Active Fakenham and Fakenham Community Centre are bidding to bring new events and opportunities to Fakenham town centre. Richard Crook Chair of Active Fakenham and a Trustee at the Community Centre, who is coordinating two funding bids for the organisations said, “when I moved to Fakenham there were two swimming pools and five banks, now there are no pools and two banks and there is obvious decline that needs to be addressed. Fakenham is a great town, but it needs some help and support, these funding bids are aimed at bringing a small amount of help at a time when we should all be pulling together.”

Active Fakenham is bidding to the National Lottery to create a new walking/jogging map from the town centre and along the river Wensum and for support to increase cycling opportunities as well as to support the annual cardboard raft and duck races and the Get Active in Fakenham Week which involves as many as fifty events in August.

The Fakenham Community Centre is bidding for some funding managed by the North Norfolk District Council to improve the Community Centre by creating a special walled garden area for community use, improving the acoustics to allow better use of the rooms and increasing storage. In addition the Centre is bidding for a mobile stage that will be flexible enough to use in the Community Centre, outside in the garden or in other areas in the town such as the Fakenham Market Place.

The ideas have been well received across the community, 

• The local theatre group FADLOS said this, “sounds absolutely fabulous! I really do hope you are successful.” 
• EP Youth said, “We are so pleased and excited to hear about your plans .. we are fully supportive of your ideas and hope that we can be a part of developing this area for use by families in Fakenham for a long time to come.  … Yes! Genius.”
• Fakenham First Focus said, “strongly support the proposal and believe that Fakenham and the community as a whole, would benefit greatly from this project.“ 
• Fakenham Infant School said “That sounds an amazing idea, we as a school would be very interested. We always look forward to Active Fakenham events and being involved, the children get so much enjoyment as do the adults, thank you
• Fakenham Junior school said, “We strongly support the grant application and in particular the focus on low income, younger and the older population”

Richard Crook added, “a lot of work has gone into these ideas and, if the bids are successful, the majority of the work will be carried out by local companies who have also been helping with the bids. The activities will be aimed at local people, and we expect to increase visitor numbers which should help our economy a little I am often told that Fakenham sometimes feels neglected in the District and County, but these ideas will not cost the Councils anything and will obviously bring benefits to our communities. These projects will be fully accessible, low cost and will increase resources available to the whole community.”