What have we done for you? 2022 - 2023
Breckland is a beautiful and unique region located in the East of England. It is a great place to live, work and visit. We have incredible market towns, charming villages and a beautiful natural environment. We are proud of our area, and through driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better. But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. Our Corporate Plan brings together our strategic priorities for the coming years and outlines what we'll do to make a difference in Breckland to ensure it is a place where people and businesses can thrive. Our priorities are grouped across four key themes: Inspiring Communities Thriving Places
Breckland 2035 and Working Smarter We are delighted that in a survey in 2022, residents told us those priorities continue to reflect their needs and aspirations and it is important to us that we remain responsive to the issues that matter to our businesses and communities. Here are just of some of the outcomes we have achieved this year. For more information; https://www.breckland.gov.uk/corporate plan
#DistrictsDeliver
Leader Sam Chapman-Allen
Chief Executive Maxine O'Mahony
60,400 households in Breckland, covering 350 square miles
Our Changing District The data from the Census helps us as a Council, to see how our district is changing and enables us to tailor our services to better suit resident and business needs. Since the census in 2011, the population of Breckland has increased by 8.4% from just under 130,500 in 2011 to around 141,000 in 2021, higher than the England average of 6.6%.
49.6% 50.4% 49.0% (England) 51.0% (England)
In 2021, Breckland was home to around 0.8 people per football pitch size of land, (0.7 in 2011) This was the joint least densely populated in the East of England
55.7% are economically active (57.4% England), with 44.5% holding up to a Level 3 as their highest qualification (39.9% England)
You said....
think the Council provides value for money 48% Nationally, 60% Norfolk wide
In 2022, we asked a sample of 400 residents about our local area, council perceptions and council priorities. The results were overall, very positive, showing we are performing very well compared to other Local Authorities and within a challenging local and national landscape. Questions also included those asked in the Quarterly National LGA Resident Survey and those that were asked in Norfolk Resident Survey conducted in 2019 for comparison purposes.
are satisfied with the way the Council runs things 64% Nationally, 75% Norfolk wide
Here are the headlines of residents views;
trust the Council 62% Nationally, 68% Norfolk wide
are positive towards the Council acting on residents concerns 57% Nationally are satisfied with the local area 78% Nationally, 88% Norfolk wide
To help our district thrive we have ....... INVESTED £750K into projects which support our local high streets and enable our 5 Market towns of Dereham, Swaffham, Watton, Thetford and Attleborough and their surrounding areas to thrive as part of our Future Breckland Programme SUPPORTED over 45 new enterprises and created more than 65 jobs with our successful Start Up Programme
HELPED businesses bounce back from the COVID Pandemic, by allocating £4.2M of funding. PLANNING how we'll help people in Breckland to access better homes through a new Strategic Housing Plan
PROVIDED a tranquil space for the community and transformed a derelict piece of land by refurbishing the Queen Mothers Garden in Dereham.
£1.6 MILLION secured of national funding for local projects to boost local skills and training, reduce carbon emissions and support our most vulnerable residents.
To help our market towns thrive we have ...... ENCOURAGED footfall in Thetford to support local businesses by providing free cinema by the town’s riverside.
AIDED economic growth in the district by project managing a new primary substation in Snetterton, following £3.43M grant funding.
RESTORATION plans in place to restore four of Swaffham’s historic buildings with funding from Heritage Action Zone.
£1 MILLION
Brought arts and culture to new audiences by helping to bring outside theatre to Thetford Priory
secured in national funding to help support rural businesses and communities over the next two years. This funding will be vital in helping us provide new infrastructure and support to help grow our important rural economy.
SUPPORTED Loch Neaton in Watton with funding to create an all-weather pathway to improve accessibility, allowing visitors to enjoy the special place of natural beauty
INVESTIGATING enhancements to to help accessibility, utilise vacant buildings and to help Thetford Railway station be a welcoming entry point for the town.
INVESTED in improvements to the infrastructure of the Thetford Market Place, improving lighting and electrical provision for traders and public events.
To support our local environment we have... LAUNCHED a collection scheme for batteries and small electrical items, to become more sustainable.
SHOWCASED how we can reduce waste by working with school children in Thetford to recycle and use waste products to grow vegetables and flowers.
