NEWS

#keepDerehamclean
March 14, 2024

Support the Great British Spring Clean – in Dereham! Keep Britain Tidy is hoping that more people than ever will support this year’s Great British Spring Clean – the country’s biggest environmental campaign to mark its 70th year. They say: “In 2023, ar …

Call Me John
March 1, 2024

New play celebrates local lives – see it on 7 March Call Me John is the heart-warming tale of John, an 85-year-old great grandfather, who is worried he will be forgotten after he’s passed on. When his troubled grandson, Ashley, comes to visit, John dec …

Calendar 2024
January 19, 2024

Dereham Calendar is a first! So would you believe there has not been a calendar of Dereham for goodness knows how long? A long time. So it was a bit of a novelty when aboutDereham set out to make one. We started rather late in 2023 – it was already Nov …

Dereham Aid Centre
December 20, 2023

A Merry Christmas to Everybody! A Happy New Year to the World (CHARLES DICKENS) At Dereham Aid Centre, we would like to thank our wonderful community for the continued support that enables us to make meaningful impact on the lives of people living in a …

EFG Xmas 23
December 20, 2023

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas …. Christmas came early to the Ellenor Fenn Garden in Dereham Shopping Centre on Saturday 16 December. From mid morning onwards a crowd of families gathered to hear the carol singers and to meet Santa. The …

Xmas 2023
December 4, 2023
Round Table xmas run

Spreading a little Christmas magic Dereham is gearing up with a great programme of events to spread a little Christmas magic in the lead up to Xmas. This is just a small sample of the many seasonal events coming up over the next few weeks:- Children’s …

Dereham calendar
November 20, 2023
Dereham calendar

Let’s celebrate Dereham. Buy our charity calendar at Green Pastures book shop on Norwich Street Thanks to local photographers who have donated images, we have a wonderful calendar to celebrate our town in 2024. The photographers who contributed their b …

Norfolk Warm Homes
November 19, 2023
home insulation

Help and advice with home heating costs You can make your home more energy-efficient with government funded grants – so long as your home has an Energy Performance Certificate of D-G. If you do not have an EPC for your home, Norfolk Warm Homes can arra …

Round Table
October 21, 2023

Give the Round Table a go You’d be forgiven if you’re not familiar with Dereham Round Table or only aware of it in relation to Santa & his Sleigh visits in and around the town in the lead up to Christmas. It’s about much more than that… Dereham is …

Sites of Dereham
September 17, 2023

A Heritage Open Days (HODs) walk around Dereham The first Saturday of Heritage Open Days 2023 saw 19 people collecting in Dereham for a 2½ hour walk around The Sites of Dereham.  The route had been constructed to link together a number of places w …

HODs 2023
August 9, 2023
Heritage Open Days

Free entry to Dereham’s heritage sites with activities for families

Buskin’ it
July 18, 2023

Open air Blues concert created holiday atmosphere in Dereham Click the image to view the video snippet online An acoustic open-air blues concert in the Ellenor Fenn Garden attracted over 70 visitors and created a wonderful holiday atmosphere.  A s …

Dereham Pride
July 8, 2023
Pride organisers

Dereham Does Pride – event to celebrate diversity and acceptance Dereham Does Pride was a wonderful event held At the King’s Head hotel in Dereham on 1st July. The event aimed to celebrate diversity, inclusivity and understanding. The idea started from …

Sanford House
June 30, 2023
renovated gazebo

Team 191 make spectacular garden renovation Prince’s Trust Team 191 has carried out an amazing Garden Rescue style transformation in the grounds of Sanford House Nursing Home in Dereham. Their work on the garden renovation at the local nursing and deme …

Noticeboard refurb
June 8, 2023

New lease of life for town centre noticeboard The noticeboard located outside of Dereham central Post Office has been renewed and refurbished in a welcome example of partnership working between local groups. Before… After … Part of the town’s histo …

Thank volunteers
May 20, 2023
Thank our volunteers

Making all the difference in the world The aboutDereham Partnership marks Volunteers’ Week, 1st-7th June 2023 by encouraging us to Celebrate what our volunteers do for our community and also to Inspire others to get involved. As we approach the 39th ye …

