Our new Business Waste Service is celebrating recruiting 250 business customers, helping to save local businesses hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of pounds in waste collection costs. The milestone business to join our business waste service was Norfolk County Catering from Ashill, which recently signed up for the flexible, cost-effective waste service.
With flexible collections available to meet seasonal demands and extra waste collection for one-off events, the service now works with a wide variety of businesses across Breckland.
No organisation or community group is too big to sign up for our service, and with VAT exemptions in place for specific collection services, it’s a great way for local businesses to be more cost efficient.
To find out how your organisation could save with Breckland Business Waste Services, visit https://waste.breckland.gov.uk
Residents across Breckland can now use a FREE weekly battery and small electrical kerbside collection service.
Small electrical items and battery collections have been gradually introduced across Breckland since January 2023. Now all residents can access this service, ensuring everyone now has a convenient way to dispose of complex waste items which can now be recycled safely and legally. We would like to remind residents to be data secure and ask that if you are putting out laptops, mobile phones or devices that could contain sensitive data you need to carry out a 'factory reset' to wipe your data first.
Find out how you can access these new services at www.breckland.gov.uk/rubbish/electrical-waste
Transforming Breckland brings you news and information on the services and support provided by Breckland Council and its partners. Your comments and ideas are very welcome. Email contactus@breckland.gov.uk or call 01362 656870. If you need this magazine in large print, or in an alternative version, please contact Breckland Council on 01362 656870. Delivery issues? If you know someone who has not received their copy of Transforming Breckland please contact us on 01362 656870. Transforming Breckland is printed on chlorine-free paper from managed forests. Information correct at time of going to print. Address: Breckland Council, Elizabeth House, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE. Customer Contact Centre: 01362 656870. Local centres: www.breckland.gov.uk/visitus
Breckland Council has launched a new service via the Amazon Alexa smart speaker which will enable Breckland residents to find out more about local council services. This includes asking which bin is due for collection, a common occurrence for most households each week.
The new Alexa service is the first to be delivered by a council in Norfolk. Alexa can not only provide bin collection updates, but offer advice on recycling at home, how to report a fly tip in the Breckland area and much more.
The launch of our chatbot on Amazon, using Artificial Intelligence technology, is just the beginning as we already have plans to enhance its functionality and expertise over the coming months as users ask it more questions.
For information on how to access this Alexa service visit www.breckland.gov.uk/alexa-skill
You can save valuable time and make your life easier this summer by signing up for our garden waste collection service.
This regular service, which is just £58 for the full year, will collect and dispose of your grass cuttings, hedge clippings or weeds, giving you more time to relax in your wonderful garden. No more trips to the recycling centre to dispose of your green waste, saving you valuable time and transport costs. Just visit www.breckland.gov.uk/rubbish/garden-waste to sign up today.
Meet your new councillors
Did you vote in the May 2023 Local Government elections?
See pages 8 – 9 to meet your new Breckland Councillors.
To enable communities to come together during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, we funded various community projects across Breckland to celebrate this historic day. From garden parties, afternoon teas, and big band events to dances and barbeques, we supported over 70 community events taking place across Breckland over the coronation weekend. Thank you to everybody who either organised an event in Breckland and to everybody who joined their neighbours to mark this national occasion.
HRH The Princess Royal recently visited Thetford to tour Elm House, our short-term housing project, which is helping to support some of the county's most vulnerable residents. The site in Thetford opened last year following a £1.8m investment by Breckland Council, enabling us to provide high-quality temporary homes to people who had previously been homeless or in need of short-term accommodation while they find a permanent place to live.
The Princess Royal met with residents and spoke with staff working there, who assist residents to access support with employment opportunities, financial aid, health and wellbeing services.
Whilst there, The Princess Royal also visited five new homes that are occupied by former rough sleepers which are located next door to Elm House. This recently completed project was delivered through a partnership between Breckland Council and Broadland Housing Group.
Access Community Trust provide support to residents of both schemes on behalf of Breckland Council.
