Rural schools, much like our rural pubs, shops and churches, play a crucial role in our local communities and rural way of life.
That’s why, having grown up in East Anglia and always been a firm champion of that rural way of life, I’ve been a vocal supporter of keeping our smaller rural schools open wherever possible. It’s also the reason I very much understand why there is so much anger and concern at the news that the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT) is now consulting on proposals to cease maintaining the Weasenham Primary Academy site and instead merge the school with Brisley Primary Academy from 1st January 2024 – citing school size, declining pupil forecasts and associated financial viability as the reasons for doing so.
(The consultation is also looking at changing the catchment area of the parish of Weasenham so that Massingham School becomes the catchment school from 1st January 2024).
Full consultation details can be found here:
Over recent days, I’ve been in contact with the WeasenhamParish Chair, local county councillor Mark Kiddle-Morris and a number of people from the local community with concerns.
While, in my role as a local MP, I am limited in the direct influence that I have in such matters and must respect the proper due processes in place, as ever, I always strive to do what I can to help ensure my Mid Norfolk constituents’ voices are being at the highest levels.
That’s why I am highlighting the consultation process here.
If YOU have views on the proposals, PLEASE do take the time to have YOUR say – by:
• Emailing info@dneat.org (quoting Weasenham as the ‘Subject’ of your response)
• Writing to Weasenham Church of England Primary Academy Consultation, DNEAT, Orchard House, Hall Lane, East Tuddenham, Norfolk, NR20 3LR
Before 5pm on Friday 6th October 2023.
The stronger the local voice, the better chance there is that DNEAT will take note.
IF, however, the consultation feedback alongside the population demographics for the Weasenham area proves insufficient in justifying the village having its own school in future, I believe the Alternative Plan must work for parents and pupils. There needs to be an outcome that suits the community best. We want to avoid young children having to be bussed or driven by parents over long distances.
In that event, I remain committed to working with all local parties, but especially the local community, to help get the best possible outcome for local people. At this stage though, I am determined to help local constituents engage in the consultation process and have their say.
Please do take the time to have YOUR say.
To see more on my work supporting our local rural schools, please visit my website here
Cranswick Country Foods are one of the largest employers in Norfolk, contributing considerably to our local area through jobs, wages and the company’s associated supply chains. Their Watton plant also plays a major role in Norfolk and the UK’s vital pork industry, providing valuable food products to our national food supply chain which in turn help avoid even higher price rises for consumers.
That’s why, throughout my time as local MP, I have always paid close attention to progress at the Watton plant, liaising with their team on a variety of matters such as labour provision, environmental practices and innovations that drive forward efficiency and boost sustainability and welfare within the sector. It’s also why I listen carefully to the local community when they raise concerns about the site. It’s vital that the views of local residents and businesses are taken seriously when large companies like Cranswick are based nearby.
On Friday, I met with the Cranswick team, alongside Cllr Claire Bowes, Cllr Tina Kiddell, the Watton Town Council Clerk and representatives from both the Environment Agency (EA) and also Breckland Council’s Environmental team, to discuss local concerns regarding recent reports from local residents and businesses about strong odours emanating from the Watton site.
Traditionally, Cranswick were able to use their waste water to help fertilise local fields, creating a positive cycle of helping to support our local farmers. However, they were more recently forced to install a new multi-million pound effluent treatment plant that unfortunately encountered difficulties – causing the odours reported, while requiring farmers to buy in more carbon intensive fertilisers and the use of more carbon heavy chemicals for treating the waste water.
Having been in correspondence with us all in recent weeks, Cranswick again acknowledged local frustrations and strongly reiterated their commitment to doing everything they can to tackle the odours, explaining the causes and setting out in depth the ‘Action Plan’ they are already in the process of implementing with EA support – and which should see improvements take effect over the next 4-6 months.
Cranswick also expressed a strong desire to strengthen communication and dialogue with the local community on an ongoing basis – with it agreed that a regular Community Liaison Group should be convened at which the Cranswick team can engage with the Town Council, local councillors and other key public figures/community representatives on such matters like the current odour problems. I have agreed to chair the first such meeting and will be following progress updates closely.