Dereham-Day is here
May 12, 2023
opener

A grand day out is promised – for all ages Frantic behind the scenes arrangements promise to make this celebration of all things Dereham even better than last year – and that was a huge success with around 3,000 or more visitors. This year there are ev …

Dereham Day 2023
May 5, 2023
Dereham Day 2022

Double celebration for Dereham Hard on the heels of our local elections comes, as I am sure everyone knows, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The ceremony will be streamed live from Westminster to big screens on the Fleece Meadow, b …

Dereham Litter
April 19, 2023

We generally have a litter pick every other Saturday morning from 10am till 12pm, meeting near Dad’s and Lad’s in the Cherry Tree Car Park.

Back On Track
April 7, 2023

Railway announces donor packages for fund-raising effort

New noticeboards
February 16, 2023

Now we can display our notices and posters with ease thanks to new noticeboards

monthly-lunch
January 30, 2023
poster for lunch

Ladies do lunch! Every month! Meet a fantastic team of women who put on a big lunch for 60 people every month. Each of them gives their time freely to the Love Dereham charity. The team is headed up by Susan Yaxley, who spent her career in catering, wh …

Age UK
January 17, 2023
many hands

Lend a helping hand! Age UK Norfolk are holding an Day at our charity shop in Dereham on January 30th. Please come along. This is an opportunity for anybody interested in volunteering to come and meet our team and find out more about the voluntary role …

Dereham Blues Festival
January 4, 2023

Save the date – 5-9 July Dereham Blues Festival is an annual, community-organised celebration of blues music with more than 50 bands playing over 200 live gigs at venues across the town. In 2022, more than 2000 music lovers enjoyed live blues music in …

Future Breckland
December 14, 2022

We aim to submit a response to the Future Breckland Prospectus by the deadline of 4 January 2023. Please get in touch and let us know your views

Team 188
November 27, 2022
Team 188

invaluable life lessons for the Prince’s Trust Team 188 in Dereham as they renovate care home garden

Queen Mother’s New Garden
November 15, 2022

The Queen Mother’s Garden, off Church Street, reopened on Monday, November 7, following a major investment in a new design, new footpaths and planting and several new features. New picnic benches, wheelchair-friendly paths, a sensory planter and a comm …

Remembrance-service
November 7, 2022

Watch the Dereham Remembrance Parade on 13 December 2022

Bonfire-night
October 24, 2022

Soothing music could help your pet The RSPCA has published advice on how to help your pets if they are frightened by fireworks. They advise that you create a safe space, in a quiet part of the house, with no windows or with the curtains closed. Get the …

Heritage Open Days 2023
September 2, 2022
central Dereham in 1757

Plans for Heritage Open Days in Dereham

Wayfinding Awards
July 14, 2022
Cllr Roy Brame, Carolyn Coleman and Sue Walker

Special recognition Award for Dereham Wayfinding team Councillor Roy Brame, the former Chairman of Breckland Council, presented a Special Recognition Award on 13th July to two Dereham residents who had designed and produced the series of wayfinding sig …

Our Priorities 2022
July 8, 2022
Aerial view of Dereham town centre

Every year, we ask our members what our priorities should be for the coming year. Not surprisingly, some of the same issues come up year after year.

Citizen Award
June 19, 2022
town council logo

Dereham Town Council Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award In light of the Queen’s 70 years of service on the throne, Dereham Town Council would like to reward local volunteers, those unsung heroes, who have made a positive contribution to Dereham. The Town C …

Jubilee Beacon Lighting 2022
June 5, 2022

A fabulous warm evening, with a fabulous warm audience for the lighting of the Dereham beacon 2022

Beacon lighting ceremony
May 29, 2022
beacon lighting

Join us on 2nd June from 7.30pm in Fleece Meadow Bring a folding chair and relax with us as we await the magic hour of 9.45pm when the Dereham town beacon will be lit in honour of her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Royalist or not, this is a spe …

Jubilee beacon
May 22, 2022

Lighting of the beacon to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on 2nd June

