Old Buckenham events in January

January events to put in your diary

Thursday 2   Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 4   Village Cinema, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 5   Wargames Club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

Monday 6   Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 7   Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

Thursday 9   Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 9   Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.45pm

Monday 13   Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Wednesday 15   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 15   Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Monday 20   Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 21   Meeting about village fete, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Thursday 23   Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 24   Quiz and Curry Night, Primary School, 7.15pm for 7.30pm

Sunday 26   New Year's Fly In, Old Buckenham Airfield

Wednesday 29   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 30   The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 31   The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Cinema experience in Old Buckenham

See RED 2 in the village hall
Saturday 4 January is cinema night at the Village Hall. The screening of  RED 2 will start at 7.30pm and the bar will be open beforehand.
Remember, advance tickets are £4 (a 33% saving on the on-the-door price).
Buying tickets could not be easier. Either call 860866 or email boxofficeobvh@gmail.com giving your contact details and how many tickets you require and they will be delivered. Easier than internet shopping!
Please show your support by buying tickets now and coming along.

Start 2014 with your Old Buckenham newsletter

Another year about to start
This is what to look for if you want to pick up the January edition of the Old Buckenham village newsletter.

Primary School event in Old Buckenham

Spring cleaning yet?

Christmas wishes from Old Buckenham

Greetings to all our readers
The editor sends his best wishes to all those who look at these pages wherever they may be in the world.

Old Buckenham's hampers for the homeless

Festive cheer from High School
Every year for the last 25 years Old Buckenham High School students have organised hampers of food for St Martins Housing Trust in Norwich. This charitable trust provides accommodation for people who have been made homeless during the year to help them get back on their feet.
Each class at the High School collects donations of food from its students before decorating them up to enter into a competition. This year there were more donations than ever and the creativity of the students shone through. The winning hamper, produced by class 10T being a whole village scene made from packets of cereals on top of a raft filled with other food items.
Derek Player, General Manager of St Martins said that the food hamper donation from Old Buckenham High School has become a Christmas tradition and the effort that the pupils put into decorating the hampers has been terrific. The organisation will quickly re-cycle the donations to many of the people that who have been helped by the organistion this year.
As well as the students at the school, thanks go to Debbie Cawley for co-ordinating the effort and Mike Bartlett who campaigns tirelessly for various charitable causes, including the St Martins Trust.
This photo shows the Old Buckenham students surrounding headteacher, Aron Whiles (6th from left), Mike Bartlett and Debbie Cawley together with their decorated hampers.

Just click on this image to enlarge it
 

Old Buckenham collects for homeless

Generous shoppers, cheerful volunteers
Here are the members of the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust morning shift collecting money for St Martins Housing Trust on Sunday 22 December outside Attleborough Sainsbury’s.

Thanks to their sterling efforts, as well as that of  Sainsbury’s for allowing the collection at their premises and the generosity of their customers, a staggering amount of £1051 was collected. Hopefully this will help to make a small difference to those in need this Christmas.Well done everyone.

Old Buckenham precept for 2014/15

Future parish council budget and grants
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the minutes of the meeting.
Three members of the public came along to the Precept meeting held on Thursday 14 November. All parish councillors were present except for Akis Chrisovelides who had sent his apologies.
Declaration of interest of items on Agenda. Derek Smalley and Sarah Dye declared an interest in the grant application for Monday Mardle Group and Sarah Dye and John Frost declared an interest in the two grant applications for Parochial Church Council.
Budget proposal for financial year 2014/15. Tim Ing asked for councillors views on the overhead budget proposal put forward by the Responsible Finance Officer. Steve Milner asked for a budget figure for training for parish councillors and this was agreed at £131 for the year. Following information from Adrian Joel the reserve for future elections was reduced by £400. Salaries were reduced by £70. Hall hire was increased by £65 to £265 for the year. With these adjustments the overheads were set at £13,917.
Grant applications. Buckenham PreSchool Play Group. Tim Ing sought the views of the councillors and after discussion it was proposed by Adrian Joel and seconded by Jonathan Kemp that a grant of £350 be awarded, this was agreed unanimously.
Old Buckenham Rainbow Group. After discussion by councillors it was proposed by Jonathan Kemp and seconded by Carol Marshall that a grant of £250 be awarded, this was agreed unanimously.
Old Buckenham Monday Mardle. It was proposed by Paul Boggia and seconded by Carol Marshall that a grant of £100 be awarded, this was agreed with seven for and the two councillors who declared an interest abstaining.
Old Buckenham Parochial Church Council requested a grant of £2000 for work on the stained glass windows and maintenance of the church. Tim Ing sought the views of the councillors and after detailed discussions it was proposed by Jonathan Kemp and seconded by Carol Marshall that a grant of £2000 be awarded, this was agreed with six for, one against and the two councillors who declared an interest abstaining.
Old Buckenham Parochial Church Council asked for a grant of £1,000 for churchyard maintenance. Tim Ing again sought the views of the councillors and after detailed discussions it was proposed by Derek Smalley and seconded by Adrian Joel that a grant of £1,000 be awarded. This was agreed with six for, one against and the two councillors who had declared an interest abstaining.
With grants awarded totalling £3,700, it was agreed that the total precept for the financial year 2014/15 be set at £17,617.

