Does anyone know what is happening with the plans for the care home site near the Co-op post-Covid?
Is there enough demand for it now or will there have to be a change of the planning application?
Jim Everitt, Moorhouse Close, Reepham
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What is happening with the care home plans?
Monday, April 5, 2021 - 13:41
Sports hall ‘bribe’ could be better spent elsewhere
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - 17:07
I note that various bodies including the town council are objecting to plans for the new sports hall at Reepham High School.
I wonder how many residents of Reepham feel that this “bribe” from the developers should be better spent on improving other facilities in Reepham, especially on updating the facilities at Stimpson’s Piece, where the current building could either be expanded or replaced with a larger building to incorporate a new town hall?
Maybe also some additional money from the developers could be spent on improving the current GP’s practice in Reepham so that there are doctors actually working there full time and seeing patients, rather than patients having to put up with triage phone calls when they really need to see a doctor face to face.
What do other Reepham residents think?
Bryan Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
Donations raised for charities from Christmas lights displays
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 15:23
Our Christmas lights for charity made a total of £542 this year, which will be split between the Big C Cancer Support and Information Centre at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Covid-19 Emergency Appeal for the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity.
The Christmas lights display by Laura Hudson in memory of her grandfather Walter Matthew Hall raised £155.57, which will be sent to the Big C charity.
We would like to thank everyone who donated and hope you enjoyed the lights. We wish everyone a safe and happy New Year.
Ian Tooley, Richmond Rise, Reepham
WiFi Calling could be a partial solution
Monday, November 30, 2020 - 09:46
I read with interest the letter concerning mobile signals in Reepham (Still mobile ‘not-spots’ in Reepham, 23 November 2020).
It seems people are not aware that most recent mobile phones have a setting that allows your phone to send and receive both phone calls and text messages using your home WiFi.
It may be something that the mobile phone providers keep quiet about as these calls are not made through their network, and potentially it’s lost revenue.
There is no connection between your mobile phone and broadband provider for this to work – they can be different, even in someone else’s house, as long as you have their WiFi or guest passwords.
However, this should not stop us pushing for a decent mobile signal in the town.
A quick guide: in Settings (iPhone in my case) go to Phone: somewhere in the list you will see WiFi Calling, make sure it’s turned on.
Note: This may not appear in your phone if you are NOT receiving a mobile signal, so try turning this on when you have a 3G or 4G signal.
My wife and I use WiFi Calling all the time. We are with BT and have just two bars showing on our mobile network.
Martin Sullivan, Kerdiston Road, Reepham
Bircham Road footpath handrail and dog fouling along path
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 - 19:53
It is an excellent idea (Your Council Matters, 17 November 2020) to install a handrail on this slope [on the footpath between Bircham Road and Ollands Road, Reepham], which can be very slippery through leaves during the autumn and snow/ice during the winter.
If Norfolk County Council won’t do it, then I suggest that maybe a group of local people could get together and install one. It would only take a few hours and cost peanuts.
Also as important is lighting the footpath: on dark nights it is so easy to walk into the fences on the bends in the path.
To help this, the lamp mounted on the post at the Bircham end could be turned 90 degrees on the top of the post so it partly illuminates the path.
And now that solar-powered lights are readily available and cheap, perhaps one could be installed by the corners on the path, mounted on the fence posts.
We have also recently noticed that some local dog owners are letting their dogs foul the path without clearing up after them.
This is not restricted to the Ollands Road/Bircham Road footpaths – it happens all over Reepham.
In addition, there seems to be a growing occurrence of dog owners clearing up after their dogs, only to then throw the bag in the verge or hang it from a tree.
We have noticed this along Marriott’s Way and Bar Lane, and on Booton Common.
Bryan Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
Recreation ground turning into a public toilet for dogs
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 - 18:01
It is such a shame that there are thoughtless, inconsiderate dog owners who allow their pets to go to the toilet on the area of Stimpson’s Piece allocated for football.
This is somewhere that we walk regularly, on our way to Marriott’s Way or Wood Dalling Road, and we often find (luckily we spot it before stepping in it) a pile of dog mess in the area where football is to be played.
We often see people exercising their dogs on these areas with no regard for the children who are likely to be playing there.
We have experienced completely unruly and quite aggressive dogs on occasions, whose owners seem to have little control over their pets.
