Should Bradwell become a town?

In the last four decades Bradwell has shifted counties and grown from a small village of 2,000 to a bustling 14,000-strong community. But is it a village or a town?

The last time the parish council took a vote on it they narrowly decided to remain a village. But residents are being asked for their preference via the parish council website.

Ted Howlett, parish council chairman, said that it was mainly a tool to monitor website traffic but that the council would consider a change if there were a sudden surge in favour of town status.

“If you talk to people a lot of them say Bradwell is a town and not a village any more,” he said.

“I am not sure if it makes that much difference.

“I have heard people say that if we were a town there could be more grants but I am not really sure about that.”

In the 45 years Mr Howlett has lived in Bradwell it has shifted from Suffolk to Norfolk and increased in size seven times over.

Bradwell was embraced by Norfolk in 1974 amid huge local government reorganisation, always with the agenda of building in the village, then surrounded by open fields.

Today Bradwell is larger than many market towns with just as few facilities as local bank branches and shops disappear from streets across the country.

The issue has been running long before Mr Howlett became involved with the parish council in 1994 and was last voted on around six years ago.

If it came to it changing Bradwell into a town would be a straightforward process carried by a parish council majority vote, he said.

“If there was an upsurge of people saying they wanted a town then we would have to discuss it,” he added.

The idea of asking parishioners was mainly to add interest to the site, which on a busy day can attract up to 100 hits, and check traffic.

Have your say via www.bradwellparishcouncil.co.uk or email Mercury letters at: anne.edwards@archant.co.uk