light Jubilee Beacon

Bus station comments cause a stir...

My speech to Thetford Town Council on the 24th April 2012 regarding the Thetford Area Action Plan - the Council voted 8-4 to agree that the TAAP is 'unsound' and wrote to the Government Inspector outlining our concerns. The 4 members voting to support the TAAP were Conservatives....

Some months ago as a Council, we debated our increasing concerns regarding the Thetford Area Action Plan and in particular the excessive growth to the North of the town. Recently, I spoke on behalf of the council at the examination in public and outlined my concerns regarding the lack of planned regeneration to existing areas of Thetford, concerns I know that are shared by many councillors.

As a Council, we have formally objected to the outline planning application regarding the concentration of housing being built to the North. We have also discussed concerns about the loss of a very important community facility when the Charles Burrell site closes. We’ve also debated the free bus service for the new development, and compared it to the lack of services for other areas. This list of inequalities could go on....

Recently, we have heard how the Leader of Breckland Council intends to advocate the removal of the 40% target for affordable housing as part of the development to the north of Thetford and instead allow developers to make a financial contribution. Increasing regeneration sounds laudable enough – but these proposals are very dangerous as they would accelerate the creation of a two tier Thetford with a much greater concentration of private homes to the North and an increased concentration of social housing to the South. We have already seen the start of this intensification of social housing with the garage court developments around Barnham Cross and the Sweyne Close improvements – all entirely social housing.

At the examination in public Breckland officers explained that the intention to allow growth was to facilitate regeneration – if this indeed was the motivation then one would have hoped for a much greater emphasis on this and some more concrete proposals. The lack of a Town Centre masterplan is a major concern as is the lack of sufficient energy resources for the new development which have still not been resolved.

As a Council, I believe we need to make clear our frustration at these proposals and I would therefore propose that come to a collective view that we consider this document to be unsound.

I would further suggest that as a council, we join with the Thetford Society and the Shadwell Estate who have come to a similar position and that we write to the inspector to formally outline this decision before the official judgement is published in the near future.

Examination in public; Thetford Area Action Plan

As an elected representative of many of the existing areas of Thetford that Policy TH36 would seek to address, and as a resident of these areas since birth, I find the policy greatly offensive for its hypocrisy and I dismay at the continuing reluctance of Breckland Council to commit in any firm way to meaningful regeneration of the areas of Thetford that require such urgent attention. Areas after all, ranked within the top 10% most deprived in the UK.

My fear is that Thetford will grow to the North, the housing will of course be shiny and new, homes will be well insulated, many with renewable technologies. The inadequacy of our existing estates will be highlighted to a greater extent than they already are. I have no confidence that this policy has any realistic chance of helping to address this situation and preventing further decline of these areas.

Concerns about a two tier Thetford have already been expressed, the sustainable urban extension will only be sustainable within its own parameters, but what to me is crucial is how this development links with Thetford itself. That cohesion will ultimately determine the success or failure of this growth.


I’d like to outline a few recent examples that demonstrate why this policy needs to be far more robust than it is and demonstrate why it is that I am concerned about the policy’s lack of detail and commitment, to resolving the potential imbalance across the town.

The opening sentence in the policy speaks of infill / redevelopment – unfortunately, we have seen too much infill, and not enough redevelopment thus far, and I fear that this trend will continue. Car parking areas, garage forecourts and green spaces have been built over – increasing the housing density for areas that are recognised as having too many dwellings already.

I have seen more focus on the pursuit of new dwellings than sincere regeneration. What has taken place thus far has felt like a window dressing exercise, primarily for PR purposes.

The policy contradicts itself when talking about how improvements need to be sympathetic to the existing area, whilst also exhibiting high standards, facets that do not exist currently, and continue to be ignored and flouted by Breckland Council and others. What improvements that have taken place have come after constant effort by the local community who have grown weary and apathetic about the constant talk of action over the last 20 years, only for their hopes to be dashed.

I find particularly frustrating Section B of the policy regarding mixed tenure.
There was a new housing development that took place on the Barnham Cross estate, it in-filled land that was used as green open space and used by local youngsters, the new development created 66 new units – all for social rent, in an area with the highest percentage of social housing units in Thetford. This was despite the best efforts of the local community who campaigned for a mixed tenure development, with units available for sale, and shared ownership. Further, the units were only built to Code Level 3, and the six passive house units – those that were to be high quality, environmentally friendly homes, were even re-planned at the late stage back to a basic code 3.

Hardly the aforementioned mixed tenure, high quality development that meets local needs.

The policy also calls for a “preferably increased amount of play areas”, and recognises that already Thetford is deficient of play area space. Coupled with this deficit, we also endure the most appalling quality of play areas imaginable – with most sites failing the requirements laid down by ROSPA in terms of safety standards, and offering little play value to local families with a simply laughable availability of equipment. Breckland Council has long wanted to foist the play areas onto the Town Council, for a totally inadequate sum of money, which is why I find it particularly frustrating that the report mentions in section 25.13 about Breckland Council wanting to work to increase provision, whilst simultaneously threatening what scarce resource we already have.

The contradictions in the policy are further exacerbated by section 25.10 – indeed, the Thetford Academy will be relocated to the North of Thetford; a further kick in the teeth for those of us in the South. Parents that I represent will now have to send their children from one side of Thetford to the other for school, with no transport plans currently in place. A 6 mile walk each day for most children from areas in the South of Thetford. What is of further concern is that the community looks set to lose the building that is the current school site. This of course has a dual role, being of use to the school and of benefit to the wider community. Further, the swimming pool that is a part of the site looks set to be lost, disadvantaging junior school age children from this area who will now be unlikely to undertake swimming as part of the school curriculum given the distance that will need to be travelled.

If our existing estates are to be improved, and not forgotten, then the policy needs to be far more detailed and far more robust to ensure that those with the responsibility to support our communities actually do so, and that the broken promises and disappointment felt by so many in Thetford does not continue for another generation.

My comments to Town Council re: Sort It on 24.04.12

Councillors, as the Chairman of the Sort It Development Trust I need to declare a prejudicial interest and leave whilst you are debating and voting upon this application for a donation. I am however allowed to make some comments regarding this beforehand.

I would very much urge the council to consider making the donation towards Sort It and to not delay the decision unnecessarily as is currently being proposed. The application asks for £250 to support the creation of a website that would promote local businesses and market traders – this is quite clearly something that the council should be supporting and would be of major benefit to our town and its people. For Sort It to be able to show that they have the backing of their Town Council will greatly assist in obtaining funding from other sources. That simple £250 from this council could be the springboard to much greater pots money.

I believe when this was discussed at the committee there were concerns that a financial projection and a constitution had not been provided but I believe these have now been submitted, so I can see no reason why we could not make a decision to award the money at our meeting this evening, and embrace the momentum that there clearly is with this initiative. Thank-you.



Councillors, this is another debate that I cannot take part in but I just want to outline what this discussion is about as it has become somewhat confusing. Sort It wants to focus on a number projects over the next few months and initially, one of those projects is a night market or food fayre as it is more likely to be. A team from Sort It has been working on this project and they have the support of the current market superintendent who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team which is to be commended. The plan would be to run the fayre on a Tuesday evening, primarily focusing on food stall retailers rather than traditional market stalls. At this stage, the idea is little more than that – an idea. The team first need to secure the support of the council before developing the proposal any further I am hopeful that the council can give its backing this evening and task officers to work with the team so that the concept can be taken forward to the next stage.

Recent newspaper clippings; 8th May 2012

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.