Dereham Day 2022
May 15, 2022
Fleece Meadow

Dereham Day a huge success – shows community spirit

Dereham Day
May 10, 2022

Join the fun and celebrate our community and its many talents on Saturday 14 May

Queen Mother’s Garden
April 26, 2022
Queen Mother's Garden

Refurbishment plans for Queen Mother’s Garden Breckland Council and Dereham Town Council have released the proposed designs to refurbish the Queen Mother’s Garden in Dereham. Both councils have been working together on plans for The Queen Mother’s Gard …

Ellenor Fenn Garden
April 4, 2022
Ellenor Fenn panel

Ellenor Fenn Garden celebrates Dereham’s Mrs Teachwell In December 2019, aboutDereham held a special partnership meeting to sound out members as to whether they wanted us to work with Breckland Council to transform a piece of derelict land into a new p …

Street parties
March 11, 2022

Tell us when and where if you are holding a street party or picnic for the Queens Platinum Jubilee in June 2022

Team 182
March 5, 2022
Team 182

New wildlife garden delivered on budget and ahead of time! Friday 4th March saw the unveiling of a new wildlife garden for the 1st Beetley Scouts Group which has transformed an overgrown site into something for the Scouts, Cubs and Beavers to enjoy and …

Mid-Norfolk Singers
February 24, 2022
Singing at Blickling

Singing reduces stress and improves well-being Mid Norfolk Singers know that singing is good for you. Ask their members, several of whom have 50 years of service with the choir. “People come to choir because they love it” says Jane Fannon. “Travelling …

Good News!
February 4, 2022

Promoting your club or organisation in the Dereham Times We have been offered a dedicated column in the Dereham Times every six weeks. We want to use this opportunity to promote your clubs, organisations, annual programme or just what you do and who yo …

Prince’s Trust
January 12, 2022

Young people not in work or education can join a fantastic and challenging programme based on practical and valuable life skills.

Ellenor Fenn Christmas 2021
December 18, 2021

Christmas Comes to the Ellenor Fenn Garden Thank you so much to the Mid-Norfolk Singers, Dereham Baptist Church, Dereham Round Table and Helen Evans of aboutDereham for organising a very beautiful event in the Ellenor Fenn Garden this morning, Saturday …

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
November 28, 2021
Platinum-Jubilee-logo

Groups get together in Dereham to plan for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Support aboutDereham
November 5, 2021
one in a crowd

We invite individuals to join our group, so they too can support our work and help make Dereham a better place to live and a great place to visit.

Dereham’s new signs
October 22, 2021
Launch of Dereham signs

New pedestrian signs installed in Dereham were officially unveiled by Dereham Mayor Stuart Green, 22nd October 2021.

civic service for mayor
October 12, 2021

Civic service for Dereham Mayor focuses on plans for town

Dereham Rotary
October 1, 2021
Rotary Logo

Plans are under way to bring back the local Rotary branch in Dereham

Dereham U3A
September 11, 2021
U3A CAKE

Dereham U3A cuts the cake for the 10th anniversary celebration at the cricket ground

Ellenor Fenn Garden, 2021
September 2, 2021
Garden design by Sue Walker

The new community space is almost ready for the opening event on 11th September

Dereham’s Town Plan
August 18, 2021
Photos of Dereham

n as part of the Future Breckland initiative, consultants We Made That and Hatch have produced a detailed draft of a delivery or action plan for Dereham town.

Town Plan Update
May 6, 2021
Your opinion matters

Updated: your views about Dereham are still wanted The consultants who have been appointed to create a Town Delivery Plan for Dereham are Hatch and We Made That. They have now agreed their timetable for consulting with Dereham residents and stakeholder …

A Town Plan for Dereham
April 28, 2021
Aerial view of Dereham town centre

John Fielding aerial image The consultants who will carry out the work to create town plans for the five market towns in Breckland have been appointed. You can read about this on Breckland Council’s website, here. These consultants plan to start with D …

Coronavirus support
April 18, 2021
coronavirus help on NCVO website

Advice on how to deliver your services while protecting your volunteers and your beneficiaries

Exhibition Feedback
April 1, 2021

there have been more than 600 views of the designs for new information panels and 66 people filled in a very short questionnaire and gave their feedback.