Friday’s meeting was both positive and productive, with Cranswick again demonstrating their desire to work effectively and alongside the local community.
I remain committed to working with local councillors, the community and Cranswick in the weeks and months ahead – and am optimistic that the current odour issues should soon dissipate as Cranswick push on with their ‘Action Plan’ measures.
For more details, please watch my short video above.
The A47 Necton/Dunham junction has long been a source of major concern for those that have cause to use it.
That’s why I was delighted to help secure a commitment from National Highways for improvement works at this dangerous location (having long campaigned with local district, county and parish councillors to that end), and why I am thrilled to now have confirmation that the works will finally get underway next Monday (25th September 2023).
Another pledge successfully delivered!
The £2.5 million improvement project is forecast to take place over five months, with most of the work taking place on weeknights between 8pm-6am – when traffic flows are typically lighter. Both sides of the main A47 Necton/Dunham junction (at Tuns Road and Dunham Road) are set to be widened, with improved drainage and road markings also being put in place. As a result, it should be much safer to access and depart each side of the junction – with visibility significantly improved too.
Having pushed hard for safety improvements at this key junction, these works are a significant step forward. There is still more to do however as I work with the community to push for a permanent speed limit reduction from 50mph to 40mph and support further conversations about additional safety improvements that can be made at this location.
It was a pleasure to hold another site visit with Cllr Nigel Wilkin recently, at which we filmed a short video to update local constituents on the works that are about to commence. Please see below.
Rest assured, I will continue to work hard for further A47 safety improvements (including the also horrendous Draytonhall Lane Junction at Scarning), as well as towards the longer term aim of full A47 dualling.
To see more about my campaign to improve the A47 Necton/Dunham junction, please click here
To find about my wider campaign to improve Norfolk’s roads, please click here.
Are you a positive, enthusiastic, people person who is passionate about politics and public service and interested in working in a busy constituency office in the lead up to the next General Election?
I am currently seeking such an individual to join my Mid Norfolk team in Wymondham as a Constituency Assistant on an initial 6-12 month basis (but with the potential for the role to be extended or made permanent).
Full details of the job role can be seen in the advert below.
If you are interested in making an application, please send a CV and a one page Covering Letter via email to george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk by 12noon on Friday 22nd September – with the subject heading ‘Constituency Assistant Application – George Freeman MP'
Having established the Mid Norfolk Flood Partnership back in 2020 (following the heavy rainfall over the 2020 Festival period and in the first few months of 2021), I have actively worked with councillors and local community groups to drive forward work to strengthen Norfolk’s flood resilience and ensure those affected can access the support they need.
Indeed, most of the 14 recommendations made by the MNFP when it was first begun were adopted by the wider Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance that was established by Lord Dannatt on behalf of Norfolk County Council – including the creation of the county Flood Helpline that is now in operation as highlighted above.
(Full details can be found on my ‘Flooding and the Mid Norfolk Flood Partnership’ campaign page here)
With a number of weather warnings out across the county still, this latest rainfall further highlights the need to take our Flood Resilience seriously. It is partly for this reason that I was so vocal in my support for the Norfolk Urban Search and Rescue team based at Dereham, working alongside NCC, Norfolk Fire Service and fellow Norfolk MPs to ensue the service is extended for another year (see more here and here). I will continue to do all I can to advocate for USAR.
There remains much work to be done – and I am committed to working with the NSFA, local councillors and local community groups to progress the collective campaign.
Having grown up on my step-father’s farm, having had my first job at the NFU, and being the local MP for a largely rural constituency, I have always had a strong connection to our agricultural industries and am deeply proud to support our farming community – especially today on Back British Farming Day.
That’s why it was a pleasure to return to JE Spratt Farm at Necton this past Friday to meet with the team, as well as representatives of both British Sugar and the NFU, and discuss the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill and the huge opportunities it can, and will, afford British farming – with much of the ground-breaking science being pioneered right here in Norfolk by the world leading Norwich Research Park.
