Thetford

The  Draft Conservation Area Appraisal (PDF) [34MB] (opens new window)  is now open for public consultation.  Breckland Council is updating the Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA) for the town centre, in partnership with Thetford Town Council, to create a new Heritage Masterplan.  To have your say, please send your feedback to planning.policyteam@breckland.gov.uk by Friday 23rd February 2024.

Situated 30 miles from Norwich, Thetford is an ancient market town and is one of the earliest settlements in Norfolk.  Grimes Graves is north of the town and there is evidence that there was much activity in the area during the Neolithic period. 

Interesting facts about Thetford

• Thetford is the birthplace of the 18th century radical Thomas Paine. English-born American political activist, political theorist, philosopher and revolutionary, whose thinking encouraged American independence and the abolition of slavery
• Statues of Thomas Paine and Captain Mainwaring - a fictional character in the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, portrayed by Arthur Lowe, can both be found in the town
• Thetford Forest is the UK's largest manmade lowland forest with 18,730 hectares to explore and is a patchwork of heathland, pines and broadleaves and home to a rich and diverse variety of animal and plant life
• The town has 3 museums - 
  • The Charles Burrell Museum (opens new window), dedicated to steam power and transport it is housed in the former Charles Burrell factory where traction engines were made.  
  • The Ancient House Museum (opens new window) was once a Tudor home and was given to the town by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, the last maharajah's son. 
  • The Dad's Army Museum (opens new window) celebrates the legendary TV series which was filmed around Thetford.
• Ancient treasure was unearthed at Gallows Hill, Thetford, in 1979.  This included highly decorated silver spoons, gold rings, bracelets and necklaces. It is considered one of the most important Romano-British hoards ever found and can be seen in the British Museum in London
• The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is based in a beautifully converted Nunnery in Thetford and is open to the public.

The Town Delivery Plan presents detailed evidence and recommendations for deliverable and impactful interventions that can be delivered  over the next ten years. These interventions  are designed to have a positive environmental, social and economic impact.

The plans present a robust evidence base and justification for action based on qualitative and quantitative research done by our professional consultants, Hatch and We Made That. They are the result of extensive desktop research and data gathering, as well as numerous stakeholder consultations and workshops, surveys, and engagement work with residents and businesses. They represent the ideas and ambitions of the people that live, work and trade in the town.

Partnership working was key to producing each of these plans. The council emphasised the need to bring together partners, planning and decision-making bodies, businesses, and residents for all stages of this process. The involvement of other partners in the delivery of the Plans will be key. To succeed and create real change, this project has recognised that it must bring stakeholders together.

Thetford's Town Delivery Plan 2021-31 (PDF) [9MB] (opens new window)