As part of the final stage of the Queen Mother's Garden refurbishment in Dereham a new piece of public art has been unveiled and a time capsule buried for future generations. The Lord-Lieutenant for Norfolk, Lady Dannatt MBE, revealed the new bronze artwork, entitled 'The Gift'. The artwork was created by international sculptor Mitchell House and concept designer Susan Ashby. The artwork sits on a carved oak plinth produced by Paul Downs.
A 50-year time capsule has been buried within the gardens, filled with letters, newspapers, and other commemorative items selected by the children of Dereham Church Infant and Nursery School.
The refurbishment of the garden, off Church Street in Dereham, was funded by Breckland Council's Market Town Initiative, Dereham Town Council, local businesses, community sponsors and contributions from developers.
We invested £1m into a three-year programme of work focusing on the prevention of vulnerability in our district – our Inspiring Communities programme. Working in a truly collaborative way, we have been able to tackle key issues
our residents.
We want to continue to build upon the strengths of this programme, and help our residents lead healthy, happy and fulfilling lives with targeted services available to make a real difference within our community.
Anyone can be affected by mental health issues at any point in their lives, we have therefore increased our focus on prevention and wellbeing, and to make the routes into mental health services easier to understand.
We have now established the Breckland Mental Health Community Partnership and delivered Mindful Towns mental health training for community groups and small businesses. This programme has developed a network of almost 300 trained Mental Health Champions across the district who can listen and signpost residents to organisations offering mental health support. We have also funded lifechanging mental health support with Breckland YAB (Youth Advisory Board), aimed at helping young people awaiting access to psychological clinical interventions.
Anyone can be affected by domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality or background. We have therefore funded the Daisy Programme, a local expert charity, to recruit a Community & Early Help worker to support survivors of domestic abuse, whilst our Housing Team have now recruited specialist staff to offer support to help residents rebuild their lives.
Social isolation is becoming more prevalent and is associated with increased health risks and higher rates of hospital admissions. We are funding programmes to support our residents and break down social isolation, including funding Breckland Arts For Health (formerly The Silver Social) and working with CAN Connect (Community Action Network).
We have been working with the Norfolk Community Foundation to address food poverty within our community and signpost residents for further help, including advice around debt management, employment and mental health support.
In the last three years we have helped launch the Breckland Mobile Food Store, funded Norfolk’s first community supermarket at the Charles Burrell Centre in Thetford, and supported The Pantry in Kenninghall, Dereham’s Food Cabin and the Watton Food Hub
Each of these services provide healthy, affordable, nutritious food including fresh fruit and veg alongside a range of chilled and store cupboard basics and household items.
Get more information on Breckland Food hubs here! www.breckland.gov.uk/ communities/brecklandfood-hubs
To support the development of our communities over the last three years Breckland Council has issued over £300,000 grants to various local charities, community groups and support organisations. These grants have attracted a further £250,000 in regional of national funding awards back into the district and helped get new schemes up and running locally.
We are now commissioned by the NHS to deliver a Social Prescribing service across Mid-Norfolk Primary Care Network. Our ‘Community Connectors’ spend time getting to know patients and listening to their whole story.
Patients are empowered to work through their issues, for example tackling debt or finance worries, loneliness, domestic abuse or welfare concerns.
We have funded Citizen Advice charities in Breckland to help provide help and integrated debt and welfare advice in Thetford and Dereham.
The enhanced service offers advice on benefit entitlement, assistance with applications and comprehensive financial assessments to help people get out of debt.
Inspiring Communities, which has been nominated for national awards, will continue to be a core theme within the Breckland Council Corporate Plan, building upon the successes this work has already achieved.
We have now aligned our priorities to the aims of the Breckland Health and Wellbeing Partnership; to reduce health inequalities in Breckland. We will do this by continually reviewing the data and, in collaboration with our partners and our communities, drive innovative and evidence-based solutions that deliver place-based health and social care.
Learn more about Inspiring Communities, visit www.breckland.gov.uk/community
On 4 May 2023 local government elections were held across England, including the Breckland area.
Across 27 district wards, Breckland residents elected 30 Local Conservatives, 12 Labour, 4 Independent and Green Group, 2 Independents and 1 Liberal Democrat councillor.
