By Geoff Fisher The past few months have seen several developments that will have a significant impact on Reepham and its residents in future.
As many residents will know, Norfolk Constabulary is to remove the position of police community support officer (PCSO) from the end of March.
Our local PCSO, Stephen Bridges, was one of those who has been affected by this reorganisation and will no longer be serving in that role.
Stephen has been serving our community for the past 11 years and has proved to be a popular and effective member of the police force.
Reepham Town Council, councillors and trustees of Stimpson’s Piece have, over the years, had cause to contact the police on a variety of issues and they have been dealt with by Stephen discreetly, efficiently and speedily; he has proved to be a real asset to our community.
To mark the end of Stephen’s role as a PCSO he was presented with a small gift as a gesture of our appreciation for his service to the community at the town council meeting on 14 March.
GNLP consultation
Following the roadshow in the town hall on Monday 5 March, where residents had the opportunity to gather information and question district council officers on the proposed development framework for the Greater Norwich district up 2036, the town council held an extraordinary meeting the following day to formulate its response to the Greater Norwich Local Plan consultation.
As there were two parts to the consultation – the Growth Options document and the Sites Proposal – it was agreed that the Sites Proposal only would be dealt with at the meeting and that a response to the Growth Options would be dealt with by a sub-committee at a later date.
Proposals for each of the 10 sites in Reepham were discussed and our response to each has been made as part of the consultation process.
The sub-committee dealing with our response to the Growth Options document was faced with the task of reviewing a document some 157-pages long seeking responses to 66 separate questions.
It was agreed that our responses would be limited to those topics that directly affect Reepham and the recommendations were placed before the full council and approved on 14 March.
It was agreed that our responses to both consultation documents would be made available to the public. (See the Town Council’s response HERE.)
Vattenfall wind farms
The Council received an update on progress of the project to bring electricity onshore from the North Sea wind farms, with particular reference to its effect on Reepham.
While there was general discussion on the route and possible side-effects from electromagnetic radiation from the cables, serious concerns were raised about a proposed change to the cable route near Pettywell to the west of Reepham.
This proposal, which had not been previously publicised or consulted on, would bring the cable route much closer to the group of dwellings there.
It was felt that local residents should have been consulted on this change and the impact it would have on them and District Councillor Graham Everett offered to take the matter up at Broadland District Council level.
New councillor co-opted
We had pleasure in welcoming Paul Mitchell to the town council when he was co-opted at the meeting on 14 March. That means we now have eight councillors, out of the 12 that we should have.
If anybody wishes to become a town councillor and would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact either the Town Clerk or any of the councillors who will be more than happy to help.
Future meetings
- Reepham Town Council meeting: 11 April
- Stimpson’s Piece Charity trustee meeting: 11 April
- Town Hall Management Committee annual general meeting: 2 May
- Reepham town meeting: 9 May
- Reepham Town Council annual general meeting: 9 May
- Stimpson’s Piece Charity trustee annual general meeting: 9 May
All meetings will be held in the Town Hall, starting at 7.30 pm unless otherwise stated. Members of the public are welcome.
Contact: Reepham Town Council Office, Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4JW. Tel: 01603 873355. Email.
Geoff Fisher