23/11/2022: Future Breckland 10-year vision takes next step

Breckland Council members have approved the adoption of five Town Delivery plans which set the 10-year vision for the district's Towns. The council's Future Breckland programme sets out changes to enhance each of Breckland's five towns and their surrounding villages, attract major investment to the district for over 50 projects, and has already secured investment into Breckland for recent schemes.

The council's Future Breckland programme has been in operation for around 18 months and previously saw a rolling programme of engagement sessions take place with residents and businesses across the district's five market towns of Dereham, Thetford, Attleborough, Watton and Swaffham, as well as input from a range of partner organisations, businesses, and regeneration experts. Everybody's views on what was working well in the district and what could be improved then resulted in a 10-year master plan being drawn up, listing key priorities for each town and surrounding areas.

Having this agreed shared vision for the next 10 years, with support from several key partners of the council, has helped to strengthen Breckland's bids for external funding. A number of 'quick win' Projects have already secured funding and been delivered through previous Future Breckland work include:

• The development of Queen Mother's Garden
• New wayfinding and art installations in Dereham
• A new funding agreement for Attleborough Leisure scheme
• Funding for a programme of new events over the summer which will help celebrate Thetford's cultural strengths.
• In Swaffham, the High Street Heritage Action Zone has put in place funding to restore four of the Towns historic buildings, whilst a new public realm masterplan has been completed to help support development in the Town Centre.
• Unlocked the ability to bid for multi-million-pound grants from Central Government

However, the full plans set out far more ambitious projects the District and the council expects much more to follow over the next 10 years.

After the vote at Breckland Council's Cabinet meeting today (November 21), the new 'Future Breckland Board' will help move the project moving forward and will include Members from the district council, Norfolk County Council, the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, representatives of the Private Sector, Voluntary Sector and Skills/Training Sectors.

At the meeting the Council also agreed to consult upon the final piece of the Future Breckland activity - a cross-District "prospectus". The prospectus sets out a vision for the District as a whole and the priorities and activities which could benefit all Breckland residents whether living in Towns or villages. View the consultation document which will be available for comment until 4^th January 2023.

Cllr Paul Claussen, Executive Member for Economic Development and Growth from Breckland Council, commented: "We have worked closely with residents and businesses across the district and their feedback helped shape our prospectus for the district. In turn, having this clear 10-year vision, which has been supported by a range of partners, enables us now to bid for national funding as the people holding the purse strings could see why these schemes were needed locally and what a difference they would make. I'm very pleased with the progress to date and am confident that the new project board will drive this project to the next level and attract even more money to ensure residents and businesses thrive in Breckland."