Carol singing on Old Buckenham Green

Singing after supper
It was cold and dark but there was a good crowd who came along to join in with singing a selection of Christmas carols tonight. The event on the Green was organised by the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust as a thank you for all the support they have been given during 2013. There was free mulled wine and mince pies available to the singers who ranged in age from those in push chairs to many of pensionable age. One member of the New Buckenham Silver Band provided musical accompaniment and the Trust's chairman David Hannah acted as master of ceremonies.
Given the success of the event it may well be repeated again next year.

Growing buildings in Old Buckenham

It's building up
Where there were heaps of soil at the start of September there are now buildings rising up from the ground on the Cotman site by St Andrews Close. One block has got up to first floor level and there is plenty of activity on site.
The first picture below was taken on 5 September and the second one on 19 December.

Old Buckenham Luncheon Club

Twas the week before Christmas...
...so the members of Old Buckenham Luncheon Club were in a cheerful mood. The club caters for people in the surrounding area who are on their own at home. Volunteers provide a cooked meal every fortnight throughout the year and today was a chance to live it up a bit with special raffles, a chicken dinner and wine on the table at lunchtime
With Christmas hats provided for everyone it certainly was a lunchtime to remember.

Old Buckenham's own cinema

Coming to a screen near you

 

Old Buckenham Parish Council minutes for December

Notes on latest Parish Council meeting 
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
 All members were present except Akis Chrisovelides and Paul Boggia who had sent their apologies.
Minutes of the Precept meeting held on Thursday 14 November. Under declaration of interest it should read Carol Marshall and not Sarah Dye. With this amendment they were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from these minutes. None.
Minutes of November Parish Council meeting. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Steve Milner reported he and Mrs Burton had written to the County Highways Department, the EDP, Radio Norfolk and Mrs S Webb regarding the school crossing on the B1077. The County Council engineer had responded, following a survey, and it was felt there were not enough people crossing the road to warrant a crossing.
At this time the matter has been taken up by Norfolk County Councillor Stephen Askew as requested by Parish Council at its November meeting. Stephen Askew was in talks with Highways to find a solution and various actions and costs were suggested. He will report back to the Parish Council. It was reported that potholes in Doe Lane had been repaired.
Future precept meetings. It was suggested that village groups who were seeking grants should be able to give a short presentation to the Parish Council at its September meeting prior to the October precept meeting if they wished. They could then give their reasoning behind their grant applications. This was agreed and the Parish Clerk will check standing orders to see if this was allowable.
Bullying and Harassment Policy. Deferred to January meeting.
Planning application. 3 Mill Cottages, Mill Road. Erect timber framed first floor rear extension.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. None received.
Adrian Joel attended the Roughlands Planning Inspector site meeting.
Chairman’s report. Sarah Dye has agreed to read a lesson at the Christmas Eve church service. The proposed move of the Chapel Road school is still under consultation and a further meeting of the steering group will meet again in late January and Tim Ing has been invited to join. He was glad to see moves are afoot to help children cross the B1077 to school and the Parish Council will support in anyway they can.
District Councillor’s report. Breckland Council are shortly going to offer WW1 heritage grants up to £500 for community projects which explore, share and conserve WW1 heritage. Breckland have also been holding an art trail in November and December throughout the district. This enabled local artists to display their work in public at Snetterton Brewery.
Parish Councillors’ reports. John Frost suggested planting poppies around the war memorial as a commemorative garden. Steve Milner said the village hall boiler and floor need repairing. A race night had been organised by the village hall and a film night will be held there on Saturday 4 January. Adrian Joel suggested naming the new road on new affordable housing development as Harry’s Loke. Tom Johnson suggested that the local police attend some Parish Council meetings, Derek Smalley will raise this matter at next SNAP meeting. Jonathan Kemp asked that a loan application by the Rainbow group be put on the January agenda. Dekek Smalley said the Mardle group’s Christmas lunch was well attended and enjoyed by everyone.
Highways. The road to Stacksford verges were only cut once, Highways engineer to sort out. The drainage pipework has been flushed out at Manor Corner and should hopefully now stop the flooding that has been happening there. Reflector marker posts at Manor Corner have been broken and need replacing.
The Green. Lorries, when turning onto B1077, are knocking down marker poles.

