FRAMINGHAM EARL PARISH COUNCIL

South Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council are the two levels of local government that the parish council works with to deliver local services. For the first time in 50 years, the government is proposing to reorganise their functions and amalgamate them into one “unitary” council. This method of local government is already in place in other parts of the country, so it is already a model that can be built upon. Both the current district and county councils are working on what the new structure will look like. Currently there are three proposals being put to the government. One of these is that one council should cover the whole of Norfolk. The second is that two councils should be created with one covering the east of the region (including Framingham Earl) and the other dealing with the west of the county. The final proposal is that there should be three new authorities, East and West Norfolk with the addition of a “Greater Norwich” authority. This would extend the current Norwich City council to suburbs including Framingham Earl. Each of these three proposals is having more detailed work undertaken with final submissions being made to the government in the autumn. They will decide which model they would like to implement. The new unitary authority will be functional by May 2028.

In the meantime, next year, Norfolk residents will be able to vote for the new role of Mayor of Norfolk and Suffolk. The new mayor will subsequently work with the new unitary authority to shape the future of the region. It means that there will be quite a bit of organisational change in the coming years – but throughout this, the role of the local parish council will not change.

We are awaiting the result of a survey of traffic patterns on Long Road as part of a long-standing campaign to reduce the speed limits there and on Pigot Lane to bring them in line with all the other roads in the village. The character of both roads has changed considerably in the decades since the current limits were determined, especially with additional housing and increased traffic. We are also conscious that these roads are popular with cyclists and pedestrians. These surveys will help build a case for a change in speed limits but there will still be further funding needed to implement any recommended changes.

Although postal deliveries improved over the Christmas period, they have once again fallen beneath acceptable levels. Royal Mail are in the process of moving their delivery office (currently behind the Post office/One Stop shop) to a location which can deal with the increased volumes of letters and parcels. Our local MP and district councillor have been working hard with Royal Mail to improve service levels and the new plan intends to bring the service to the level it should be. The Post Office in Framingham Earl, a different business to Royal Mail, will still be at that location.

Over the summer, Framingham Earl High School will be creating new sports pitches behind the current fields and alongside Poringland Woods. Once completed in 2026 they will be a real asset to the school. The new fields will be fenced around the boundary and therefore some unofficial walking routes from the Earlsmead estate to the woods across the current farm field will no longer be able to be used.

When parking at the Post Office/One Stop, please be considerate towards the residents in Oaklands. There have been instances when bin lorries have not been able to manoeuvre past parked cars and bins have not been emptied as a result. The situation would be even worse if this was a fire engine or ambulance responding to an emergency.

Other aspects that we are currently working on include installing planters on the railings at the roundabout, clearing out of brambles and pathways in the Dell, the midsummer village fete and how we can improve biodiversity. We also participated in the South Norfolk “big litter pick” and collected dozens of bags of rubbish from around the village.

We publish news and updates on our Facebook and X accounts. You can learn more about what we do, our councillors and the minutes of all our meetings on our website.