June 2018 Newsletter
19TH JUNE 2018
From Sandringham Parish Council
The Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council was held at the Sandringham Club, West Newton, on Wednesday 2nd May, with three members of the public in attendance. Parish Councillors Ben Colson and Cecil Smith were elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively for a further year. Gordon Wilkinson has been reappointed Clerk for a further year.
Parish Council meeting dates for the new year are 4th July to be held at the Wolferton Social Club, 5th September at the Sandringham Club, 7th November at Wolferton Social Club, 9th January 2019 at the Sandringham Club, 6th March at Wolferton Social Club and the AGM and ordinary meeting on 8th May at the Sandringham Club. All meetings start at 6.30pm.
In the ordinary meeting which followed, Councillors discussed matters arising from previous meetings and work undertaken between meetings which had yielded some success. We have secured superfast broadband for Wolferton over two years earlier than originally programmed. We have persuaded the Boundary Committee for England and Wales to change its original intention to put the parish in what it called an ‘urban ward’ comprising primarily of North and South Wootton. We have replied to the Post Office supporting their outline plan for a mobile Post Office to visit West Newton on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
We noted that the number of visits to the parish council’s new website continue to increase, with April logging three times the number of ‘hits’ on the site as in March. Please visit us at www.sandringhamparishcouncil.org It is yours to use, so let’s boost the number of hits that we can by increasing our visits to it.
We were delighted to learn from our County Councillor that he is providing the necessary funds for a footpath to be built from the entrance to Caernarvon Cottages and the Park Gates bus stop in West Newton and similarly at Babingley.
Other issues which are ongoing include our exemption from audit under the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities, a review by the County Council of its decision to place average speed cameras on much of the A149 between Knights Hill Roundabout and Heacham and instead look at junction improvements, our contribution to the events in the parish to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World in November this year, and our registration and compliance with the new General Data Protection Register.
We discussed the lack of later afternoon bus service back from King’s Lynn to West Newton and Sandringham (4pm is now the last bus) and it was agreed that we would, once again, put pressure on the County Council to make arrangements for a later one to be provided.
We noted that Norfolk County Council has included the parish in a consultation reviewing the provision of Tracks and Rights of Way in the county, which appears to cut across another plan being progressed by Natural England for a UK-wide coast footpath which includes this parish.
A date for your diaries – we understand that the Countryfile programme on BBC1 on Sunday 10th June will feature Sandringham.
The next meeting is on Wednesday 4th July at 6.30pm at the Wolferton Social Club and we are always happy for our meetings to be attended by as many residents from the parish as possible.
Wolferton news
St Peter’s Church roof – The roof, particularly the North facing side, is in need of urgent essential repair, and the Parochial Church Council has received a quote of nearly £250k to do it. It bid for funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund in the Autumn but was not successful. Normally a further bid would be made but that Fund has now been wound up, so it will be competing with much larger projects of a national and regional scale, and that means more funds will have to be raised by local effort. A number of events will be held to raise funds and you are urged to come and help. A meeting of the Project Group was held on 8th May but was too late for its deliberations to be included in this edition.
The coffee morning held at the social club on Saturday 24th March raised in excess of £1,000 for the Happy Memories Club (for people living with dementia and their carers) and St Peter’s Church. Congratulations to the organisers for their best ever and for the two charitable donations.
Forthcoming Events at the Wolferton social club –
17th June – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
4th July – Sandringham Parish Council meets at 6.30pm
15th July – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
12th August – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
9th September – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
7th October – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
4th November – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm
7th November – Sandringham Parish Council meets at 6.30pm
2nd December – cash bingo, eyes down 8pm