The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will take place on Thursday 2 January in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.

Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle

Meet, drink, listen and enjoy

Many years ago, when everybody seemed to be producing homemade wine, Old Buckenham had its own Wine Circle who met regularly to try out each others wine and to have wine tasting competitions with other local groups. Eventually this 'craze' for home brewing faded away and the Wine Circle closed down.
Fifteeen years ago, however, it was reformed under the longer name of Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle with more emphasis on the social side, meeting every month and with a very wide range of speakers. Wine was still drunk by many people coming to the meetings to listen to the talks but other participants were happy with non-alcoholic drinks. Virtually none of the present members are makers of homemade wine or beer.
Funded by a £1 'sub' for all those coming to each meeting and a regular raffle each time, the Social Circle aims to just provide an opportunity for villagers and other local people to meet, talk and hear about interesting subjects.
This year's AGM took place on Thursday 12 December in Old Buckenham Church Rooms. Alison Hannah agreed to be the chairperson with Alistair Monkhouse continuing as secretary/treasurer and Peter Warren and Ron Brewer as the two other committee members. The treasurer reported the there had been a small loss over the last twelve months but it was agreed that the subs would remain at £1 a meeting and that more effort would be put into getting new people to come along to the meetings. There was a wide-ranging series of talks organised for 2014 with subjects such as aerial photography, Colman's mustard, water towers and the local airfield included in the programme.
The AGM was followed by a social evening consisting of an entertaining quiz, some seasonal readings and a meal of fish and chips.
The first meeting of 2014 will be on the subject of cider and apple juice (possibly with samples to taste) and given by village resident Steven Fisher. All are welcome. Just come along to the Church Rooms at around 7.30pm on Thursday 9 January and the talk will start at 7.45pm.

An evening at Old Buckenham Races

From our racing correspondent
It was a crisp evening with a full programme of eight races, both on the flat and over the jumps. The crowd was small but enthusiastic, cheering on their favourites in the hope of getting some return on their carefully placed bets.
If you were lucky enough to have picked the winner the return on your £1 stake could be considerable. It could be £2, £5 or £10 back and if you had put your money on the winner of the last race, the Village Hall Accumulator, there was a prize of £25.
Those with no knowledge of horse racing seemed to be as lucky as those who had studied the form book. The well-stocked bar and festive refreshments helped to ensure a most pleasant evening for those who had braved the weather and come along for a special event.

Father Christmas at Old Buckenham Mill

Windmill has special visitor
Small children, accompanied  by their parents or grandparents, could be seen walking along Mill Road today and going into Old Buckenham Mill. The ground floor was all decorated and full of activities for children to do. There were also mince pies to eat and, for the grown ups, mulled wine to drink.

But the main attraction was up on the first floor. By climbing a steep wooden ladder you could get to Santa's grotto. When Father Christmas arrived at the Mill (by Post Office van of course as the reindeer are resting for their long journeys later this month) he climbed the ladder, not that easy for a rather portly gentleman of indeterminate age, and settled down to meet his visitors.
Appointments had been made and, at their scheduled time, the children too climbed up to have discussions on how good they had been and what might be on their Christmas wish list. Surprisingly Father Christmas had a small present for all of them in his sack so they all came back to the ground floor clutching their parcels.

Hurdy gurdy, bagpipes and recorders in Old Buckenham

Deck the halls
Malcolm and Elizabeth Ecclestone came to All Saints church, Old Buckenham, on Saturday 6 December to entertain an audience of local people with a jolly entertainment of words and music. They perform as Chanter's Jigge and bring together diverse styles of music and a very wide variety of instruments.