If you are need to report a local issue, whether it’s around waste collections, anti-social behaviour or fly tipping and abandoned vehicles, simply visit www.breckland.gov.uk/reportit
You can contact your councillor via email using their name, a full stop, surname, followed by @breckland.gov.uk e.g. sam.chapman-allen@breckland.gov.uk
Want to know when the next Council meetings are held? Read agenda for forthcoming meetings? Jobs alerts? Business support? Planning updates? Sign up today for these email updates, and lots more, at www.breckland.gov.uk/email-updates
We are committed to providing the funding needed to support our communities and help our businesses to thrive, building a Breckland where people want to live, work and invest. Whether it is our landmark £1 million Inspiring Communities programme, our Thriving Places initiative investing £7.3m in supporting economic activity, or our Breckland 2035 environmental agenda reducing our carbon emissions by over 437 tonnes, we are committed to investing in your future.
We can invest on this scale thanks to our success in balancing our council budget and by leveraging significant funding from national and regional
It is important that you can see the impact of local funding in your community. We want you to see the initiatives, organisations, and projects that we have been able to support in your area.
To make this information accessible, we have developed and launched a new Breckland Funding Map that you can access via www. breckland.gov.uk/fundingmap or the QR code below. Here you will see where Breckland funding has been granted, grouped by our council priorities and viewable at district and ward level.
The map shows funding we have released to help local people, groups, clubs, schools to support them to thrive or deliver new projects.
A vision of how a £2.6 million investment in a refurbished Attleborough Leisure Centre could look can now be viewed via a computer-generated virtual tour. As part of the planned investment, which is subject to planning permission, the centre will have a renovated reception, refurbished changing rooms, upgraded sports hall, and new gym equipment. The centre, on Norwich Road, will also include a new spin bike studio and a new community room for yoga sessions, fitness classes and other activities.
The project is being led by Breckland Council, with support from local councillors, Norfolk County Council, Attleborough Town Council, Attleborough Academy, and The Sapientia Trust.
View the tour now at www.youtube.com/@BrecklandView
We are currently working on plans to build a brand-new artificial 3G football pitch in Attleborough, as part of a commitment to further expand the sports and leisure facilities in Attleborough.
The proposed site for a new 3G pitch will be located on the Attleborough Academy site, Norwich Road, supporting local men's, women’s, and disabled football players, as well as casual users. The academy students would also benefit from its use during designated time slots.
Breckland Council is working in partnership with the Academy, the Sapientia Trust and the Football Foundation to secure the £1 million investment required to deliver this project, with a grant funding decision expected in 2024. Other partners in the project includes Norfolk Football Association, Sports England, Attleborough Town Football Club and Attleborough Town Council. We hope to secure planning permission later this year.
Professional theatre set within the historic grounds of Thetford Priory and FREE outside cinema by the Thetford riverside leisure complex will be at the heart of the Thetford Stage and Screen Festival 2023.
Funded by Breckland Council, in partnership with Thetford Town Council, the festival will include special theatre productions at Thetford Priory from Chapterhouse Theatre Company, who will be performing Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility on 22 August, followed by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night‘s Dream on 23 August.
We plan to host FREE screenings of a selection of blockbuster films and family favourites with outside cinema screenings on the green, by the Thetford Riverside complex on 5 and 6 August. No booking required, just bring a chair or blanket to enjoy fantastic cinema and food surrounded by the beautiful surroundings of Thetford and its riverside views. For more information about the new Thetford Creative festival or to book tickets for the outside theatre productions just visit www.chapterhouse.org (click on Open Air Theatre).
You could win 1 of 5 group tickets (4 people) for either Sense and Sensibility or A Midsummer Night’s Dream during the Thetford Stage and Screen Competition in August.
To enter our competition simply send us the answer to the following question, your name, address, contact telephone number, and the show you would like to see, to competitions@breckland.gov.uk or write into Stage and Screen Competition, Breckland Council, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE. Deadline for entries 11 August 2023. Terms and conditions can be found at www.breckland.gov.uk/CompTerms.
a) Emma Watson b) Jane Austin c) Penelope Featherington
We are working with local Thetford employers to promote new apprenticeship and job opportunities within Thetford, a modern manufacturing market town that is leading the way not just nationally, but globally with their products and services.