Having also been the first Minister for Life Science (launching the UK’s first Agri-Tech strategy) and now being Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, this field of expertise is of great interest to me and one I am excited to see our great Norfolk farmers seeking to harness. By embracing some of our post-Brexit freedoms and opening up innovative, safe precision gene editing (not the Monsanto GM style), we can make the most of crop biological control systems to enable farmers to grow drought and disease-resistant crops, which in turn will boost yields, reduce our reliance on chemicals and in turn enhance farming sustainability and environmental biodiversity.
The importance of this issue was highlighted just three years ago when I visited the same farm to see how the Virus Yellows disease had been ravaging sugar beet crops across our region, reducing yields by up to 80%, driving up costs and putting the sugar industry in the UK under unprecedented pressure (see more here). Working with parliamentary colleagues, representatives across the sector and local farmers, we were successful then in securing the temporary derogation on the Cruiser SB seed treatment required to support the industry. However, by embracing precision gene editing as described above, such derogations could be consigned to the past – with far less, if any, chemicals needed to protect crops in future, greater yields and sustainability reducing the amount of resources (including water and land) needed to farm such crops, and improved natural biodiversity as well.
By pioneering in this field, we can lead the world in improving farming quality and standards, while also exporting that expertise to others around the globe too. We can also create thousands of new jobs and opportunities right here in the UK, spreading prosperity and enabling British farming to thrive.
To do this, we need to take the science being pioneered right here in our area and allow our farmers, who know their land best, to apply it with a common sense approach that delivers the food production we need and boosts the natural environment – rather than by allowing people with clipboards who don’t understand farming to weigh them down with bureaucracy.
I am deeply passionate about harnessing the benefits of the new bill and our post-Brexit freedoms to strengthen British farming standards and productivity – and look forward to working with the sector on this issue in the weeks and months ahead.
To learn more about my work on ‘Food, Farming and the Environment’, please visit my campaign page here.
Farming is a backbone of our rural Mid Norfolk communities. Indeed, having grown up on my step-father’s farm and with my first job being with the NFU, it is a way of life particularly close to my heart.
That’s why I’m proud to Back British Farming today and everyday - including when I launched the UK’s Agri tech strategy.
Our local farmers, as the core of our vital UK food supply chain, are at the forefront of both our Innovation Economy, Sustainability, and Food Security.
This Back British Farming Day, take a moment to support our local farmers - follow this link to see more on my work supporting farmers.
The transition to sustainable domestic heating methods is an important step on the UK’s path to Net Zero. That being said, it is equally important that we use a common sense approach and manage this transition, to ensure that all residents receive a positive outcome. This is especially the case when vulnerable people are involved – how we treat them is a measure of us as a society.
That is why I was pleased to meet residents of Lamberts Close in Weasenham on Friday for the third time, alongside the Managing Director of Flagship Housing/Victory Homes, to discuss the ongoing challenges that the residents have experienced as a result of their heat pump installation and the ongoing remedial works taking place to fix them.
I was particularly pleased to see the active approach that Adrian Barber, the Managing Director, took to finding practical resolutions – including visiting individual residentshomes to investigate issues including to explore whether there was adequate insulation in place.
I will be continuing to visit Lamberts Close to check progress on how these issues are being resolved, as well as monitoring how the transition to sustainable energy affects rural Mid Norfolk communities.
An MP’s first duty is to their constituency. I believe it’s so important for me, as YOUR elected representative, to be out and about and accessible, to listen to and represent YOU! And not just at election times!
That’s why, in addition to the 500+ casework emails, letters and telephone calls I receive each week, as well as my various campaign work, I run a regular programme of Supermarket and Community Surgeries here in Mid Norfolk – moving them around the constituency to make it as easy as possible for people to come and see me.
