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:

1. Any such developments must avoid the loss of ancient woodland and high quality farmland
2. 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
3. There is serious investment into public and private infrastructure – with proper road, rail, cycle and walking routes
4. 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.

Farming plays a key role in our Norfolk way of life, as well as our local (and wider Eastern) economy.

Having long had a strong, personal connection with our agricultural industries and the environment, I have always strived to speak up for the sector and shine a light on all the good work it does – preserving and enhancing our beautiful landscapes, promoting high British standards and of course supplying us with the precious food we need.

That’s why I am delighted to hear that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has recently awarded farmers in Mid Norfolk £112,055 as part of the first round of the Farming Investment Fund’s Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology grants.

Part of a total £19million awarded to over 3,300 farmers who successfully applied for such grants, the monies for Mid Norfolk will go towards helping local farmers invest in items ranging from livestock handling equipment to automated monitoring systems, and which will improve welfare standards, boost animal health and boost productivity and sustainability.

With #BackBritishFarming day around the corner (next week: Wednesday 13th September 2023), this is fantastic news for Mid Norfolk farmers.

I very much look forward to continuing my active support for Mid Norfolk farmers – and will be visiting local farmers again later this week to discuss the work they are doing to boost crop yields and sustainability in an environmentally friendly manner.

More information on the Farming Investment Fund can be found here.

To find out more about Back British Farming day, please click here.

To find out more about my work supporting our local farming sector, please visit my ‘Food, Farming and the Environment’ campaign page here.

Have an interest in the Vattenfall onshore substation works at Necton, along with works on its associated cable corridor?

Construction works are set to begin on the western-most 20km of Vattenfall’s cable route (between Necton and the River Wensum) this month and so they are holding their next drop-in event in Dereham NEXT Tuesday 12th September between 10am and 5.30pm at the 2nd Scouts Scouthaven (South Green, Dereham, NR19 1PU) – where residents and local businesses can find out more about the works and engage directly with Vattenfall themselves.

Having long supported local Mid Norfolk communities affected and deeply concerned by Vattenfall’s proposals, I continue to follow developments closely, speaking up for local residents and businesses and stressing the importance of proper community engagement.

(See my previous update following Vattenfall’s announcement in July that they were halting progress on their Norfolk Boreas project here)

Having personally “dropped-in” to Vattenfall’s community event in Necton back in July, I would encourage anyone with an interest (questions or concerns) to go to this upcoming event in Dereham and have their say.

Those unable to attend the next event in Dereham can join informal online briefings with Vattenfall instead. (See more information here)

More widely, I continue to emphasise to Vattenfall, alongside Norfolk MP colleagues, the importance of the most affected communities getting significant community benefits now that permissions have been granted for both of their Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas projects. I also continue to work hard on the campaign lobbying for a proper offshore solution to connecting this vital national infrastructure to the National Grid.

To see more about all of that wider work, please visit my website campaign page here

There is nothing more important than the safety of children, young people and staff in our Mid Norfolk schools.

That’s why I am following all developments regarding Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) closely and why I have reached out directly to Thomas Bullock Primary in Shipdham following confirmation that there are RAAC planks in their school hall and that, as such, their return for the Autumn Term will be delayed by a day while adjustments are made so that assemblies, lunches and PE lessons can take place elsewhere on the premises.

I understand that the school hall will now not be in use until remedial works have been carried out, and I have contacted the school’s headteacher, as well as the Chief Executive of the Diocese of Norwich Education Trust (of which the school is part), directly to offer my assistance and support.

I very much appreciate that this will be a source of concern for many locally. I am not aware of any other Mid Norfolk schools affected.

Rest assured, I will continue to follow up with Thomas Bullock Primary and DNEAT, along with ministers and officials at the DfE, to ensure Thomas Bullock gets the urgent support it requires.

While we absolutely must take wastewater and nutrient pollution in our rivers and watercourses incredibly seriously, we also need to make sure that we do so in a way that is fair and proportionate, and which doesn’t unnecessarily hurt our local communities.