ENCOURAGED 100 WASTE OFFENDERS enforced against for fly tipping or littering
PLANTED 700 trees in Attleborough and Watton to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee and helped make Breckland an even greener and beautiful place
Developers to reduce their carbon footprint and increase sustainability by advising on solar power and EV charging options and advice to increase biodiversity for example, bat and bird boxes
INCREASED protection of our natural environment by employing a Forestry Officer.
SHOWCASED how we can – with others - become NetZero by 2035, by holding an Environment Awareness Month including a NetZero Conference.
FACILITATED greener transport options by awarding a contract for the installation of EV charging points in Swaffham and Watton town centres
SAVED energy by installing new LED lighting and pool covers at our leisure centres.
REDUCED recycling contamination meaning less items to landfill.
SUPPORTED more businesses by providing them with a costeffective trade waste solution, generating income which can be ploughed back into other Council services.
TRIALLED sustainable alternatives to chemical weed treatments.
REDUCED our output of Carbon Dioxide (C02) emissions by 437 Tonnes since 19/20 and reduced emissions by improving lighting and other infrastructure at our Elizabeth House headquarters.
INVESTED £850k in LED replacement streetlights reducing our carbon emissions by 60.2 Tonnes
£100K distributed to communities to help them progress their 'Green' agenda
To inspire our local communities we have...
LINKED residents with support groups by our new Social Prescribers, easing the pressure on the NHS
LAUNCHED Norfolk's first 'mindful village' recognising Swanton Morley and the first 'mindful town' as Thetford. Both communities who put provision in place to enhance the mental health of local residents, with Mindful Town or Village award status.
PROMOTED the importance of Mental Health Well-being by providing our partners in Breckland with Mental Health First Aid training.
HELPED to support community well-being by training over 200 residents to become mental health champions.
STRENGTHENED our partnership with Citizens Advice by hosting 2 qualified debt advisors supporting residents most in need, to get help early to avoid reaching crisis.
PROVIDED accommodation for our residents by investing over £4.6 million, providing emergency housing for around 100 households at any one time.
ENABLED community groups and voluntary organisations to come together and celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, by allocating over £12,000 in grants.
CELEBRATED the Jubilee, by illuminating the Swaffham Ecocity Turbine, making it the tallest beacon in East Anglia lit up in honour of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
MADE A DIFFERENCE to resident's lives everyday by awarding over £120,000 to local community projects.
AWARDED £10,000 educational bursary to support local students to achieve their potential
AIDED SUPPORTED domestic abuse survivors by providing the Daisy programme with £100,000 funding over three years HELPED the community recover from the pandemic through our 10-year Future Breckland vision and plan.
CONTINUED to enhance the lives of our residents by working with more than 12 Norfolk Partners.
SUPPORTED our local communities with the increased cost of living pressure by introducing a local food store and a mobile food bus, providing food at more affordable prices along with advice and support
BUILT 21 highly efficient homes in Colkirk by Breckland Bridge, a joint venture between Breckland Council and private sector developers to help meet local housing demand PLANNED to improve our leisure provisions by increasing our level of investment. ENABLED people to stay living in their homes, avoiding admission to care homes, through a new pilot handyperson scheme.
WELCOMED almost 100 Ukraines to the district, providing them with temporary homes and recruited nativespeaking welfare officers to provide the best possible support to refugees.
To work smarter we have... KEPT our towns and villages clean by collecting over 282,000 household bins and an average of 733 Tonnes of garden waste every month.
GIVEN residents more choice in how they pay for Council services through new on-line forms. COUNTERED the rising cost of energy bills, by processing over £5 M in £150 Council Tax Rebate payments.
SAVED £425,000 through our efficiencies programme this financial year. ADVISED AND SUPPORTED residents with our customer contact services open in Dereham and Thetford CONNECTED to more of our community through increasing our use of social media channels.
ENABLED residents to get answers to their queries 24/7 though our new Chatbot, Bobbie and soon, residents will also be able to get answers to queries through Amazon Alexa
HELPED our people provide better services with 16 staff completing apprenticeship courses. IMPROVED services to residents through our ‘Great to Greater’ sessions, through using data to improve services. UPSKILLED our Members, Officers and Partners, to better serve our residents, by delivering bespoke Learning and Development Programmes.
INFORMED our residents effectively by sharing a regular magazine to every household
BEEN RECOGNISED for our efforts to offer high levels of support to members of the Armed Forces and their families by being awarded 'gold status' in the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme.
GENERATED rental income from commercial properties which will exceed our target this year. MADE our website more user friendly and accessible for our customers, particularly for those with a disability.