There is a specified area for dogs to be exercised at the far end between the trees.
Perhaps a more obvious notice needs to be displayed, pointing dog owners to the allocated exercise area and making it obvious that any dog fouling on the play areas is not allowed.
I’m sure there are dog owners who would hate their children or grandchildren to arrive home with dog mess on their clothes or shoes.
We are so privileged to have such a pleasant green space that, even at this time of year, is enjoyable to walk across, but we don’t want to end up with that space becoming a dogs’ lavatory.
A little more consideration and control is needed and would be much appreciated.
Brenda R Palmer, Chapel Close, Reepham
Still mobile ‘not-spots’ in Reepham
Monday, November 23, 2020 - 18:28
The centre of Reepham in particular appears to be out of range for adequate mobile signal coverage, as the map [for Vodafone coverage] below shows.
If you were to walk up to the Stony Lane area you would automatically achieve a 4G signal – in central Reepham we are fortunate if we get one bar.
The majority of traders in the Market Place are also experiencing the same problem.
This really is unacceptable to those of us in the centre of Reepham, who are also part of the community.
There is a tower behind the fire station at the now-relocated police station, which could be an ideal position for Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three to share and install suitable equipment.
Considering many of us are now working from or based at home, it is essential that we all have sufficient coverage, particularly during these changing and challenging times.
I have also met people who have fallen over and who have had no mobile signal to call the NHS.
The doctor’s surgery in Reepham is also finding this problematic for their patients with the lack of a mobile signal that is necessary for SMS messages.
A landline is totally unsuitable as some people believe, as it does not cover text messages, which are important for online banking, scanning, QR codes, etc.
It is now time for those affected to approach Broadland District Council to change this to make Reepham a more sustainable community with improved communications for all.
If you are affected by an inadequate mobile signal, please email so we can change this situation as soon as possible.
Valérie Harfield-Simpson, Church Street, Reepham
Co-op store landscaping leaves much to be desired
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 - 20:54
Co-op store landscaping leaves much to be desired
Although I do not object in any way to the construction of the new Co-op store in Reepham, I do have a serious problem with the landscape proposals – or lack of them.
The design consists of a single line of small shrubs along Station Road and Stoney Lane, supported by a few trees in a sea of bark mulch.
Since when does the planting of lavender fit in with indigenous planting?
Surely to specify planting that reflects the indigenous species found all around this site would have been the correct approach – and to fill the planting areas.
The residents who have had to endure these building works deserve better.
Was there a landscape condition attached to the planning approval notice?
Dennis Pitt, The Dial, Reepham
Amazing support from friends in and near Reepham
Monday, October 26, 2020 - 20:13
Early last year I had a catastrophic fall; as a result I am now paraplegic.
All through my recovery at the N&N and rehabilitation in Sheffield I had a constant stream of visitors. It was an enormous help, keeping me happy and very motivated; my room was covered with cards.
That wasn’t the end to your generosity: the Rotary Club tamed our garden and the WI provided many delicious and ingenious gifts.
When I returned home, our neighbour, Sarah Townend, a marathon runner, ran several half-marathons, joined for the final one by my family.
They, together with a donation from a small charity, raised enough money to buy an outside all-terrain wheelchair to enable me to enjoy all the local walks that I love.
A big thank you to everyone and I look forward to seeing you out and about when Covid is under control.
Manesty Forster, Blackwater Lane, Great Witchingham
Left: Manesty Forster gathering apples in her new wheelchair. Right: the runners at the start of the last half-marathon.
Faith in human nature restored over lost keys found in Reepham
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - 22:38
On Tuesday last I lost my house and car keys during a circular walk around Reepham; despite my wife and I retracing our steps we couldn’t find them.
We revisited the town today with a view to placing notices asking people to contact me if found, but thanks to some kind people we were reunited with the keys.
We would like to thank the postman, who went out of his way to point us in the right direction, and the female employee in Johnson’s of Reepham, who had the details of the person who found them, rang him and arranged for us to collect them.
Mostly to Dudley, who found the keys and informed Johnson’s.
We were strangers to these people, but they went out of their way to help us.
It gives you faith in human nature, especially in these difficult times.
Thank you once again.
Mike Gaskell, Taverham Road, Felthorpe