Am I alone in thinking that it is not very satisfactory that the latest “View from County Hall” was on 4 November 2024 and the latest “View from Westminster” was on 6 August 2024.
Have our elected county councillor and MP nothing to say to us? Have they done nothing for over a year?
Rupert Birtles, Pettywell
Broadland District Council’s Planning Committee approved the Broomhill Lane application for 141 homes, despite the GNLP policy reducing the housing allocation on the site, stating there should now be “approximately 100 homes in total”, and officers also determining that no further public consultation was necessary, despite a requirement to do so.
This is another sad day for local democracy, not helped by the comments of District Councillor Stuart Beadle, who mentioned that a kiss on his cheek in the Market Place convinced him that he was doing the right thing in supporting the application and conveniently forgetting the 180 or so local objections made against the proposal.
We now await the outcome of the sports hall “outline” planning application, which is due to expire on 21 December.
Hugh Ivins, Whitwell
It is with a very heavy heart that Carol and I are announcing that the Briston Organ Shows will soon be no more.
Despite some staunch regulars, we are just not getting enough regular support to make it viable any more.
Take this coming show on Friday 12 September for Tony Stace – so far we have only 24 confirmed bookings for seats, so at £8 a time, that makes £192.
Tony’s fee (and he always does us a good deal) is £360, hall hire is approximately £35, so Carol and I will be subsidising this show to the value of £203. As much as we love you all, we just cannot do things like that.
Assuming we can get a few more bookings, we will go ahead with the show, but if it doesn’t improve, we will be cancelling.
We do get some of you who offer to pay for tickets but will not be able to attend, but in all fairness would you like to drive all the way from North Yorkshire to play for just 24 people? It’s not just about the finances.
If any of you would like to take over the running of the shows, let us know and we will give our full backing, but for us I think it’s time to say goodbye, sadly.
Mick Leary and Carol Parsons, EmJay Music and Enterprises, Briston
The total amount the Reepham Christian Aid Group raised this year was £1,105.78, which includes the online Reepham QR code donations and the extra that will be claimed back as Gift Aid. Thanks to everyone who donated.
Sue Cripps, Reepham Christian Aid Group
Re Hugh Ivins’ comments (Your Letters, 25 April 2025), how is it that such a major decision affecting thousands of Broadland residents be made by three members of a committee of Broadland District Council?
Given also the absence of several of the planning committee, surely such a decision should have been passed to the full council to make the final decision.
It sounds as if the committee had been lent on, especially when the chair of the committee, being fully aware of the scale and nature of the objections, used her vote to accept the proposal.
Given the planned large-scale solar farms in the Dereham/Swaffham area and around Long Stratton, which it is said will generate far more electricity than is needed in Norfolk, no further solar farms should be allowed, especially on greenfield sites.
What can be done to investigate the actions of the Broadland Planning Committee?
Bryan Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
I would like to echo Hugh Ivins’ comments (Your Letters, 25 April 2025) on the sad day for democracy when only a small number of councillors were prepared to turn up and vote on a highly controversial project.
He has named Stuart Beadle as one who did not attend. I hope that he can name the others so that the 80 or more people who objected to the project can contact them and express their contempt.
Terry Lawton, Bircham Road, Reepham
Those of us who travel along the Norwich/Reepham Road (I've often wondered where one becomes the other) are delighted that so many potholes have been filled.
Many thanks are due to the team that did the work and to whoever organised it.
Stephen Howard, Norwich
Broadland District Council’s Planning Committee decision to approve the Pettywell solar farm application (Solar farm at Pettywell gets approval in close vote, 25 April 2025) was down to the chair’s casting vote after a tie at three-three by the six councillors present, which says much for the fact that four councillors did not even attend the meeting.
Also, the non-appearance of Cllr Stuart Beadle to speak as our local member in view of the 80 local objections and town council’s strong opposition says as much about local representation and democracy in Broadland.
Will the new unitary authority be any better? Only time will tell.
Hugh Ivins, Whitwell
Further to the news item in Reepham Life (Mobile phone coverage boost to town centre, 21 March 2025), the mobile phone signal now transmitting from/to St Michael’s tower is the result of a contract between the installation company, Net Coverage Solutions (NET CS), and Reepham Parochial Church Council (PCC), which was signed about three years ago; there has been no direct input or influence from political councillors, MPs or other agencies.
The time since then has been spent creating and installing the necessary infrastructure in and around the tower.
This has been a slow process, both gaining the necessary approvals and because the NET CS engineers have been involved in similar projects around the country; there have also been changes to technical requirements en route.
An early part of the work was copying some of the bell chamber wooden louvres on all four sides of St Michael’s tower and replacing them with identical fibreglass louvres to allow the signal to penetrate.
Electrical power and lighting was installed in the tower, a steel framework was fitted in the clock chamber to take the weight of the transmission equipment, and a fibre-optic cable was laid joining the Reepham telecoms exchange to the church.
The work was completed on 11 March and the antennae went live that day. These are designed to broadcast mobile signals from any provider if they wish; so far only Vodafone has signed-up, so it is only Vodafone users who are currently seeing the benefit, but it is hoped and expected that other providers may join.
From virtually no Vodafone signal around the centre of Reepham, there is now a four-bar strength and this even extends to improving the signal up to a mile away, depending on location and the availability of other transmitters.
It has been a lengthy project, but Reepham PCC is glad that, 800 years on, its iconic, listed church buildings in the heart of this “best place to live in Norfolk” are continuing to spread the message, both spiritual and secular.
Rupert Birtles, Reepham Parochial Church Council
Re the news that the Vodafone aerial had gone live on the church tower (Mobile phone coverage boost to town centre, 21 March 2025).
We still have no signal in our part of Bircham Road, despite being able to see the church tower from our house.
Over the past few days I have checked out the signal between the Market Place and the roads nearby.
One day last week I got three bars in the Market Place; yesterday there was nothing – outside Johnsons, outside Spar and even directly outside the church.
Has anyone else in Reepham noticed an improvement to their mobile phone signal?
Bryan Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
