Our local High Streets are at the very heart of our rural Mid Norfolk towns – and are vital in helping to ensure our communities are thriving and vibrant.

That’s why I take our High Streets so seriously (working with local councillors, businesses and communities to breathe fresh life into them) – and why I relished the opportunity to drop in and visit businesses up and down Attleborough High Street this past Friday.

Joined by local district councillors Samantha and Taila Taylor, it was great to catch up with so many old faces – and meet some new. Having had a fifteen year entrepreneurial career before coming to Parliament, and having previously served as a Business Minister, I know the immense value our small and independent businesses have to our local community and economy. They are the real engine that drives forward our High Streets.

I appreciated the chance to hear from store owners and staff first-hand about the challenges and opportunities they are currently facing and am firmly committed, as ever, to speaking up on behalf of them at the very highest levels, as well as promoting them locally.

The run up to Christmas is a key time for them all – so I encourage everyone to #BuyLocal. With incredible bakers, butchers, jewellery stores, craft shops, cafes and more, Attleborough has so much to offer.

(To see more about my wider work ‘Backing Local Businesses’, please visit my campaign page here)

Further to my previous update last week (see here – and below), I have now received an additional briefing from National Highways with regards to the flooding issues on the A47 at Honingham – which have affected many of my Mid Norfolk constituents.

While heavy, unprecedented rainfall has taken place over recent weeks, the Regional Director for National Highways and his team have again assured me that preventing the repeated flooding issues remains a high priority.

Having replaced a damaged surface water drainage pipe following Storms Babet and Ciaran, additional works were then undertaken to clear some nearby trees and a portion of garden wall that were found to be impeding water flow, and causing root damage to the previous pipe. With additional rainfall forecast last weekend, they also had crews standing by to pump any excess water away should there be a build up.

As we saw, unfortunately, those crews were required and National Highways have therefore been taking further action – working with nearby landowners to ensure their land is sufficiently worked (ploughed) post-harvest to minimise surface water-run off and reduce the chance of silt build up in the drainage pipes. Silt walls have also been installed to further mitigate silt build up in drainage pipes – with those pipes also being regularly monitored and cleared by NH crews.

Nevertheless, NH continue to follow the weather forecast and have crews monitoring the location closely. They are equipped with pumps should additional flooding occur. NH are prepared to undertake further works if required.

Rest assured, I will keep on this issue – and am due to speak with the NH Regional Director again on Monday. (To stay up to date with all my work on this issue, and my wider flooding campaign, please visit my campaign page here)

This issue highlights again the importance of dualling this section of the A47 – which improve the flow of traffic during heavy rainfall and enable a much larger and more effective drainage system to be introduced at this location (and others). To see my recent EDP article on why this A47 dualling is so vital, please click here and visit my campaign page here 

UPDATE - 21 November 2023

Having raised the recent, repeated flooding issues on the A47 with National Highways and made clear that they need to urgently grip and address them (see my previous webstories here and here), I share the frustration of many of my constituents after further flooding occurred between Honingham and Easton again last week.

That’s why I am raising the matter with the Regional Director for National Highways again.

Commuters and local communities should not have to face this constant disruption. The A47 is a key transport artery and it’s vital that it isn’t closed due to flooding – or subject to severe delays.

It’s clear that recent works to repair a damaged pipe that should have taken surface water to the nearby River Tud were insufficient. NH must move quickly to implement further solutions.

Rest assured, I will keep on this – and hope to provide a further update soon.

To find out more about my wider flooding campaign work, please visit my website here.

To see more on my work ‘Making Our Roads Fit for the 21st Century’, please visit my website here.

UPDATE - 8 November 2023

The A47 is a key transport artery through our county – which is why I shared widespread local frustration at the fact that it was closed multiple times recently due to flooding at Honingham.

Having picked this matter up with National Highways and made clear that they needed to grip the issue and resolve it, I have now received an update confirming that, while most of the flooding could be attributed to sustained heavy rainfall on already saturated ground, subsequent investigations found that a pipe that should have taken surface water to the nearby River Tud was damaged.

