SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2017
STARTS AT 2PM TO 4PM
If you would like to know how to prune your fruit trees and fruit bushes, then join the allotmenteers on the Necton Allotments, at Firs Fields on Browns Lane.
They are running a pruning workshop with Master Gardener Robert French who will be sharing practical tips and advice.
Its free and there will also be refreshments! If you’d like to find out more then please get in touch with the Chairman: Paul Young 07796 807059
NECTON PARISH COUNCIL RECEIVES QUALITY STATUS AWARD IN NATIONAL SCHEME
Necton Parish Council has received a prestigious award as part of the Local Council Award Scheme. This award recognises that the council achieves good practice in governance, community engagement and council improvement. Moreover, Necton Parish Council goes above and beyond their legal obligations, leading their communities and continuously seeking opportunities to improve and develop even further.
The Award Scheme report highlighted the council’s particular areas of strength, including how the Council’s Action Plan is community wish driven and their communication policy details the importance of two-way communication, acknowledging the important role a Parish Council fulfils in local democracy.
The award was presented to the Parish Council at their Council meeting on Monday, 06 February 2017. News of the award and its presentation were kept under wraps by the Parish Clerk, until the moment that Cllr Peter Wilkinson, President of Norfolk Association of Local Councils, walked into the meeting to reveal the good news.
Necton Parish Council’s Chairman, Cllr David Matthews, was quoted as being delighted;
“We secured Foundation Status in this award scheme in September 2016 and we were delighted with that achievement. So, to move so quickly and achieve Quality Status is truly worthy acknowledgement of the work and efforts of our Councillors and Clerk to introduce and apply professional standards across all of the functions of our Council. In just the past two years, we have travelled a long way to where we are today with a CiLCA qualified Clerk, trained and active Councillors, a 3-year budget and community driven action plan, good governance across our functions and progressive engagement with our District and County authorities.”
Cllr Peter Wilkinson spoke afterwards to Paul Young, our community reporter:
More about Local Council Award Scheme
The Local Council Award Scheme is a peer-assessed programme that has been designed to both provide the tools and encouragement to those councils at the beginning of their improvement journeys, as well as promoting and recognising councils that are at the cutting edge of the sector. It is through the sector working together to share best practice, drive up standards and supporting those who are committed to improving their offer to their communities that individual councils and the sector as a whole will reach its full potential.
Our agenda for next Monday’s Parish Council meeting has been published. Read and download it here.
Our meetings are open to the public and doors open from shortly after 7pm.
Vattenfall, the developer of a strategic Norfolk offshore wind farm, has revealed its latest thinking for the green energy scheme. (see EDP, 26 January 2017)
Local people and communities along a proposed 60km underground cable route for the 1.8 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farm will be informed in a report that the potential development area has narrowed from a 3-7km wide search area to a 700 metre corridor. The narrowing of the search area allows more focused ecological surveys.
Ruari Lean, Vattenfall’s Project Development Manager for Norfolk Vanguard, said: “We spoke with nearly eight hundred people last autumn and as a result we have been able to make good progress on the development of Norfolk Vanguard.”
Many advised on the cable route, substation and the cable relay station pointing out cultural, environmental and historical features which should be considered.
Mr Lean added: “We have managed to narrow the search area for the cable route from what was around 7,000 metres at its widest to 700 since the public engagement last autumn. That allows us to focus our ecological assessment work. We are looking forward to discussing these plans with people in March and then refining the route further later this year with the benefit of more local feedback.”
Vattenfall has published today its feedback summary report on last autumn’s seven public engagement events.
“The summary report found that many people were interested in the benefits of the project. We know from experience that economic, social and environmental benefits from wind farm investment can be significant. So one of our priorities in 2017 is to talk further to people about how we can have a really winning impact,” said Mr Lean.
After coming to an agreement with National Grid, Vattenfall plans to bring power from the 1.8GW offshore wind farm, located 47km offshore at its nearest point, to the shore between Bacton and Eccles-on-Sea. Vattenfall will then run an underground cable approximately 60km from shore to connect into the existing National Grid’s substation near Necton.
In 2016, Vattenfall entered into an agreement with The Crown Estate, the manager of the seabed in UK waters, to develop Norfolk Vanguard with a target capacity of 1.8GW. If built this would generate enough clean power every year to meet the equivalent electricity demand of 4% of UK households. Norfolk Vanguard’s sister project, Norfolk Boreas, is expected to start its planning process later this year.
Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas are in important part of Vattenfall’s drive towards more sustainable power production and carbon neutrality by 2050. Vattenfall’s journey to 2050 will be supported by a 2025 target to triple its wind power capacity to 7GW.
You can find the summary report via this link.
Draft Breckland Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2017 – 2021 Consultation
Breckland Council is undertaking a major review of its Housing and Homelessness Strategy. The draft Strategy covers a wide range of housing matters, including;
Breckland Council is consulting with the public and partners to get their feedback on the draft strategy document. All comments received will be carefully considered and will help shape the final document before it is adopted. The consultation will run until 1 February 2017.
You can now download the strategy via https://www.breckland.gov.uk/housing-strategy-consultation
How to respond
Norfolk County Council has amended the frequency of some mobile library visits around the Bank Holidays in 2017 to ensure that everyone gets a service which runs as regularly as possible. Here is our amended timetable for Necton:
View and download a timetable here.
Mobile libraries are free to join and are open to people of all ages.
Starting 10 January 2017 – limited places, book now.
Tuesdays 2 pm to 3.30 pm
Yoga is fun, improves flexibility and muscle tone and is very relaxing; a great way to stay fit and de-stress!
Beginners especially welcome
£7 per session
Email: [email protected]
Call: 07544 974342
Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenwillowyoga
Web: www.greenwillowyoga.wordpress.com
Breckland Council is switching to one main customer contact number – 01362 656 870 – with new, simple touch-tone options to make it quicker and more convenient for customers to contact them.
By switching to one easy-to-remember number with touch-tone dialling options, customers can:
· Reach the right services and information, first-time
· Beat the queue by leaving a message and requesting a call-back
· Make simple automated payments (Eg: Council Tax) at any time
For now, all other existing customer contact numbers (Eg: Housing or Council Tax) will continue to work, but will be phased out by 1 April 2017.
Direct dial numbers into the Council, or to individual officers, will continue to work as usual.
Thank you to local resident, Kevin, for applying for a No Cold-Calling Zone at The Birches. The application will be considered by Norfolk County Council and if successful, The Birches will be designated a No Cold-Calling Zone, giving residents some relief from the persistent knocking on the door from people trying to sell.
Other residents are invited to apply for this status for where they live. Just follow this link to register.
Chrissie has been running bingo at Necton Community Centre for over 8 years. Usually the first and third Saturday of the month, for the past few months, she has increased this with the second Saturday too and people love it. So for 2017, Chrissie will continue to call the numbers 3 times a month in Necton. Chrissie loves doing this, never missing a session, even when she’s feeling a little poorly. “I couldn’t let the people down” she says.
Tonight is Christmas Bingo – always a full house and David Matthews, Chairman of Necton Parish Council, paid a surprise visit, interupting play at bingo ball number 26, to present Chrissie with a small Christmas gift in recognition of her outstanding committment to the bingo players of Necton.
