By Geoff Fisher Reepham Town Council is responsible for a wide range of community provision within Reepham, including the Market Place, street lighting, Stimpson’s Piece, the play area on Overton Way, the cemeteries, the church yard and Pound, and the allotments on Norwich Road, Stony Lane and Fiddler’s Field.
The town council is also the sole trustee of the Stimpson’s Piece Trust, caring for the recreation ground and pavilion.
The pavilion is a particular focus at present as it is in need of some urgent repairs and refurbishment.
To look into this matter the town council, as trustee, has established a working group of councillors with a brief to identify the repairs and refurbishment needed and to report back to the trustees on priorities for action and likely costs.
The children’s play area also requires a considerable investment to replace some equipment that is reaching the end of its life. Quotations are currently being sought for this work.
Anti-social behaviour
The town council is committed to doing all it can to ensure Reepham continues to be a safe place to live and work.
The latest police community update report from the Reepham Safer Neighbourhood Team identifies that the monitoring and challenging of anti-social behaviour on recreation grounds and public spaces is a priority.
Although we are fortunate that crime in the Reepham area is low, Stimpson’s Piece is sometimes a focus for anti-social behaviour.
Recently, the football club’s portable toilets were tipped over and bottles from the bottle bank were smashed on the car park.
As a community we need to work together to identify those responsible for this kind of anti-social behaviour.
If anyone has any information on these or other matters, please contact the police on 101, via their website or social media, or report anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Pedestrian safety
A number of local people have recently expressed concerns about the safety of pedestrians crossing Station Road to visit the new Co-operative store, which is due to open by the end of the year.
The original plans for the site, which were approved by Broadland District Council, included a pedestrian crossing, but this has not been installed. The town council is currently in correspondence with Broadland about this matter.
New youth group
The town council has received an enquiry from Beth Wade, a lead youth worker on the Positive Activities Project at the Benjamin Foundation.
This project is being funded by the Broadland Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and involves the development of new youth provision in the Broadland area for 11 to 19 year olds (up to 25 years for young people with a disability).
She is looking for people locally who would be willing to help in the setting up and developing a new youth group, particularly anyone who is actively involved in the community or is willing to help promote, develop and sustain the youth provision in this area.
This project aims to ensure young people are positively involved in this process and that the outcome is a successful community youth group, run for the benefit of the young people in Reepham, supported by the Broadland YAB Positive Activities Project.
Reepham Town Council is keen to explore ways in which it can help promote and sustain this project. If you are interested, please contact Beth Wade on 07817 013812.
The town council is always keen to hear the views of residents, in particular thoughts or ideas on how the environment or quality of life in Reepham can be improved.
Reepham Town Council can be contacted by telephone 01603 873355 or email.
Geoff Fisher