Spending review puts town's £20m funding in doubt

A council that was promised £20m to improve a Norfolk town said it was waiting to find out if it would still receive the funding.

Earlier this year, the Conservative government said Breckland District Council would provide the money to promote regeneration and growth in Thetford.

But following the Chancellor’s spending audit announcement, it is unclear if the funding will still be forthcoming.

“We are awaiting further information from the department,” a council spokesman said.

He added: “They have advised that they would like time to review the Long-Term Plan for Towns in general.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been asked to comment.

The council has previously described the potential of the funding as “transformative” and recently began putting together a ‘town board’ which would oversee how the money would be spent.

If the investment does eventually come, one area that will be looked at is the town centre where several shop units are empty.

So what do shoppers think needs to be done?

Nineteen-year-old Daisy Littlefield said she thought Thetford was “quiet and nice for people in retirement, not very much so for younger adults” and that she hoped more retailers – particularly clothes shops – could be encouraged to open.

“I think there can be a lot of improvement. There’s an increase in vape shops, and especially for younger children, (that’s) very negative.”

David Greenleaf, 74, said he usually visited the town centre “once or twice a week”.

He added that it was once “a nice place… it’s just gone dead”.

Mr Greenleaf said that even if more was done to encourage more traders in town “they can’t come here because there’s no money”.

Alan Masom, 63, said he wanted any regeneration funding to be spent on making “the town look better in general”.

“The roads and footpaths are full of potholes. We could do with the market improved - more and more people are going to Bury (St Edmunds) now," he said.

Friends Brenda Read and Jackie Wilkin also said people often chose Bury St Edmunds or Norwich over Thetford for shopping.

“It’s a shame really because this could be a lovely little town,” said Ms Wilkin.

Ms Read said she would like work to be done to encourage landlords to reduce their prices: “If they brought down the rents the shops would stay.

“If we could have a lot less estate agents and more ordinary little shops, that would be better.”

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