The evening's programme was mainly of folk carols interspersed by seasonal readings and with the audience encouraged to join in the choruses whenever possible. The sound of the two players was often enhanced with pre-recorded versions of them playing on another instrument so that they end up playing duets with themselves.
Mince pies and mulled wine were available at the half time break and the evening raised further funds for toward the repairs of the church fabric.

 

Christmas music at Old Buckenham chapel

All details on the poster

Decorating Old Buckenham village hall

Time to decorate
Perhaps it was the possibility of mince pies and mulled wine that was the attraction. But this year there was a goodly collection of people of all ages who came along this afternoon to help with putting up Christmas decorations in Old Buckenham village hall.
There were trees to decorate and tinsel to hang up around the windows. Only when the work was done did they stop for the festive refreshments.
It should be a more colourful atmosphere for the bingo session this evening and all the other events that will take place this year.

Old Buckenham activities in December

Diary dates for December

Tuesday 3    Breckland Flower Club outing

Tuesday 3    Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

Wednesday 4    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 4    Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

Thursday 5    Women's Institute Christmas Lunch

Thursday 5    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 6    Chanter's Jigge, All Saints Church, 7.30pm

Saturday 7    Race Night, Village Hall, 7pm for 7.30pm

Sunday 8    Father Christmas at Old Buckenham Windmill

Monday 9    Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Thursday 12    Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 12    Carols with NB Silver Band, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Thursday 12    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm

Sunday 15    Christmas Fly In, OB Airfield

Wednesday 18    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 18    Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Thursday 19    High School carol service, All Saints Church, 10am

Thursday 19    Primary School carol service, All Saints Church, 6.30pm

Friday 20    Carols on the Green, outside Ox and Plough, from 6pm

Sunday 22    Crib service, All Saints Church, 4pm

Tuesday 24    Church Rooms open all day for food donations

Tuesday 24    Candlelit carol service, All Saints Church, 7pm

Old Buckenham latest newsletter

Copies have been taken around
The December issue of the Old Buckenham village newsletter has now been printed and copies should be available around the village for you to pick up.

Events at Old Buckenham village hall

Support your local events

Next Saturday 30 November why not come along at 2pm and help with the  decorating the village hall with Christmas decorations. There will be Christmas music playing to get you into the spirit and possibly some suitable refreshments.
Then come along in the evening at 7.30pm for the Bingo. The more that turn up, the greater the cash prizes.

Other future events announced by the Village Hall committee are:
Saturday 7 December there will be a Race Night starting at 7pm.
Saturday, 4 January will be Village Hall Cinema at 7.30pm.
From Thursday 30 January to Saturday 1 February Old Buckenham Players will be presenting The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, a light-hearted play for adults and growing children.

Carols on Old Buckenham Green

A date for some singing
You can come and join in with your families and friends from Old Buckenham to sing some Christmas carols, along with enjoying a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. The Old Buckenham 2000 Trust is sponsoring this event as a way of thanking everyone for their support during the past year. So come and join in the fun and be prepared to have a good festive sing-a-long. Bring your voices, a woolly hat and a torch. The event will take place outside the Ox and Plough on Old Buckenham Green on Friday 20 December at 6pm. See you there.

Progress on Old Buckenham road safety campaign

Radio takes an interest
Radio Norfolk took an interest in the campaign to improve safety for school children as they cross the B1077 in Old Buckenham. Reporter Emma James visited Friday afternoon to gather information on the dangers the school kids are facing. All was quiet when she arrived and she wondered what the fuss was about. But as the schools emptied the scene rapidly changed. Again a few near misses were seen. Emma interviewed Steve Milner, Sadie Burton and her children.
The interview with Steve went out yesterday at 5pm, this can still be listened to if you go onto the Radio Norfolk website. The interview with Sadie and her children went out this morning (Saturday).  Again it can be heard on the listen again service.
More publicity is likely later in the week with a Diss Mercury reporter expected to be visiting the site on Tuesday 26 November.

Our Old Buckenham water

Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle
The November meeting of the Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle took the form of a talk given by Rachel Harvey from Anglian Water. Rachel gave a very interesting and informative talk on how clean and purified water reaches our taps, and how the items washed down our sinks and drains - and flushed down our toilets - are dealt with at treatment centres. In this part of the country fresh water is found mainly in aquifers although reservoirs do help with storage. But the supply of water is not endless, new reservoirs and water treatment plants are needed as the population grows. East Anglia is the driest area in the country with an average rainfall similar to that of Egypt. 
The items put into the water system prove difficult and costly to deal with. Fat, oil and grease gradually solidify in the cold running water and this blocks pipes meaning that roads have to be dug up to remove the underground blockages. Items flushed down the toilet – wipes, nappies, and various other things – have to be removed from the sewage and taken to landfill before water can be treated.
The evening finished with members being challenged to design a water supply system for a small town, a practical exercise involving a map, lots of pipe sections, containers and real water. This is usually used to teach schoolchildren but was enthusiastically entered into by the grownups who completed their layouts without spilling water all over the floor.

