Reepham Life

At the last Reepham Town Council meeting on 10 July, the subject of a neighbourhood plan was raised. Neighbourhood plans give a community direct power to develop a shared vision of a town or parish and shape its development and growth.

We would be able to choose where we want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have a say on what those new buildings should look like and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings we want to see go ahead.

In Reepham’s case the development of a neighbourhood plan might be led by the town council, but it could only be carried out with the active support and participation of the community.

Having consulted with members of the community, a draft plan would be drawn up and put to an independent assessor and, if found acceptable, put back to the community in the form of a referendum.

The process is complex and is, of necessity, long and drawn out, and would require a great deal of dedicated work by all those involved (for more information, see the guidance on neighbourhood planning on the gov.uk website).

With the support of local residents, the town council developed a proposal for a neighbourhood plan some years ago, but a request for financial support was rejected.

Unfortunately, because of the cost of producing a neighbourhood plan and the lack of support, the town council felt it had no option but to stop work on the plan.

However, we have been asked to look again at the possibility of producing a neighbourhood plan, and it has been agreed that we shall discuss the matter at the next town council meeting on 11 September.

Before a decision can be made, councillors will need to be assured that adequate financial, clerical and technical support will be forthcoming, as well as committed support from members of the community.

If anybody wishes to support the preparation of a neighbourhood plan, please do not hesitate to contact the town clerk or any of our councillors.

You do not necessarily have to be a resident of Reepham; you may have a business here for example or you may have some particular technical or legal background that could support us.

As a start, councillors have already sought the support of District Councillor Stuart Beadle and Broadland District Council, who will have an important role in the development of a neighbourhood plan.

Holiday season

With no council meetings until September, the town council office will still be operational during the holiday season. However, it may not be staffed every day and callers are advised to ring to make an appointment.

During this period it may be easier to contact us either by email, by post or even by leaving a letter in the post box on the front wall of the town hall.

Although the town council will not be having any meetings in August, we are pleased to support the Reepham Music Festival on 10-11 August.

Future events

• Wednesday 4 September: Town Hall Management Committee meeting
• Wednesday 11 September: Reepham Town Council meeting, followed by Stimpson’s Piece Trustee meeting

All meetings are held in Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, starting at 7.30 pm unless otherwise advertised.

Local residents, businesses and organisations and members of the general public are welcome to attend to raise issues and make their views known to councillors at the beginning of every meeting.

Contact: Reepham Town Council, Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4JW. Tel: 01603 873355. Email

By now we have probably got over all the excitement of the local elections. There were only eight candidates standing for the 12 vacancies for councillors on the Town Council so all candidates were returned unopposed.

In the district council elections, Stuart Beadle was elected as the new district councillor for the Reepham Ward and we are looking forward to working closely with him on behalf of the community.

We would like to express our appreciation to the outgoing district councillor, Graham Everett, for all the outstanding work he has done on behalf of our community over the last few years and we wish him well for the future.

We would also like to commend all those residents who voted in the local elections. A total of more than 900 votes were cast which, for a small community like Reepham, was a high turnout, even by general election standards.

Annual Town Meeting

The Annual Town Meeting held on 8 May was an informal forum well attended by local residents, who had the opportunity to meet their newly elected councillors and discuss any matters concerning them and the community. The chairman, Cllr Les Paterson, also took the opportunity to outline the achievements of the Town Council over the past 12 months.

In particular, he drew attention to the support the Council was able to provide for local community groups by making grants ranging from £180 to £1,500 to groups including the Reepham Archive, the Bircham Centre, Mini-Scrapbox, the Festival of Light and the annual food and music festivals, and by arranging the necessary closures of the Market Place and providing road barriers and signs.

Attention was also drawn to the work the Council is doing, in conjunction with Broadland District Council and the Reepham Town Team, to alleviate parking problems in the town centre by re-designating the Station Road car park for short-stay parking and promoting the use of Stimpson’s Piece for long-term parking, together with a campaign encouraging people to walk in to the town centre rather than add to the congestion.