This past Friday, I was delighted to hold my latest Supermarket Surgery at Dereham Morrisons – where I met dozens of constituents, discussing a range of specific casework matters and/or wider policy topics on issues like town regeneration and High Streets, GP appointments, Highways issues and urban and rural crime.
I was delighted to be joined by Cllr Philip Duigan (County Councillor for Dereham South), with Norfolk Constabulary also having a stand and engaging with shoppers on any local concerns that they may have.
Engagement with my constituents is such a vital part of my job and I relish the chance to have YOU come along and ‘bend my ear’.
If YOU would like to come along and informally bend my ear at one of my upcoming surgeries, please do contact me at george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk
Or if YOU would just like some help with an issue, or to make me aware of a policy concern, please do just send over your comments via email for me to pick up too.
While the House has returned this week following the Summer Recess, the campaign opposing the North Elmham New Town proposals very much continues – which is why I have been in contact with the Campaign Against New Town campaign group (CANT) again this week.
The Government’s announcement last week regarding Nutrient Neutrality (see my views in full here) was a major, positive step forward for the building industry, especially those small, local developers that do so much important work. However, I want to reassure my concerned constituents that I do not believe the announcement changes anything with regards to the North Elmham New Town proposals.
The North Elmham New Town would see such industrial scale development in deep, rural Mid Norfolk and that’s why I am wholly united with the CANT group, and local councillors Gordon Bambridge and Bill Borrett, in opposing the proposals. Such large scale development in such a rural area would be completely unacceptable and unsuitable – fundamentally altering the character of a number of communities, while piling the pressure on dozens more with the increased congestion and demand for local, already stretched services, and also having a significant negative effect upon the local environment, habitats, and landscapes.
Breckland Council rightly threw the North Elmham New Town out last time it came up and made clear that they are focussing new housing on the A11 Nor-Cam Railway Innovation Corridor and NOT in the Wensum Valley.
I am determined to continue working with CANT, Bill and Gordon to ensure that the legitimate concerns of our local communities are being treated with the seriousness they deserve, and to ensure Breckland are once again armed with the information they need to once again throw these proposals out.
Having liaised with neighbouring MP Jerome Mayhew (who, himself, has a number of concerned villages in his Broadland constituency) over the summer, I look forward to driving forward this active and ongoing campaign again in the weeks and months ahead.
Please see all of my recent work on this campaign below.
UPDATE 20th June 2023
For too long we have seen developments forced through by national housebuilders against the wishes of local people and the Local Council’s Plan.
That’s why, as part of my wider campaign efforts on Planning and the protection of our rural landscapes and heritage, I continue to be so actively involved in the local campaign opposing the New Town proposals that look to be resurfacing around North Elmham, Billingford and Bintree – holding another meeting in North Elmham this past Friday, with Cllr Bill Borrett, Cllr Gordon Bambridge and representatives of the c30 villages that would be affected were a New Town (disguised as a “Garden Village”) built in this deeply rural part of Mid Norfolk.
Breckland Council rightly threw the North Elmham New Town out last time it came up and made clear that they are focussing new housing on the A11 NorCam Railway Innovation Corridor and NOT in the Wensum Valley.
I am determined to make sure the Parish Councils and residents in the c30 villages that would be affected are heard when they make very clear that they do NOT want to see a New Town in their deeply rural area as an Option in the next Local Plan – and welcomed the opportunity to update the local campaign on my efforts since our last meeting (detailed in the webstories below), as well as to discuss next steps.
To see the EDP’s latest piece on the campaign, please click here.
To stay up to date with all my work on planning and protecting our local environment and heritage, please visit my campaign page here.
UPDATE 20th June 2023
As our collective efforts continue on the campaign opposing the new ‘Garden Village/New Town’ proposals that may be resurfacing around North Elmham, Billingford and Bintree, I am looking forward to joining representatives of many of the deeply concerned c.35 local parishes (in the north of Mid Norfolk, as well as just across the border in Broadland) again later this week, with Cllr Bill Borrett and Cllr Gordon Bambridge.