That’s why, having worked closely with fellow MPs, local authorities and small developers based here in Mid Norfolkover recent months, I am delighted that the Government have listened to the many of us who have raised the unintended consequences of the ill-designed Nutrient Neutralityregulations which have not had the effect envisaged.

Norfolk has been one of the worst affected areas in the country as countless planning applications have ground to a halt for well over a year due to the new regulations. Many businesses and constituents have been caught up in the problems, with planning permissions unable to move forward and many stuck waiting for homes they have purchased to be built. This has in turn threatened so many jobs and livelihoods in the construction industry – especially our smaller local builders who are not the principle problem or policy target of improved “Nutrient Neutrality”.

I personally know of excellent local builders close to going bust because of this problem. All in an area where young people need to have somewhere to live – and our communities need smaller pockets of housing to keep them thriving and vibrant.

That’s why I am really optimistic about the unlocking of this problem today via the Government’s announcement. We now have a sensible and pragmatic approach that still protects the environment, but also helps to protect jobs and ensure housebuilding can continue again. 

Housebuilding was never the primary source of nutrients and phosphates entering our watercourses. Nutrient Neutrality is a case of the unintended consequences of sensible environmental laws.

So to mitigate this, the Government has pledged to:

• Provide £280million for Natural England to evolve and expand their Nutrient Mitigation Scheme so that it can implement new, additional measures such as the creation of wetlands – with larger developers to contribute fairly and appropriately towards the cost of this scheme moving forward

• Accelerate nutrient reduction activities by further work to develop Protected Site Strategies in the catchments most affected by nutrient pollution and with the most acute housing pressures. These new plans will be created by Natural England in partnership with local communities to identify bespoke measures to combat the causes of nutrient pollution in their catchments. 

• Go further to help farming (the primary cause of nutrient run off) grow food sustainably and protect the environment, increase productivity, and build a more circular economy for nutrients – by opening a new £25million nutrient management innovation fund, by investing £200million in slurry management infrastructure, and by consulting this year on modernising our fertiliser product standards to drive the use of products based on organic and recycled nutrients.

• Expand the mandate that requires water companies to improve their wastewater treatment works to the highest technically achievable limits by 2030

• Offset any additional nutrients from the 100,000 homes that will be unblocked by the Government’s announcement 

• Build on the the ambitious Plan for Water, which sets out stronger regulation, tougher enforcement and more than £2 billion of accelerated investment from water companies. 

This is all very welcome news and I remain committed to working with parliamentary colleagues (both here in Norfolk and those afield), as well as our local councils and small developers, as the Government works to ensure this vitally important issues are gripped properly, proportionately and fairly.

To see my previous webstory on this issue, please click here

To see the EDP article on the matter, please click here

I recognise the important role that cash plays in our Mid Norfolk community – especially for the elderly and small businesses. That’s why I welcome the Government’s announcement last week, which seeks to protect FREE access to cash.

New powers will ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is able to ensure “reasonable provision” of withdrawal and deposit facilities. In a nutshell, this means that the vast majority of the population should have facilities within three miles of them. Furthermore, the FCA will have the power to fine banks if they do not ensure reasonable provision.

This is a welcome addition to the introduction of cash-back in 2,500 shops across the UK without the need to buy something – a result of the Government’s Financial Services Act 2021.

This is a step in the right direction – although I recognise that there is always more that can be done. That is why I am supporting the local provision of banking hubs and services to ensure that everyone has the access to cash that they need.

Please rest assured that I believe that the way we treat vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society – and ensuring access to cash is an important aspect of that. That’s why I shall continue working to ensure that there is provision across Mid Norfolk – please click here and here to read more.

Local bank branches are a key part of our Mid Norfolk community. This includes having access to cash for small businesses, which drive our local economy. Branch closures also disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our society – including the elderly.