The chairman also expressed his appreciation to town clerk, Jo Boxall, and finance officer, Sally Gill, for their advice and support and to all councillors, both past and present, for their hard work on behalf of the community over the past 12 months.

The chairman also reminded everybody that there are still vacancies for councillors and that the Town Council welcomes applications from anybody who would like to serve the community on a voluntary basis.

Being a councillor involves attending about a dozen meetings, normally lasting around an hour, a year and as much time as you feel you are able to devote to Council business.

Annual Town Council meeting

The first item on the agenda for the Annual Town Council meeting, also on 8 May, was the election of the chair and Les Paterson was elected unanimously. The Council then resumed its normal routine business.

Councillors considered five planning applications, one of which generated a significant number of comments from members of the public at the beginning of the meeting. This application is for outline planning permission to build a single-storey dwelling on Monastery Field on The Moor.

Having considered comments made by members of the public, councillors expressed their concerns about the development within the conservation area outside the settlement limit and the impact it would have on nearby listed buildings. It was agreed that the Council would register its objection to the application.

Future events

• Wednesday 12 June: Reepham Town Council meeting, followed by Stimpson’s Piece Trustee meeting
• Wednesday 3 July: Town Hall Management Committee meeting
• Wednesday 10 July: Reepham Town Council meeting, followed by Stimpson’s Piece Trustee meeting

All meetings are held in the Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, starting at 7.30 pm unless otherwise advertised.

Local residents, businesses and organisations and other members of the public are welcome to attend to raise issues and make their views known to councillors at the beginning of every meeting.

Contact: Reepham Town Council, Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4JW. Tel: 01603 873355. Email

With all the political upheaval in the country at the moment it is easy to forget that there will be local council elections on 2 May, when your district and town councillors will be standing down and have the opportunity to stand for re-election.

We welcome expressions of interest from anybody who is considering standing for election to either, or both, your district or town councils, but time is running short.

Being part of the election process for national and local government, there are strict criteria for eligibility and a strict timetable for the election process.

The most important criteria for standing for election to the Town Council are that the candidate must be on the electoral register and they must either be resident in the parish (or very close to it) or have a business in the parish.

The timetable for the approaching elections is:

• Candidate nomination papers must be delivered to Broadland District Council between 20 March and no later than 4 pm on 3 April.
• The deadline for applications to register to vote at these elections is 12 April.
• The deadline for new postal votes, postal proxy applications and for changes to existing postal votes is no later than 5 pm on 15 April.

If anybody has any queries or would like advice on the electoral process, please do not hesitate to contact either our town clerk, Jo Boxall (01603 873355 or email) or Election Services at Broadland District Council (01603 430483 or email).

Particularly at this time of political instability at the national level with the threats (or promises, depending on your point of view) of a general election or even another referendum, it is important that everybody makes sure they are included on the electoral register.

This is particularly important for young people who have recently turned 18 or are approaching 18. We strongly advise all young people to ensure they are registered to vote.

Town Hall entrance lobby

The new entrance lobby to the Town Hall is currently under construction and is due for completion soon. This means the building will now have a proper, dedicated, entrance rather than the former entrance through what was, in effect, a storeroom.

As a result, we now have a dedicated storeroom providing a safe and secure environment for the furniture available for use within the hall.

We would like express our appreciation to all members, past and present, of the Town Hall Management Committee who have overseen the project and raised the necessary funding from income raised from hirings.

The committee comprises representatives of the regular hiring groups and councillors representing the Town Council, the owners of the Town Hall, with the intention of promoting the use of the hall and improving it to meet changing circumstances.

The committee welcomes local residents who would be prepared to join them in running the hall and perhaps suggesting changes or alterations that might make the building more attractive to local residents or users.

Metal detectorists on Stimpson’s Piece

The trustees have received reports of metal detectors being used in Stimpson’s Piece to locate and dig up metal objects.

This public area is dedicated to the people of Reepham for their leisure and recreation, and is used by various sporting groups and others on a frequent basis.

