Barry’s latest report can be viewed by clicking here.
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County Councillor Barry Stone reports, February 2017
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Village News January 2017
The Adrian Bell Afternoon was a great success with delightful seasonal readings by members of the Adrian Bell Society, hosted by chairman, John Ford. In between readings, the audience were invited to join in with Christmas carols led by local singers. Mulled wine and mince pies and other refreshments together with the Village Hall decorated for Christmas, created the perfect atmosphere for a very enjoyable afternoon.
This seasonal mood continued into our December Community Café which was the most successful ever! After cakes and savouries with a Christmas theme (the Christmas cake was devoured in record time!) hours were extended over lunchtime as an extra Winter treat, to include a selection of delicious and warming home-made soups and bread.
January saw us celebrating the Community Café’s first birthday in style. Pat Clare, Chair of Claxton Parish Council, said a few words of congratulations and thanks to everyone who had helped make the Café so successful over the past year. “Happy Birthday” was sung and the cafe organisers shared blowing out the candles on the delicious chocolate birthday cake which was then cut and offered to everyone there. First drinks were free of charge and there was also a free raffle to add to the fun. The usual cakes and savouries were on sale too at 50p per item and the book exchange, the newspapers and magazines and children’s corner were there for everyone’s enjoyment as always.
We do welcome ideas on what we can do to enhance the café and people are invited to use the Café to spread the word about local events, activities, etc – just speak to any of the organisers at any Café. Above all, make sure you remember to put the Community Café from 10am-12.00 on the second Tuesday of every month in your diary, with the next one being 14th February. People tell us how nice it is to have somewhere to go where they can chat with old friends and neighbours or have the chance to meet new ones. We are always delighted to see new faces, so if you haven’t been yet, why not call in next time?
Looking ahead the Village Hall Committee are already planning events for 2017. Dates for your diary are Saturday 8th April for another Race Night and Saturday June 17th for the next Quiz Night. More details will follow.
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Ducan’s Marsh Workday – job done!
The weather was kind and the sun shone for much of the morning when a volunteer working party from the Pits Trust and the Wildlife Group turned up at Ducan’s Marsh to transport and install a large number of even larger sleepers across the stream dividing the marsh. Two hours later it was done, or at least the really heavy part of the job was, and it was time to enjoy a mug of tea or coffee and one of Kaarin’s famous flapjacks.
The photo below is of the team on the new bridge (minus Bernie who was taking the photo). Thanks to everyone for making this possible. Details of future workdays will be publicised here and through the South Yare Wildlife Group.
Bridge Builders extraordinaire! Back row (left to right) Rodney, Paul, Linton, Jim, Mike, Aiken
Front row (left to right) Roland, Carole, Kaarin, Kev (with Bernie taking the photo) -
Norfolk County Council Road Safety campaign – mind out for each other
Drivers and cyclists are being urged to look out for each other, as part of a joint drive by Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Constabulary to reduce the number of cyclist casualties on the road.‘Mind out for each other’ encourages all road users to be more considerate towards each other with the aim of helping to make Norfolk’s roads safer – for both cyclists and motorists. Norfolk is regarded as a safe place to cycle, and 1 in 5 drivers cycle at least once a month, however both need to do more to keep each other safe.
This campaign comes in response to the increasing number of adults taking up cycling, and the rising number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Norfolk’s roads. 48 pedal cyclists were killed or seriously injured (one fatality, 47 serious injuries) on Norfolk’s roads in 2015 – more than in any other year during the last decade. This is a 50% increase on the 2014 figure (32 – no fatalities, 32 serious injuries), and more than double the number killed or seriously injured in 2010 (22 – one fatality, 21 serious injuries). Three out of every four cyclist injury collisions occur at junctions, and cyclists are seven times more likely to be injured on urban roads than on rural ones.
Running until mid-October, the campaign includes bus, radio, press and online advertising. Norfolk County Council will be focusing on making both drivers and cyclists aware of the issues around cyclist safety, while Norfolk Constabulary are concentrating their efforts on enforcement to ensure all road users are obeying the laws of the road.
The council will be offering free workplace seminars to cyclists to cover the economic, health and environmental benefits of cycling, whilst providing advice on equipment, routes and behaviours and delivering key safety messages. As a follow-up, commuter cyclists will be offered a bespoke on-road training session, which will offer an insight into the potential hazards a cyclist could face on their commute to work and advice on their riding behaviours.
Norfolk Constabulary will maintain their ongoing commitment to treat all road users equally; if a cyclist is seen breaking the law or putting themselves or other road users at risk, they will be stopped and dealt with in exactly the same way a driver would be.
Norfolk County Council’s Casualty Reduction Team are taking bookings from businesses for cycling theory workplace seminars. If you are interested in setting up a session, or want more information on what the sessions entail, email [email protected] or call 0344 800 8020.
For further information, including tips on how car drivers and cyclists can help keep each other safe, please visit www.think.norfolk.gov.uk/mindout.
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Village Hall Accounts 2015-16
The Village Hall accounts for the past year have now been audited and no areas of concern have been identified. The full accounts were approved by last night’s Annual General Meeting and are shown below.vhaccounts2015-16-compressed
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Appeal against Refusal of Planning Permission
The applicants have now submitted a formal appeal against the refusal of application 2015/2802.
If anyone wishes to comment or modify/withdraw previous representations they may do so online through the Appeals Casework Portal at http://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk. They will first need to register.
The deadline for any representations is Thursday 15 September.
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Annual Report of Claxton Parish Pit Trust April 2016
Membership:
Roland Kaye, Chair and independent member
Pat Clare, Secretary and Chair of Parish Council
Mike Balmer, Treasurer Independent
Mary Button, Parish Councillor
Paul Carter, representing Parochial Church Council
Jason Cantrill, Parish Councillor
David Hamblin, Parish Councillor
Kevin Parker, Independent
Richard White, Parish Councillor (more…) -
Pits Trust END YEAR Financial Statement for 2015-16
The full but unaudited accounts for 2015-16 are shown below. Pits-Trust-End-Year-Financial-Statement-2015-16.compressed
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New Letter to Richard Bacon MP about rural broadband
At its meeting on 13 January the Parish Council agreed a proposal for a fresh letter to our Member of Parliament, Richard Bacon, to draw his attention to the village’s position on broadband, and its disappointment that the “alternative solution” for Claxton will end up being considerably more expensive than traditional solutions. This puts rural locations such as Claxton at a major disadvantage compared to those urban and rural locations (including neighbouring Loddon and Chedgrave) which are enjoying the benefits of super-fast broadband through fibre-optic connections at much lower costs than for satellite broadband. The Clerk wrote to Mr Bacon on 19 January and his letter appears below. It has been acknowledged by Mr Bacon’s office. Clerk-Broadband-letter-to-Richard-Bacon-MP-2016-1