The next meeting of the Social and Wine Circle will be on Thursday 12 December in the Church Rooms commencing at 7.30pm. The AGM will be held at the beginning of the evening and will be followed by the usual Christmas party festivities.

Quiz and Chips in Old Buckenham

Questions and answers

There was a full house for the Old Buckenham Village Hall Quiz and Chips evening on Friday 15 November. In all 15 teams entered with an excellent range of questions set by the quiz master Geoffery Short. Dorothy Wooliscroft and her team of Ann Delf and Pamela Richardson kept the show going with seamless answer sheet collection and subsequent marking.

The half time break brought a dash into Attleborough to collect fifty-five portions of fish and chips, topped up with chicken and pizza. It was the only time the hall was quiet as people had their heads down enjoying the feast.
Soon it was time for the second half and the dash to the finish line started with the final winners being the Women’s Institute "A" Team. Full results were:
WI A Team (Susan Hunter, Doris Monkhouse, Barbara Frost and Pat Shearing), 76 points
Three Stooges, 72 points
Odds and Sods, 65 points
Scrambled Egg Heads, 63 points
Three + one, 63 points
The Bucks, 63 points
WI B Team, 62 points
Ferniflecks, 61 points
Figgifens, 60 points
Puddled Golfers, 59 points
Cribbers, 59 points
Hidden Talent, 54 points
Windy Millers, 41 points
Old Buckenham Players 2, 41 points
Old Buckenham Players 1, 33 pointsThanks go to all those involved in organising the food and bar as well as the team of people who came early to set up and stayed late to put away. See you all for the next quiz in 2014.

 

 

 

Racing in Old Buckenham

Have fun selecting your horses
All details are on the poster, just click on the image to make it larger.

Music in All Saints, Old Buckenham

Christmas music concert
All Saints Church, Old Buckenham will be hosting Chanter’s Jigge who will be performing their Christmas concert ‘Deck the Halls’ on Friday 6 December at 7.30pm. The performance is made up with lively carols (with some audience participation), festive music and seasonal readings and anecdotes.
Chanter's Jigge is a professional duo performing a mix of early, traditional and folk music with a touch of jazz. In 2012 they performed three concerts at the Milan International Book Fair and they have been invited to return there next year.
Tickets are now available, price £7, from Doris on 01953 860845 or David on 01953 861261(to include a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie).To learn more about Chanter's Jigge and listen to their type of music go to http://www.manhattanmagic.co.uk/chanters-jigge/

 

 

'In the mood' in Old Buckenham

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

Brenda Tubb demonstrated to a full house at the November meeting of the Breckland Flower and Garden Club in Old Buckenham village hall. Using some new and unusual containers - wicker stands, a candelabra, a cone covered bowl - her designs included new varieties of roses and carnations. With the addition of coloured baubles and twinkling lights she certainly put everyone 'In the Mood' for Christmas.

The competition table was very colourful with ‘welcome rings’. Christine Hewson came first in the Old Hands class and was also awarded the monthly cup. Alison Walker gained most points in the New Hands class as well as winning the table show with her dried and preserved plant material.
Next month’s meeting on Thursday 12 December is a workshop. Please bring a small amount of foliage, about a metre of ribbon and a few decorative items - small cones, small baubles, etc. Don't forget a rubbish bag, scissors and secateurs. Members are also asked to bring a few cakes or nibbles for afternoon tea. There will also be a Christmas bring and buy stall.
The competition title is 'Crackers' – just use your imagination. The table show is for three stems of seasonal foliage.
Visitors always welcome, further details from Sally on 01953 788712