Showcasing our town and its attractions
February 26, 2021

As part of Breckland Council’s Market Town Initiative, a recommendation from specialist consultants on how our town and its attractions could be best served by new signs for pedestrians has finally come to fruition. Led by our Secretary, Carolyn Colema …

A town plan for Dereham
February 14, 2021
Aerial view of Dereham town centre

John Fielding aerial image Breckland District Council has kicked off a project to produce a town delivery plan for each of its five market towns, with Dereham being the first to be studied.  Consultants are to be tasked to consult with local organ …

A special opportunity Dereham cannot afford to miss and a stronger voice for the community
November 20, 2020
aboutDereham Partnership Meeting: Mike Webb, Chairman

aboutDereham Partnership Meeting: Mike Webb, Chairman It’s been a long-held ambition of the aboutDereham Partnership to campaign for and develop a co-ordinated, three-way partnership between the various sectors – community and voluntary, public (includ …

Dereham Cares – support for Toftwood & Dereham Residents
November 5, 2020

As the UK enters its second period of lockdown, Dereham Cares volunteers are on standby to help residents of Dereham and Toftwood with their essential needs. Dereham Cares will provide help and support to people living in Dereham and Toftwood by m …

The future of Dereham Market Place and a bus station?
October 8, 2020

The Chairman of the aboutDereham Partnership recently wrote to the Dereham Times, concerning the future of Dereham Market Place and the suggestion by Councillor Harry Clark that a bus station should be considered for Dereham. Here is the letter in full …

Important news for tourism and hospitality businesses
August 17, 2020

Tourism is an important sector for the economy of the Norfolk. A new £2.225m Tourism Sector Support Package has been launched by Visit East of England and is led by Norfolk County Council in partnership with all seven district councils. The funding pac …

Shop local and support local businesses
July 14, 2020

Advice from Breckland Council Breckland Council has extended its Shop with Confidence campaign in the town to offer help to restaurants, pubs, cafes, hairdressers and others able to resume trading from 4th July. Sam Chapman-Allen, Leader of Breckland C …

The aboutDereham Partnership – it’s all about the town
May 11, 2020
aboutDereham Partnership logo

The aboutDereham Partnership – it’s all about the town Now coming up to our second birthday and AGM in May, the aboutDereham Partnership has really been getting into its stride in the last twelve months, with various projects under way or just starting …

Dereham Cares – support for Toftwood & Dereham residents
March 29, 2020

Dereham Cares will provide help and support to people living in Dereham and Toftwood by matching them with a volunteer who can help with essentials such as collecting a prescription, talking on the phone to combat isolation, or delivering basic foodstu …

Dereham Cares – yes we do!
March 27, 2020

More than 60 people have already registered with the Dereham Cares scheme in order to help people facing difficulties as a result of being isolated due to the Corona Virus. The scheme launched less than a week ago and has already gained over 60 volunte …

Dereham Cares support scheme needs your help
March 23, 2020

District Councillor Alison Webb is leading a new scheme, Dereham Cares, together with District Councillors Hilary Bushell and Phillip Duigan. The Dereham Cares project is designed to provide help and support to people who find themselves isolated with …

New pocket park planned for Dereham
March 5, 2020

A new community pocket park is to be developed, offering a new tranquil public meeting space, community garden and a performance area in the heart of Dereham. The plans for the park will now become a reality in 2020 due to a successful funding partners …

Now you can get updates about the work that we do!
December 30, 2019
People value reading news and updates

Image: Daniel Munoz/Reuters The good news is that you can now sign up to receive updates from the aboutDereham Partnership. These are sent out by email (no trees were involved) about once every two months – so you won’t get bombarded! But you will have …

We hope we did our little town proud – yes, you did!
November 17, 2019
Dereham Community Crafters

We were all terribly sad to hear that the Dereham Carnival which has brought so much enjoyment to thousands of Dereham families will no longer go ahead in 2020. The Chairman and all of the volunteers who made it happen are also saddened that they now f …

Help us to help others in Dereham
August 23, 2019

Helping out helps Dereham Have you ever thought you would like to help others but don’t know where to start? Have you sometimes thought it would be nice to get out more and meet new people? We are lucky in Dereham to have many small community groups pr …