National Highways have confirmed that work is underway to replace the damaged section of pipe – which should reduce the chance of such flooding occurring on this section of the A47 again. However, they have also made clear that they remain committed to resolving any other identified issues that may be found.

Rest assured, I will continue to follow progress closely – as part of my ongoing flooding campaign in Mid Norfolk (see here)

UPDATE - 30 October 2023

The A47 is a key transport artery through our county and I share frustration that it has been closed multiple times over recent days due to flooding.

National Highways need to grip the issue. Commuters and local communities should not have to face this constant disruption.

Rest assured, I am following up with National Highways as part of my ongoing flooding campaign work on behalf of Mid Norfolk. 

To stay up to date with my flooding campaign, please visit my campaign page here

To see yesterday’s EDP article, please click here  

Local bank branches are a key part of our Mid Norfolk community. Having grown up and lived in East Anglia for much of my life and been the MP for a largely rural constituency for over thirteen years, I know how vital a role they play in providing access to cash for the small businesses that drive our local economy – as well as the disproportionate affect branch closures can have on the most vulnerable in our society (including the elderly).

That’s why I share the widespread disappointment of many in the Dereham area at the news that the town’s Barclays branch is set to close in February.

While the way we, as a society, bank is evolving (I understand only 16 customers regularly use the branch as the only way they do their banking, with over 88% of the branch’s customers using the Barclays app), I am determined to do everything I can to ensure my constituents can access cash and speak to banking staff face-to-face when they need it.

That’s why, throughout my time as MP, I have been a vocal champion of cash access and local baking services – and why, over recent months, I have been actively supporting councillors and communities as additional local bank branches have closed.

I have been liaising closely with Cash Access UK, LINK and local district councillors as they drive forward efforts to establish a new Community Banking Hub on Watton High Street (see here) – and welcomed the Government’s announcement in the summer, which enshrines the need for “reasonable provision” of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities (see more here). I also requested that LINK conduct a review of cash access and banking services in Attleborough too (see here).

While Barclays have confirmed they will retain an active presence in the community and are set to share further details of how customers can meet face-to-face with staff at an alternative community location in due course, I am liaising with LINK to ensure the town has the level of services required. I will also be visiting the town’s Nationwide branch in the coming weeks – with Nationwide having committed to keeping their branches open.

Rest assured, I will continue to work hard for Mid Norfolk on this very important issue – both locally and by raising the matter with ministers and officials in Westminster.

(Further information on Barclays’ reasons for closing the branch, along with additional helpful information on access to cash and banking support in the town, can be found here).

Persistent anti-social behaviour causes widespread distress for local communities and it is vital that local police, councillors and the community work together to identify and address it.

That’s why I welcomed the opportunity to meet with PC Austin Clarke (Beat Manager for Watton), Cllr Tina Kiddell and Cllr Claire Bowes recently – gathering at Church Walk to discuss local ASB that had been reported in the area.

Norfolk Constabulary take reports of ASB extremely seriously and I am pleased that Austin and his colleagues are working with local councillors to take action. I am committed to supporting those efforts and will continue to liaise with local councillors to ensure ASB reports (along with other local issues) raised by constituents are brought to Austin’s attention.

If YOU are affected by local ASB or another police issue, please report it to Norfolk Constabulary via 101 or via the ‘Report’ page on their website – which can be found here.

To learn more about our recent meeting, please view the video below.

Having raised the recent, repeated flooding issues on the A47 with National Highways and made clear that they need to urgently grip and address them (see my previous webstories here and here), I share the frustration of many of my constituents after further flooding occurred between Honingham and Easton again last week.

That’s why I am raising the matter with the Regional Director for National Highways again.

Commuters and local communities should not have to face this constant disruption. The A47 is a key transport artery and it’s vital that it isn’t closed due to flooding – or subject to severe delays.