It will be an opportunity to update local community figures on my recent conversation with Jerome Mayhew, who’s Broadland constituency also contains a number of parishes concerned by the proposals that may be coming forward. I also look forward to sharing details of letter I recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP) as well – making clear my belief that new Garden Village/Town settlements should be focussed on key transport routes with the ability to sustainably cater for them, rather than in deeply rural areas with minimal infrastructures and service and which have virtually no ability to improve them without causing untold environmental and existing community damage.
Rest assured, I remain firmly committed to working with Bill, Gordon and the local parishes, and will post further updates in due course.
UPDATE 30th May 2023
Further to my previous posts in relation to the campaign against the ‘Garden Village/New Town’ proposals that may be resurfacing around North Elmham, Billingford and Bintree, I welcomed the brilliant article in the EDP today, highlighting that more than 30 parish councils have now united behind that campaign – up from the c.15 it was just a few weeks ago.
See the article here.
I remain firmly committed to working with and supporting local parishes, and local councillors Bill Borrett and Gordon Bambridge, as we collectively raise awareness on why this highly rural location is completely inappropriate and unsustainable for an industrial scale development of several thousand houses.
To see my previous webstories and updates on this issue, please scroll down below the picture of the submission.
To stay up to date with my ongoing campaign efforts on this issue, please do regularly check back in on my Planning and Protecting Our Rural Landscape and Heritage’ campaign page here.
UPDATE 18th May 2023
Ahead of the deadline of the ‘Breckland Local Plan Update – Issues and Options Report for Consultation’, I have written to the Leader of Breckland Council to ensure that my opposition, in support for local councillors Bill Borrett and Gordon Bambridge and the c.15 concerned Parish Councils and communities in the area, is formally recorded and considered as part of the process.
Please see my submission below.
(To see my previous webstories on this issue, please scroll down below the picture of the submission).
UPDATE – 3rd May 2023
Further to my previous posts on 5th and 24th April 2023, I am delighted to be able to share the below article published in the EDP this week – further highlighting why I, and many others, are opposing the idea of a new Garden Town to the north of Dereham.
A link to the online article can be found here.
UPDATE – 24th April 2023
Further to my post on 5th April 2023, I am delighted to be able to share the below Op-Ed I recently wrote for the Dereham Times – outlining in further detail why I am opposing the idea of a Garden Town to the north of Dereham.
5th APRIL 2023 WEBSTORY
For decades now, our planning system hasn’t been delivering the housing we need, in the places we need it, for the people who need it. For too long, the system appears to have been driven by the national volume house builders who too often make their money from land banking and high density commuter housing estates on the edge of existing developments – rather than through a proper planning system run to deliver for the people who need planning to work for them, instead of being done TO them.
I’ve long been concerned by the amount of development coming to areas like our own in rural Mid Norfolk – which is often inappropriate, “industrial” in scale and unsustainable. While most of our villages can take and are indeed up for (when properly asked) taking some additional new housing (without which our communities will gradually fade away), I fundamentally believe that more needs to be done to give local communities a greater say in how they develop in the years to come (with greater protections), which is why I have been so vocal in my opposition to the way so many large national developers abuse and take advantage of the planning system to dump such inappropriate and unsustainable developments on our towns and villages.
That’s why, through The Norfolk Way project I set up before I became an MP, I have been so vocal in advocating for a better model of growth and development that places greater emphasis on delivering small pockets of housing of the type and aesthetic desired by local communities, and in the places they earmark. I truly believe the spirit of Localism enshrined in the 2011 Localism Act should be enhanced, with the Act itself strengthened to remove some of the loopholes we’ve seen exploited. (To read more about my views in full, please visit my ‘Planning and Protecting Our Rural Heritage and Landscape’ campaign page here) I was delighted to see the NPPF reformed in the autumn by Michael Gove to give more power to local planners.