Results of wayfinding study now released
July 18, 2019

The aboutDereham Partnership has received the completed report recommending new pedestrian signs for Dereham town centre from specialist consultants Streetwise. The expert from Streetwise, Peter McGrail, spent a week walking all the streets in the town …

Dereham hero 55 years on still raising money for animal charities
May 14, 2019

Local Dereham hero, Shirley Ramm has raised thousands of pounds for a whole host of charities. As Shirley explained, she cannot bear to see animals suffering and will do everything to ensure that abandoned or ill treated pets receive the care and treat …

AboutDereham Partnership – just over one year old!
April 30, 2019

Tell us about your volunteer opportunities! The aboutDereham Partnership is a little over one year old, depending if you take the start date as being the very first meeting or when we formally adopted our constitution. In a fairly short space of time, …

Let’s keep our town clean!
March 18, 2019
Trash Tribe in Dereham

On Saturday 16th March, the Trash Tribe, a local environmental group from the charity Pure Clean Earth, took to the streets of Dereham for the second time. With positivity being the philosophy, the group cleared trash from the streets, the entire car p …

Rural transport scheme launched to get Breckland back to work
February 21, 2019

Get Moving with Tripstart Breckland Need help getting into work? Tripstart Breckland could help! Tripstart Breckland can provide: – Help overcoming barriers to getting a job – One to one support – Confidence boost – Motivation – Support with finding ot …

Deadline imminent for funding for Community Innovation
February 11, 2019
Elderly lady alone

The final countdown has begun for residents, charities and community groups to submit their applications for grant funding to help develop innovative projects which could help tackle isolation and improve health and-well-being within the Breckland dist …

Join the Trash Tribe in Dereham, Saturday 9th February
February 8, 2019
Trash collection team

Trash collection team Pure Clean Earth, a new online environmental group tackling plastic pollution in Attleborough, is expanding its “Trash Tribe” to Dereham and is calling for volunteers to help clean up the town. The new TrashTribe event will take p …

aboutDereham makes successful bid to Market Town Initiative
December 5, 2018

The aboutDereham Partnership has been awarded up to £4,900 from Breckland Council’s Market Towns Initiative for a study to improve the pedestrian signs in the town centre. The group, formed in January, is an association of voluntary and community group …

Group aims to shout about everything that is good about Dereham
November 23, 2018
Biscuit celebrates Xmas in Dereham

A scene from the 2018 Dereham Carnival. Picture: Nick Butcher A community organisation is working to shout about all that is good about Dereham. The aboutDereham Partnership wants everyone to know about Dereham – where it is, its many amenities and att …

Messy Church welcomes the Mayor of Dereham to their Harvest Session
October 31, 2018
Mayor of Dereham Hilary Bushell joins in the Messy Church at St Nicholas

31 children and 61 adults came to the October half-term session of Messy Church. They were surprised and delighted to find a special visitor who joined in the fun and messiness of their family fun morning….the Mayor of Dereham! Mayor of Dereham Hilary …

The Osiligi Maasai Warriors perform their tribal songs and dances in Dereham
October 12, 2018
The Osiligi Maasai Warriors perform at St Nicholas Church

The Osiligi Maasai Warriors enter St Nicholas Church On 7th October 2018, the Osiligi Maasai Warriors made their spectacular entrance into St Nicholas Church where they performed tribal songs and dances before a rapt audience. It was difficult to pack …

Teddy bears zipwire down 19th century windmill for fundraising event
September 6, 2018

 Dereham Windmill’s popular teddy bear zipwire fundraiser saw dozens of families turn out on Sunday September 2 to soak up the fun-fuelled afternoon. Eager stuffed toy owners were quick to sign up their cuddlies for a zipwire ride down from the top of …

Community groups team up to promote market town as a ‘great place to visit’
August 22, 2018

The Dereham Carnival parade in 2017 which attracted hundreds of visitors. Picture: Antony Kelly A new partnership has been created to showcase the many things Dereham has to offer locally and nationally. More than 70 voluntary and community organisatio …