Road safety in Old Buckenham

Concerns over children's safety

Local mum, Sadie Burton, has become increasingly concerned about the safety of school children crossing the B1077 at Rod Ally Pond. She has both written to the Parish Council and attended the recent Parish Council meeting to voice her worries. Mrs Burton said in her letter:
Children of high school age walking from the Hargham Road direction cross on the corner near Rod Alley pond. Every morning they wait as streams of traffic flow past, just waiting for a gap to cross. Occasionally a car will stop to allow them over. Yet, with traffic approaching from several other directions, this in itself is adding to their danger as someone else may not stop. I feel it is only a matter of time before a child is knocked down.
I also observe (having just returned to the village having lived abroad for four years) that a lollipop lady is no longer in operation. Crazy! Children of primary school age - often alone - again cross this busy road yet further down near the Gamekeeper.
I find it extremely worrying that the county and parish council have not addressed this situation earlier. Or does a child have to be injured of worse killed before the said authorities sit up and take notice?
I will also add that the proposed relocation of Chapel Road school will only serve to add to this already dangerous situation.
A zebra crossing/press button crossing place and the reinstatement of a crossing patrol is surely needed to ensure the safety of our village’s school children."There is already a community Speedwatch group in Old Buckenham who help reduce speed by alerting the police to speeding motorists but their activities are limited as more volunteers are needed so that the number of check sessions can be increased. The Parish Council has agreed to formulate a request for the adoption of a number of road safety measures.
However, there is little chance of success unless pressure can be brought to bear at county level. This needs your help.
If Old Buckenham road safety concerns you, please do some or all of the following:
1. Add a comment on this blog ('post a comment' button is at the end of this post on the left hand side).
2. Send your contact details to Steve Milner (stevemilner1@gmail.com) along with your thoughts and ideas. These can then be distilled into a plan to apply pressure for action to be taken.
3. Volunteer for Community SpeedWatch by contacting Steve Milner (stevemilner1@gmail.com).
The bigger the voice, the louder the shout. Let’s make Old Buckenham roads safer