It’s clear that recent works to repair a damaged pipe that should have taken surface water to the nearby River Tud were insufficient. NH must move quickly to implement further solutions.

Rest assured, I will keep on this – and hope to provide a further update soon.

To find out more about my wider flooding campaign work, please visit my website here.

To see more on my work ‘Making Our Roads Fit for the 21st Century’, please visit my website here.

One in two people will get cancer in their lifetime. For those that receive a diagnosis, it is a time of profound concern, worry and often loneliness – not just for them, but also their wider family and friends.

I’ve long said that how we take care of and treat our most vulnerable is a measure of us as a society – and that’s why I have always taken a close interest in local support groups like Dereham Cancer Care, who do crucial work locally helping cancer sufferers and their loved ones. It was a privilege therefore to meet with Dereham Cancer Care’s brilliant Charity Manager Zoe Flint recently to find out more about their ongoing work in the community.

Since being established back in 2002, the team have supported thousands of people in our area – holding drop-in sessions four days a week (along with monthly evening and weekend sessions), running their highly effective Keeping In Touch programme and signposting patients and their families to support services that are so often there, but are often not widely publicised. The charity also offers additional assistance with issues like doctor’s referrals and respite breaks.

To provide these services however, the charity must rely on the generosity and support of others – which is why I have committed to supporting their efforts to secure grant funding from a number of pots. A key Mid Norfolk asset, it is vital the team’s work can continue and grow.

From my conversations with Zoe, I know they have bold plans that would enable to them to expand the services they offer – supporting more people in more scenarios. For example, they would love to offer support to businesses who may have cancer patients amongst their employees.

I look forward to continuing my support for Dereham Cancer Care in the weeks and months ahead.

If you would like to find out more about their work, please visit their website here.

After another set of highly impressive contributions to my annual Christmas Card competition last year, I am again asking for creative youngsters from schools in the local area to help design my card for 2023.

I have today emailed and written to all the Mid Norfolk schools with primary aged children (4-11) to invite them to participate – and will be offering the winner a £20 book token, as well as a £10 book token each for the two runners-up. Their winning designs will appear on the front and reverse of my cards this Christmas.

If YOU work at a local school and would like to enter your pupils, the process to enter is as follows:

• Each school will need to send in their pupils’ designs (in one pack please), arriving no later than Wednesday 6TH December. (I am afraid Christmas card logistics mean late entries cannot be considered).

• Packs may be sent by post to: 8 Damgate Street, Wymondham, NR18 0BQ or scanned and emailed to: george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk
• The card itself must be hand drawn on a blank white A4 piece of paper/card.
• Every entry must have the child’s name, age, school name and card title carefully written on the back of the card design.

My wife Fiona and I always love to see the children’s designs each year so I do hope as many pupils as possible will be able to participate again.

If you are a local teacher or member of staff with any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or Fiona Whiting in my Wymondham office on 01953 600617.

(To see last year’s winning designs, please click here).

Small and rural schools are more expensive to run – but vital to our local Mid Norfolk communities.

That’s why I have consistently lobbied in Westminster for greater/fairer rural schools funding, support and resources, and campaigned to keep our small rural schools open wherever viable. It’s also why I welcome the latest Government announcement of an additional £1.9million for Mid Norfolk schools.

From my regular conversations with Mid Norfolk headteachers, governors and staff, I know how tough recent months have been as inflation, energy prices and the cost of living having bitten hard on school budgets. These additional funds are a much needed help – but I remain committed to continuing my very active campaign on these issues.

Full details can be found on my campaign page here – and I intend to hold my next virtual forum with Mid Norfolk headteachers in the coming weeks (see more about my previous meeting with them here).

Why stand down?

Juggling Westminster and local politics isn’t a healthy lifestyle. After 13 years on and off the Front Bench and living on the road on fast food and snacks, I’m still raring to keep on campaigning as local MP but am 3 stone heavier and want to be fighting fit too.

My interview with the Dereham Times and EDP here.