August 2025 Update

It has been a busy time with grant funding. The people behind the Harleston Greenspace Nature Conservation project were awarded a £300 ‘Go For It’ grant to help towards a planning application required for change of use for the land. I have applied to the Community Action Fund for money to help the Friends of Sancroft Academy create outdoor hubs so that the children can experience and learn more about their environment. Cllr Eddy and I contributed Members Ward Allowance funding to the Harleston Choral Society towards their 25th anniversary performance of Carmina Burana at Sancroft Academy. It was a pleasure to be part of the audience.

The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) was awarded Local Plan of the Year at the 2025 Royal Town Planning Institute East of England Awards. Also, the South Norfolk and Broadland Planning team were Highly Commended for Planning Authority of the Year. This follows national recognition at the 2025 Planning Awards, where the GNLP was also Highly Commended, cementing its status as a leading example of sustainable, community-focused planning.

The South Norfolk Council (SNC) proposal for the structure of the unitary authorities retains as much as possible of the existing districts and combines them into two larger entities. This avoids splitting out elements of South Norfolk and builds on the ‘one team’ philosophy of South Norfolk and Broadland and their close relationship with Norwich. Harleston would be part of a Norwich and East Norfolk.

Harleston Information Plus provides many varied services, including an information centre, befriending, and jobs club. It was great to see Lucy Marjoram, Centre Manager, feature as the introduction and conclusion, on a video promoting South Norfolk Volunteers Week. On a personal note, I have the pleasure of recently being coopted onto the Board and look forwards to working with the team to maintain and grow the services.

I applaud the tenacity of the Town Council in following up the incident with the electric charging points in the car park and their relocation by SNC away from the residential properties. Following concerns raised by a resident about the state of Swan Lane, I am pleased to say that this has been swept with a view to adding the road to the cleaning schedule.

I will hold my next surgery on 9 August at Harleston Information Plus on Exchange Street in Harleston at 10:00. It would be great to see you there.

Cllr Trevor Graham

South Norfolk Council

Member for Harleston