Ian Clarke Plans for a “Thetford Loop” pedestrian and cycle way, a new country park, more allotments, protecting old buildings and improving the town centre have all been welcomed by people giving their views on the future for the town.

Ian Clarke

Plans for a “Thetford Loop” pedestrian and cycle way, a new country park, more allotments, protecting old buildings and improving the town centre have all been welcomed by people giving their views on the future for the town.

But concerns were also raised about extra congestion and residents are eager for the infrastructure to be provided to support the proposed major growth.

About 6500 new homes and 5000 jobs as well as raft of new facilities are in the pipeline for Thetford as part of a major expansion.

The second round of public consultation is underway and about 100 people attended a presentation and feedback group sessions on Tuesday evening at the Carnegie Rooms.

There was a mixture of comments around the proposals for a college and the relocation of the bus station.

Breckland executive member for planning and environment Ann Steward, who opened the meeting, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the comments that were made during the course of the meeting. The workshop format worked very well and allowed the views of residents from different areas of the town to be heard. I would like to thank everyone that attended and participated so enthusiastically. We will take all of the comments from the evening and feed them into the consultation. I would urge everybody in Thetford to look at the Thetford Area Action Plan and let us know what they think. On the evidence of last night's meeting it is obvious there is a genuine willingness to work together to provide a healthy future for Thetford.”

The consultation runs until April 3.

The summary leaflet and the full document are available to view on the Moving Thetford Forward website www.movingthetfordforward.com.