That is why I recently hosted a meetings with Cash Access UK, Cllrs Claire Bowes, Tristan Ashby, Samantha Taylor, Taila Taylor, and Tina Kiddell, alongside Andrew Holdsworth (Assistant Director for Economy and Growth at Breckland Council) to discuss the implementation of local banking hubs in Attleborough and Watton.

We all recognised the role that accessible banking plays in both everyday life and local commerce. Therefore, I was pleased to hear of the encouraging progress being made to secure a local banking hub in Watton, and the continued efforts and openness to the proposal in Attleborough.

Rest assured, I will continue to fight for local banking provision throughout our Mid Norfolk community, knowing how important this is to residents.

You can read more about my campaign to back local businesses here.

The devastating fires in Ashill this time last year, alongside the wildfires currently unfolding in Greece as a result of the European heatwave, remind us of the continued risk posed to our rural Mid Norfolk community as a consequence of prolonged dry, hot weather – likely to be an increasingly common occurrence over the coming years, alongside spells of extreme weather year-round. 

That’s why I was pleased to visit Norfolk Fire and Rescue at their Dereham station this past Friday. Present were the Chief Fire Officer for Norfolk Ceri Sumner, the Leader of Norfolk County Council Kay Mason Billig, and local councillors Margaret Dewsbury and Phillip Duigan. It was a pleasure to learn more about the work of the Urban Search and Rescue(USAR) team. Initially set up in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, this highly trained team can be deployed to a range of situations including road traffic accidents, wildfires, floods, building collapses, and more.

They form part of the national USAR response forces, with their location in Dereham giving them important coverage of the East of England, and ensuring that a USAR team can reach anywhere across the UK within an appropriate timescale. 

Their demonstration on Friday highlighted the important skillsets which USAR has, from confined space searches and at-height rescues to rapid and effective area searches using sniffer dogs. To maintain and utilise their skills they have special equipment such as drones, and train intensively. It was a privilege to be able to see examples of this training on Friday. 

As skilled as USAR and the wider Norfolk Fire Service are, it is CRITICAL that we ALL remain vigilant – both in preventing fires and emergencies, and knowing what information to provide when reporting one. This means that the Fire Service can allocate resources to where they are needed most, helping keep us all safer. Whilst we have experienced some recent rain, items as innocuous as a piece of broken glass remain enough to start potentially devastating fires. Please see the graphics and read the advice at the bottom of this article, so that you know how to help keep our Mid Norfolk community safe. 

Please rest assured that I remain fully committed to ensuring that USAR has a long-term future here in Norfolk, alongside the wider Norfolk Fire Service, and have the support they need to continue their life-saving work. 

NORFOLK FIRE AND RESCUE GUIDANCE

1. Prevent wildfires

Residents and visitors can help prevent wildfires in Norfolk by following four simple steps:

1. Dispose of cigarette butts responsibly rather than throwing them on the ground

2. Do not have BBQs in parks and public spaces other than designated areas.  Portable BBQs pose the greatest risk, especially when they are placed directly on the ground - avoid using them altogether

3. Do not have campfires or bonfires except in carefully managed and designated areas. You must never leave them unattended and always have the ability toextinguish them if you need to

4. Do not drop glass bottles because they can magnify the sun's rays and cause fires

Remember, if you see any signs of smoke or wildfire report it immediately to 999

2. Protect your home

All residents should take steps to protect their home from wildfire

1. Trim back shrubs or trees that are close to / touching your home and dispose of cuttings responsibly. Piles of cuttings are fuel for fire.

2. Clear away any build-up of flammable material in and around your garden such as leaves, compost heaps, log piles, dry grass etc.

3. Check for spaces between roof tiles or within your home where burning embers could become lodged such as rain gutters.

4. Position sheds and outbuilding away from your home and make sure that flammable substances (including fertilisers and pesticides) are stored safely

5. Ensure your home is adequately insured and protected with smoke detection