Membership form

If you want to join the Dereham Society you can now download the 2011 membership form as a pdf file < here >. Please print it out, fill it in, and send it (with the membership fee) to the address given.

A program of Dereham Society events for the coming months will appear on this site soon, and will be advertised around the town. The Society normally meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month, at 7:30pm, in the local Library (High Street, Dereham, NR19 1DZ).

< DEREHAM SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP FORM 2011 >

Site Specific Policies & Proposals Development Plan (SSPPD)

Following on from the AGM a campaign was launched to alert Dereham townspeople to the SSPPD proposals and in particular the development of Cowper Road car park as retail space. An article was published in the Eastern Daily Press and the Dereham & Fakenham Times highlighting that adoption of retail status for Cowper Road car park would prevent its use as a bus station. We see this change of use, put through with minimal publicity and debate, as a critical move. Previously, Cowper Road had been recognised to be the best place to site a bus station. Directing bus traffic into Cowper Road would allow pedestrianisation of the Market Place and allow a number of options to be considered for the whole town centre. Without this option we shall be left with the prospect of a bus interchange funnelling a huge number of vehicles through the Market Place. Even this rather grim prospect is now stalled as the cuts programme has absorbed the money previously promised to Dereham.

The net result could be less car parking, more retail to compete with the charity shops and no resolution of the traffic problem through the Market Place.

In addition to the public articles a small group met to agree an online response to the Consultation document. The grounds for objecting to proposals in the SSPPD are very narrow according to criteria set by planning guidelines, but these views were put forward on behalf of the Society with regard to the Cowper Road car park. In addition to this we made comment on the three main Housing development proposals which are at:

• The Old Maltings, Norwich Road     –180 units
• Windmill Avenue – 200 units
• Greenfield Road  – 220 units

Our comments centred on the extra traffic this will generate on Norwich Road, in particular from Greenfield Road trying to turn right in the morning; the existing problems associated with flooding and sewage and on the need for Open Space allocations to be honoured in full. The development at Windmill Avenue will border Shillings Lane which connects Neatherd Moor and Etling Green. This has been identified by local councils as an important wildlife corridor running between two commons and offers a great circular walk route close to the Town. We stressed the need for this corridor to be a priority in the development plans and will continue to monitor proposals carefully.

Development at land adjacent to Pear Tree Cottage and Abbotts Field.

Previously plans for 10 houses have been refused but now an application has been lodged for four units. We feel the granting of permission for one house some years ago was sufficient and will object to any number above this.

2011 AGM Report

The AGM held on February 23rd at Dereham Library was a well- attended, positive meeting. The lack of members willing to take an active role was discussed with a realisation that this could ultimately lead to the Society being mothballed or disbanded. Members present felt strongly that there was a rôle for the Society to play and a number came forward offering to help in various formal and informal roles.  Officers were elected as follows:

• Chairman:                Philip Morton
• Vice Chairman:        Trevor Wood
• Treasurer:                Irene Moran
• Minutes Secretary:   Joyce Ellis
• Publicity Secretary:  Jane Dickenson

A number of new members were invited to the next Committee Meeting and they, along with existing members willing to stand again, are as follows:

• Philip Morton, Trevor Wood, Irene Moran, Joyce Ellis, Dick Malt, Tim Cara, Malcolm Money, Jane Dickenson, Peter Streek, Eric Hubbard, Matt Walker.

A number of issues were discussed at the AGM and agreed as topics which should be pursued by the Society.  The principal ones were:

• The planning consultation document and its impact on options for the future of the Town Centre. 
• Housing Development options contained in the same planning consultation document. 
• Progress of the Waste Recycling Centre 
• Standard of toilets in the Town Centre 
• Development of Open Spaces alongside housing developments in Windmill Avenue, Greenfields Road and the Old Maltings, Norwich Road.

Support was expressed for the redevelopment of the Memorial Hall and this would be monitored to see how the Society could promote use of the Hall.