Is Diss getting a Fair Deal

Over the coming weeks and months, the Diss Express will be running a serious of articles under the banner - A Fair Deal for Diss.

By documenting and sharing different views – be they of residents, old and young, traders, councillors, politicians and visitors, by acting as a platform for debate, by highlighting areas where people feel strongly about issues, by helping to provide the facts, by helping to add pressure where needed, and in the right direction, we hope the campaign will be as informative as it is effective.

Earlier this month, the boss of one of the town’s largest employers made his feelings plainly known.

Having been based in the town for 15 years, his frustration was only too apparent.

Traffic problems along the A1066 into Diss have dogged the town for years.

Not only that, they have got worse. Horrendous, was his description.

Though we hear what Diss has to offer, not for the first time, major employers have talked about leaving, unless certain problems are fixed, and soon.

Norfolk County Council last week announced it is carrying out a new traffic survey into the daily congestion problems along the A1066, Victoria Road and Park Road.

This will feed into a new Diss Network Improvement Strategy, which, it says, will be completed by the end of the year.

We received phone calls however from residents in their 90s, who remember the same discussions 50 years ago – only then, there were fewer houses, fewer people and less of a problem.

Earlier this year, a consultation was carried out to gather views on the future development of Diss and six neighbouring parishes.

It is the first time councils from both sides of the River Waveney have worked together to help address the issues that concern local businesses and residents.

The draft Visions and Themes document outlined suggestions around a key message of a vibrant community centred around a thriving market town.

There were around 500 written responses with a further 300 online, enough to validate the document.

According to new figures by the ministry of housing, South Norfolk tops the list of new homes built between March 2017 and March 2018.

So far, most of these have been constructed in and around Norwich.

The neighbourhood plan is designed to empower Diss and the wider district to influence local development to help the town prosper.

Of those views submitted, ‘getting about’ was high on the list of priorities.

More houses built locally, will mean more people, more traffic and more demand for services.

Send your thoughts to: editorial@dissexpress.co.uk