Latest Old Buckenham Parish Council minutes

November parish council meeting
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is changed at a later date.
 It was a busy parish council meeting in November with Norfolk county councillor Stephen Askew and 23 members of the public in attendance. All parish councillors (except John Frost who had sent his apologies) were also there.
The meeting was suspended to allow the members of the public to ask questions before the meeting resumed.
Minutes of the October Parish Council meeting. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Derek Smalley said a manhole on the B1077 had now collapsed. Also Adrian Joel said potholes in Doe Lane are not yet repaired and Steve Milner said grass verges in Stacksford Road have not be worked on.
A 20 mph speed limit. Steve Milner said that New Buckenham have had 20mph speed limits and have over the last few years had footpath work carried out by Norfolk County Council and yet Old Buckenham has not. Stephen Askew, Old Buckenham’s county councillor, said he would struggle to get anything as funds are very restricted. Tom Johnson said that putting in 20mph speed limit signs is not very expensive. Steve Milner proposed that the parish council should request NCC to budget for 20mph speed limit signs on the B1077 where the current 30mph signs start through to the national speed signs at the other end of the village. Also that some form of safe crossing be installed on the B1077 at the crossroads of the B1077 and Abbey Road together with the completion of a footpath network covering Cake Street to Sun Corner and the last 50 metres of Hargham Road leaving the village, along with a footpath in Fen Street. This was seconded by Akis Chrisovelides and agreed with 8 for and 2 councillors abstaining.
Bullying and Harassment Policy document. The Parish Clerk gave a detailed overview of the need for the policy document in terms of employment law and how it will protect the Parish Council in future employment disputes. Item to be put on the December agenda.
Chapel Road School. Tom Johnson raised the matter of why residents knew about the proposed school move before the Parish Council. Tim Ing explained the situation and the need for confidentiality. Paul Boggia said the school would be an excellent asset for the village. The meeting was informed that the school will be a day school before eventually becoming a residential one. It will be for 60 pupils to start with and then increasing in numbers over time. Derek Smalley proposed that Old Buckenham Parish Council become a consultee on the project and have representation whenever the matter is discussed. Tim Ing said he would contact NCC about this and report back to the Parish Council.
Planning applications. Land off Folly Lane. Erection of livestock building and associated hard standing and feed bin. Tim Ing said the Parish Council this month have undertaken site visits and have spoken to people in view of the lack of information when the application was first received. Derek Smalley said the information first received indicated a small application but subsequent information now shows it to be a much larger development. All parish councillors views were sought and given on the application and the meeting was suspended to allow members of the public to ask questions. The meeting resumed and it was the unanimous view that the application should be rejected by Breckland Council due to the facts that all access routes to the site are totally inadequate as the road is a single track road unsuitable for HGVs. Also the road is regularly used by ramblers as it forms part of the Tas Valley Way and regular users include dog walkers and children cycling to and from school. Serious concerns were also expressed regarding the sewerage and drainage of the site which was considered totally insufficient. The Parish Clerk is to give these views to Breckland Council and urge them to refuse permission for the development.
3 Mill Cottage. Parish Clerk to seek a time extension.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. 45 Fen Street. Demolition of existing porch and replaced with single storey extension. Permission granted.
Buckenham Priory. Alteration to study, one garden room and bedroom. Permission granted.
Eel Farm, Fen Road. Variation of condition number 8 on earlier planning permission (to allow renting of the annexe). Permission granted.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing reported that he had now moved into his new home and was able to send and receive emails. He said that last year the Parish Council had donated £250 to the charity Scotties Little Soldiers on behalf of John Hicks because of all the work he does on the maintenance of the play area with no charge to the Parish Council. He asked the Parish Council’s permission to do the same again this year, this was approved. Tim Ing had been approached by a resident concerning the footpath between the recreation area and the junior school which had brambles obstructing the footpath, Parish Clerk to contact Highways on the matter. He had raised the matter of the dog bin in Raggs Lane with Serco who said they could not empty it due to its location.
District Councillor’s report. Breckland Council is seeking a commercial partner to put up a multi-million pound figure into a joint scheme to refurbish and develop land and properties owned by Breckland. It will cover 188 properties all over Breckland during the course of the next five to twenty years. It is hoped the scheme will create 262 jobs and 133 homes in the district in the next 5 years and 492 homes and 1,268 jobs over the next 15 to 20 years. As from the beginning of November, Breckland have started a scheme offering gym membership to young people aged 18 to 25 at their local Breckland Leisure Centre (including Attleborough Sports Centre) for £10 which will be for a six-week membership. The next Big Switch & Save auction will take place in mid-November and details are available on Breckland’s website under Big Switch & Save. The new Cotman Houses in St Andrews Close are well under way and are expected to be ready for handing over in May 2015 subject to weather conditions.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner said residents in Old Buckenham who are on Attleborough’s telephone exchange will now be able to register for a high speed broadband connection and other people in the village will be able to register later this month. The Village Hall put on a tribute act recently which was excellent but poorly attended by residents. A Village Screening is booked for Saturday 4 January, also a Bingo Night for Saturday 30 November and a Quiz and Chips night on Friday 15 November. Adrian Joel reported that the allotments are fully booked but two residents have yet to pay their rent. Tom Johnson said the Village Hall committee had informal discussions recently covering a number of matters. Sarah Dye reported the picket fencing by the pond had been vandalised and needs fixing. North Tuddenham Fencing have donated gates and will fix the fence in the near future. Derek Smalley attended a recent SNAP meeting and was unable to get Old Buckenham’s speeding issues put as a priority. It would appear that this is a problem with all villages. Also he attended a recent Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan meeting and the plan is progressing.
Parish Clerk’s report. He reported that he had now moved house, his old telephone number had been connected and he could be reached on 01953 880110. He then gave details as to why the precept meeting had to be delayed from October to November. This was due to issues surrounding the paying of Precept Support Grant from Breckland Council.
Highways. It was reported that marker poles outside the Stud in Cake Street have been hit and are nearly in the ditch. Sign posts are in the ditch at the corner of Crown Road and Grove Road. The Parish Clerk to contact Highways on these matters.
The Green. A meeting of the Green Right Proprietors was held in October and the issues of the trees near the bus shelter have been resolved. A meeting will be arranged with Highways regarding issues with the pond and also sorting out grass cutting for next year.

The next meetings of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be the Precept meeting on Thursday 14 November and the monthly Parish Council meeting on Thursday 5 December. Both meetings will be at the Village Hall commencing at 7.30pm.

Moving remembrace at Old Buckenham Airfield

Time to remember
There was a big crowd at Old Buckenham Airfield today for the annual service of remembrance. The weather was bright and sunny, if rather chilly, and many classic and military vehicles were on display as well.
This year the Airfield is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its opening and special flags were flying to commemorate that fact.

The service included a very moving solo singing of the American national anthem before the sounding of the last post.

 

 

Then it was time for the laying of several wreaths by a range of people, from senior American staff from Lakenheath to representatives of the local primary school.