I continue to make the case I have long made that the right way to plan housing is to give local councils, democratically accountable to the local residents they serve, the freedoms and incentives to plan properly for the right sort of housing and growth where it is needed ie:
- around hotspots of economic growth
- on brownfield sites in areas needing regeneration
- around growth towns with the infrastructure and services available to sustain further growth
- in villages with a Neighbourhood Plan setting out the amount of housing they are happy/able to take and which ensures affordable & appropriate local housing for local workers and residents
That’s what the Breckland and South Norfolk Council Local Plans rightly aim to do. What we don’t need in rural Norfolk is massive commuter estate “New Towns” dumped in the middle of rural mud Norfolk without proper infrastructure, facilities, sustainable transport links or fit with the existing pattern of development.
The North Elmham New Town
The North Elmham New Town would also represent massive development of the precious River Wensum chalk stream habitats (not to mention a Site of Specific Scientific Interest).
That’s why I was delighted to chair a meeting on Friday in North Elmham with local parish councils and local councillors Bill Borrett and Cllr Gordon Bambridge to make clear that the idea of a new town in the area will NOT be supported by ourselves as elected local representatives.
Bill and Gordon confirmed that Breckland Council are NOT zoning this area for major housebuilding, and will oppose a re-application of the New Town as we did successfully last time it was proposed.
New Towns and Garden Villages
Whilst there are places in the UK where there may be a strong case for a new generation of garden towns and villages, with all of the necessary infrastructure and transport links (either to drive regeneration as in parts of the post-industrial North, or to alleviate the pressure around major growth hits spots like Cambridge), North Elmham is not a sustainable location.
I can think of several possible sites in East Anglia that could perhaps take such a garden town or village: specifically the dilapidated station sites on the Cambridge-Ely-Brandon-Thetford-Attleborough-Wymondham-Norwich railway line – as part of the Oxford-Cambridge East-West Railway Development Company I have championed over the years, and especially during my time as Minister for the Future of Transport at the DfT.
However, I’ve also been very clear that, for any such development, we need to be sure that:
- Any such developments must avoid the loss of ancient woodland and high quality farmland
- We see a serious commitment to Net Zero and building into the plans a higher quality, cleaner, greener standard of life – not continuing to same old, lazy model of house dumping that sees thousands of additional vehicles tearing through old country lanes and causing more congestion and rat-running
- There is serious investment into public and private infrastructure – with proper road, rail, cycle and walking routes
- Any such development is planned appropriately and sustainably, and that it makes sense in the wider community context.
I have not seen any evidence to suggest that a garden town or village would be appropriate in this part of Mid Norfolk, and given the rural and inaccessible nature of North Elmham and the surrounding villages, the already serious congestion on the nearby road network and the nationally significant environmental and habitat importance of the Wensum Valley, I cannot envisage any circumstances in which this idea could be taken seriously.
To my mind, it would make far more sense for such a significant level of growth to be focussed down closer to the A11 Corridor – which Breckland Council themselves have, rightly, recognised is the key growth artery in our region and have tried to focus the bulk of the district’s future growth. I know the Leader of Breckland Council, Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, and both Cllr Bill Borrett and Cllr Gordon Bambridge strongly support this.
That’s why I was delighted to join the c12 local parish councils representing the areas that would be affected by this idea to make clear my opposition.
Next Steps
At the meeting we agreed some important Next Steps:
- To reconvene a meeting of ALL the parish councils in the affected area after the forthcoming local elections on May 4th to make sure all write to Breckland Council formally to express their concerns.
- Bill and Gordon and I will liaise to ensure all the local residents who object have their objections properly acknowledged by BDC.
- I will invite my neighbouring MP, Jerome Mayhew, to join that follow-up meeting given a number of his Broadland communities are in close proximity to the site around North Elmham and would also be affected.
- I will write to Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) and the Minister for Housing to make clear why any New Towns and Garden Villages should only be delivered in the right locations with the associated connectivity, infrastructure and services required) and not in inappropriate locations with the obvious environmental, sustainability and transport issues this scale of development would inevitably threaten.
Please be assured that I will keep on this in the weeks and months ahead.