Leading Thetford businesses, including engineering, manufacturing and logistical organisations, are working with Breckland Council and the Department for Work and Pensions to promote the unique training and employment opportunities in the area, and centralise information regarding employment and training opportunities via one main website. To find out more about how new careers and training which is available via major Thetford businesses just visit www.thetfordmanufacturing.co.uk
A partnership between the Wayland Partnership and Breckland Council, with funding from Norfolk County Council, has seen £150,000 awarded to develop plans for a potentially world-class Digital & Creative Media Centre in Watton.
The proposed Wayland Digital & Creative Media Centre (DCMC) would establish a community, business and leisure destination on Watton High Street, with facilities that could include an e-gaming arena, flexible digital business start-up offices, café space and training spaces.
Over the next 12 months the project team will examine how they can leverage national funding opportunities to help develop this new facility in the heart of the town. The is an incredibly exciting first step in this project, which will help digital and creative businesses start up in Breckland, link into local colleges and schools and train local people in a rapidly growing sector.
A new skate park proposed for Watton has taken another step closer to reality after Breckland Council announced it would make more than £100,000 in funding available to help deliver this project.
The proposed new skate park, which is going through the planning process for approval, would be developed at the Watton Sports and Social Club on Dereham Road. The proposal, which has been developed with by young people in the community, will see the installation of a forked 27-metre skate run, which will include handrails, quarter pipes, banked ramps and ledges. With the funding for the whole project now secured, building work, subject to planning approval, will be starting later this year. Approval is expected to start later this year.
We would like to hear your views on the new Local Plan, which will shape your district over the next two decades and beyond.
Your views and opinions are essential to ensure that planning decisions are made in the best interests of everyone, creating a shared vision for Breckland. This is your opportunity to be part of the conversation that will build the district you will continue to be proud to call home.
There will be a series of public consultation events in September where you will have the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. Full details of these events will be announced in the local press and through website and social media channels over the summer period. Until then, you can tell us what you think via Commonplace – our online planning engagement forum. You can find out more, complete surveys as they are published, and share your views. Visit brecklandlocalplan.commonplace.is Don’t miss the chance to have your say on the future of your local area.
Work has been completed on a new primary electricity substation that is set to switch on businesses, jobs and opportunities in Snetterton business park situated by the A11.
The project received grant funding totalling £3.43M from New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)'s Growth Deal with Government and Norfolk Business Rates Pool. We have delivered the power upgrade through a partnership with UK Power Networks and Morrison Energy Services.
The new substation has the capacity to deliver 18 megawatts of power which will enable new businesses to set up in the area. This will help deliver our long-term ambition for the site, creating 1,750 jobs and bring in £220m+ of private sector investment.
The historic Swaffham Assembly Rooms, built in 1776, has benefited from £160,000 in grant funding to help restore the exterior of this Grade II listed building to its former Georgian glory. Extensive exterior repairs, especially around water proofing and roof repairs are now in progress, preserving this building for generations to come. The restoration project has been funded by Historic England, Breckland Council, the Iceni Partnership and Swaffham Town Council, working under the Swaffham High Street Heritage Action Zone Project partnership. Breckland Councillor Paul Claussen, Tony Calladine from Historic England and Dennis Tallon from the ICENI partnership recently met with Liz Truss MP to explain how this successful partnership project was developing.
New bus shelters with real-time information screens, eco-friendly grass roofing and new cycle racks are set to be installed in Swaffham later this year.
This project is part of our Breckland 2035 commitment to reduce carbon emissions across the district and is being eco-funded by Historic England, Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council.
The advanced eco-bus shelters will feature LED lighting and digital signage informing travellers exactly when buses will be arriving. The shelters are part of a new generation of bus shelters and will be one of the first shelters featuring these advanced digital and eco-designed features in Norfolk.
Historic England, Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council are also supporting the installation of three sculptural cycle stands and lighted bollards, situated by the approach to the historic Swaffham's churchyard just off the high street, promoting sustainable forms of transport. In total, the project will receive investment of over £105,000 from Historic England, Breckland Council's Market Town Initiative and Norfolk County Council.
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