The trustees have an obligation to ensure a safe environment for all users and are particularly concerned that digging up the surface of the park could present a danger to members of the public.

Under the circumstances, the trustees feel that metal detecting of this nature on Stimpson’s Piece is potentially dangerous and should be discouraged.

Future events

• Wednesday 10 April: Reepham Town Council meeting, followed by Stimpson’s Piece Charity trustee meeting
• Wednesday 1 May: Town Hall Management Committee annual general meeting
• Wednesday 8 May: Annual Town Meeting, 7 pm, followed by Reepham Town Council meeting, followed by Stimpson’s Piece Charity Trustee meeting

All meetings are held in the Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, starting at 7.30 pm unless otherwise advertised.

Local residents, businesses and organisations and other members of the public are welcome to attend to raise issues and make their views known to councillors at the beginning of every meeting.

Contact: Reepham Town Council, Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4JW. Tel: 01603 873355. Email

The Town Council has been offered a “Tommy” memorial statue to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I and it was agreed at its last meeting that the offer would be accepted.

Possible sites for it to be displayed were considered, including the Whitwell Road cemetery, the “Pound” at the eastern end of the Market Place and the garden at the rear of the Bircham Centre.

Although both the cemetery, which contains war graves, and the Bircham Centre, which was used as a hospital during the First World War, would be suitable, it was agreed that the Pound should be chosen as a more obviously visible location in front of the church and on the approach to the existing war memorials in the church.

The Council intends to liaise with local representatives of the British Legion regarding the erection of the statue.

Retirement complex/convenience store at former station site

A planning application for the creation of a retirement complex accessed from Stony Lane and a convenience store and office block facing Cawston Road has been approved.

While the Town Council supports development of the brownfield site, serious reservations concerning the size of the proposed buildings and the loss of trees and hedgerows were expressed.

In response to these objections the design was amended to reduce the height of the care home buildings and clarify other issues that had been raised.

However, councillors were still concerned about the access to the care home complex from Stony Lane, the loss of mature trees on the site and the scale of development that was not in keeping with the surroundings, and comments to that effect were made to Broadland District Council.

The application was called in by Reepham District Councillor Graham Everett for consideration by the full Planning Committee at its meeting on 9 January.

The concerns of the Town Council were raised in person at the meeting by Cllr Paul Mitchell, supported by Cllr Mark Lester, acting in a personal capacity as a local resident, and others.

After some discussion, the Planning Committee agreed by a majority decision to approve the application. It is anticipated that work will commence later this year.

Proposed convenience store in School Road

Following the closure of the former Reepham Motors workshop on School Road some years ago there have been a number of proposals for the redevelopment of the site.

The latest proposal was for the demolition of the existing building and the construction of a convenience store. This would have been set back from School Road, allowing for limited customer parking in front, and for the existing footpath to be extended towards the Townsend Corner crossroads.

Following public meetings to discuss the application the Town Council agreed to object to the proposal, principally on the grounds that it would create a road safety hazard caused by vehicles entering and leaving the store and that there would not be adequate provision for delivery vehicles to load or unload.

Other objections concerning the size of the building on a relatively small site, the impact it would have on adjacent dwellings and that it would not be in keeping with the local area were also made.

Broadland District Council supported the Town Council and rejected the application. The developer appealed against the decision, the appeal being held before a government planning inspector who supported Broadland’s decision principally on the road safety and traffic concerns raised, with the result that the appeal was rejected.

Future events

Wednesday 13 February: Town Council meeting followed by Stimpson’s Piece Trustee meeting
Wednesday 6 March: Town Hall Management Committee meeting
Wednesday 13 March: Town Council meeting followed by Stimpson’s Piece Trustee meeting

All meetings are held in the Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, commencing at 7.30 pm, unless otherwise advertised.

Local residents and members of the public are welcome to attend and to make their views known to councillors at the beginning of every meeting.

Contact: Reepham Town Council, Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4JW. Tel: 01603 873355. Email: clerk@reephamtowncouncil.org.uk