Broads News is an independent news and information site for the Broadland district: the villages on Norwich’s northern and eastern edge, and the Broads villages beyond them. We work from public records and link to every one.
What the district actually is
“Broadland” was invented in 1974, borrowed from the Norfolk Broads, and only the eastern part of the district is genuinely in the Broads. The largest parishes, Sprowston, Thorpe St Andrew and Hellesdon, are Norwich suburbs whose residents say Norwich. The market towns, Aylsham, Reepham, Acle and Wroxham, are small. There is no dominant centre here, which is exactly why the paperwork is worth reading: decisions are taken for a district that most people do not think of themselves as living in.
What we cover
Broadland District Council’s planning register and committee papers, licensing notices, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, Environment Agency flood warnings for the Bure and the other Broads rivers, and company filings in The Gazette. Some planning decisions on and beside the water are taken by the Broads Authority rather than the district council, and we say which body a decision came from. Roads, schools and social care are Norfolk County Council’s.
The split that is now on hold
In March 2026 the Government decided that Broadland would be divided: nineteen parishes were to go into a new Greater Norwich authority and the rest into a new East Norfolk one, with effect from 1 April 2028.
Correction, 17 September 2026: that decision no longer stands. On 7 September 2026 the local government minister wrote to council leaders withdrawing the March decisions for four areas, Norfolk among them, and starting a review of the whole reorganisation programme. The same letter says the elections due in May 2027 “will go ahead to existing council boundaries”, so Broadland District Council is still here and still collecting bins and deciding planning applications. This page said the district “does not survive”; until a new decision is made, that is not true. We will report what replaces it from the published documents rather than from speculation.
Looking for Broads Bulletin?
We are not Broads Bulletin, and the names are close enough that people land here looking for it. Broads Bulletin is a separate online community group, a Facebook news network for Hoveton and the surrounding villages. It was in the papers in August 2026 for asking North Norfolk District Council to test future housebuilding in Hoveton against traffic on Wroxham bridge and air quality nearby, arguing that Hoveton and Wroxham work as one settlement across the North Norfolk and Broadland boundary (North Norfolk News, 12 August 2026). Its page is on Facebook as @BroadsBulletin.
If you were after an official Broads newsletter, the Broads Authority publishes two:
- Broads Briefing, a regular newsletter its chief executive sends to staff, volunteers, toll payers and other stakeholders. Past issues are on the Authority’s news pages, and each issue carries a sign-up link.
- Broadcaster, the visitor magazine, with a 2026 selection online covering the visitor centres at Hoveton, Ranworth and How Hill.
Our own is a weekly email for Broadland: you can read an issue before signing up.
Tips and corrections
Email hello@broadsnews.co.uk with anything we should be looking at, an event worth listing, or a correction. Tips are treated in confidence, and corrections go up quickly and are noted on the page.
Broads News is part of the GOB Media Group. We are independent of the council and of every organisation we report on.