Just a polite request to dog owners who exercise their dogs in the old graveyard on Norwich Road in Reepham to please clear up after them.
It seems to have become a popular place for dog walking recently, and there is a lot of dog mess around the paths, making it very unpleasant for others who would like to walk there.
There is a bin. There is no excuse.
Hilary Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
To all my dear friends, many thanks to you all for your beautiful cards and memories of my darling Tracy. The flowers and kind words were so comforting. Bless you all from all my family.
Eileen Guymer, Back Street, Reepham
Additional material in support of the Broomhill Lane planning application has recently been filed on Broadland District Council’s planning portal, including a letter from Tim Gibbs, headteacher of Reepham High School & College.
One can only conclude that he didn’t check his work before handing it in; no less than 148 words from his first paragraph are repeated word for word a few lines later.
And he finishes off his letter with this gem: “The Arts are not catered for strongly, facility wise, in the school or community so this is a potentially fantastic additional benefit.”
One hopes his students are more careful, quality control wise, when it comes to their exams.
Michael Pender-Cudlip, Mill Road, Reepham
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
