Roundabout Roadworks

  

Highways Scheme – PMB316 A143 High Road Roundabout – Carriageway resurfacing due to the carriageway beginning to crack. 

 

I would like to make you aware of the works and the attached Road Closure and Diversion Route Plan for the above scheme, which will be sent out 2 weeks prior to construction which starts on 7^th March 2022 for a duration of 5 weeks. I thought it best to send it to you first so that you can view the information prior to it being sent out to local residents and businesses.

 

I hope you find this satisfactory and If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Harrison Matthews EngTech MICE, Engineer

Highway Projects  

Tel: 01603 222893 

 

Needham Village Link

January/ February 2022

www.facebook.com/NeedhamLink

www.needhamlink.co.uk

@needham_link

Inside this newsletter, we receive a commemorative plaque

and  we welcome a new editor.

New Year - New start

As  the Needham Link has no editor at the moment there is no editorial. However, the good news is that the next edition will have an editor in the shape of Tom Barber, a new resident of the village, who has volunteered to take on the position.  The Link has been Needham’s newsletter for very many years. Hazel Newman, David Cunliffe, Helen Major & latterly, Alan Jeffery have been the editors this century.  I hope you will all support Tom as he takes on this important role in keeping the village informed. Tom is also building a new website for the Link. Watch this space!

As always, your contributions for inclusion in the Link are very welcome. email: needhamlink@gmail.com

This is a brief news sheet to inform you of what has happened since the last Link and what is scheduled to happen in the next few months.

It is especially important in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year that everyone in the village is kept informed of forthcoming events to celebrate this milestone. The Village Hall Committee and Parish Council are discussing plans for Jubilee celebrations  and it is hoped that by the summer Covid regulations will allow us to come together. 

Waveney Foodbank

The residents of Needham have once again shown their generosity and concern by contributing to the Waveney Food Bank.  Collection day is the 2nd Saturday of the month 

The collectors look out for any plastic bags left at the end of drives - usually these will be identifiable by the fliers delivered last summer. If you do not have a flier, collectors will have a quick look in the bag to check that it is a food donation. There will be a new delivery of fliers soon.  People are also welcome to leave donations outside 91 High Road the day before collection only.  

Needham Parish Council

The Parish Council met on Monday 10th January.  The first meeting of the year is when the Parish Council reviews its finances and sets the precept for the coming year.  The precept is the amount of money the Parish Council receives from the Council Tax.  For many years it had been the policy not to make an annual increase in the precept.  However, as the Parish Council have taken over more of the roles previously carried out by the District and County Councils, it became necessary last year for the first time to make an increase.   Work the Parish Council pays for includes emptying dog bins, keeping foot paths clear and care of the Nook play area. Projecting the finances forward it became apparent the current level of financial support would result in the Parish Council running into debt.  It was agreed therefore to make an increase in the precept sufficient to allow the Parish Council to continue to fund its current commitments.  

The meeting also discussed the finances of the Village Hall.  It has been agreed that the Hall Management Committee should become a sub-committee of the Parish Council.  This will strengthen the management of the Hall and protect its finances.  It was agreed that the Parish Council bank account will be closed and transferred to the Village Hall account.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be at 7.30 on Monday 28 March.

Andrew Major (Chairman)

The Parish Council pay a significant amount to South Norfolk Council to have the dog bins emptied.  By all counts they are well used but there are reports of dogs being allowed to foul the Nook, where children play.  This is a significant health hazard. If you see a dog walker leaving dog waste on the ground, please encourage them to use the bin.

Needham Village Hall Management Committee

The first committee meeting of the year was held on Monday 17th January.  The meeting was pleased to welcome Fiona Harte as the new Chair of the committee and Claire Prest as the Vice-chair.  

Grants received by the Hall during the lock down will provide funds to carry out some of the much needed repairs and improvements.  A budget for this was agreed, allocating funds for repairs to the external fabric of the building, interior decorations including new curtains, and an upgrade of the kitchen.  It is hoped that these improvements will generate more use of the Hall for one-off events such as parties and wedding receptions.  As income from lettings is currently less than annual running costs it was agreed also that a reserve equal to eighteen months income should be maintained.  

The next meeting of the committee will be on Monday 7th February at 7.30 in the annex to the Hall when plans for village community events will be discussed  All village residents are welcome to attend the meeting.  

A thank you to every one in the village who helped us through

While we shall all be glad that 2021 is now behind us we should not forget that the pandemic has shown how resilient we are as a community.  To celebrate this, her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk, the Lady Dannat MBE, commissioned commemorative plaques.  We were honoured therefore at the first Parish Council meeting of the year, to welcome the Deputy Lieutenant, Mrs Philippa Taylor, to present a plaque to the village. It will be put on display in the Village Hall.  This recognises not only those who came forward and gave their names to volunteer but also all those who, without asking, made sure their neighbours were safe and well.  We also remember the hardship that many endured following the worst floods experienced in Needham for a generation, and the snow that followed.

Needham History Project

 The Needham History Project Launch on Saturday 22 January has been cancelled. 

Used stamps

 https://usedstampsforcharity.weebly.com

Millions of people, young and old, are stamp collectors (philatelists), and philately is an educational and fun hobby. Double this with helping charities as well, keeping stamps out of landfill, and instead recycling stamps to the albums of collectors!!!!!

This is a website listing charities, mainly in the UK which collect used postage stamps to raise money for charity. Charities find used stamps, which they then sort out, and sell on to collectors and philatelists, which an excellent source of extra income, and you are helping save the environment and reduce waste by not binning them! What could be better? 
Whether your stamps are recent or old, common or rare, wherever they come from across the world, every stamp can be saved! Stamp collecting (and other postal items) is a hugely popular hobby. Please save your used postage stamps for charity! This promotes charity, learning about different countries through postal history, random acts of kindness, zero waste and many more excellent outcomes.

New Editor

Following the resignation of Alan Jeffery, the Needham Link needs a new editor.  

If you are interested in taking on the editorship please contact needhamlink@gmail.com

Are you wearing your mask correctly?

 https://www.pfizer.com/news/hot-topics/the_do_s_and_don_ts_of_wearing_a_face_mask

For your safety and that of others, make sure your mask covers your nose!

Food bank - Christmas collection

The Hare family will be collecting donations for the Foodbank on Saturday (11th) morning (tomorrow) as they do and have been doing every second Saturday of the month. Don't forget to put out your contributions to the Foodbank. 

Some Christmas treats would be most welcome!

Lateral Flow Test

Use this link to order a free lateral flow test.  

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

Keep safe!

Parish church Needham

The church service held last Sunday was a warming occasion, lots of singing was done by all.

Thank you to all who attended. 

WELCOME

We welcome everyone in the village to join in the events planning and participation

This coming year many new ideas have been put forward, we would really like you all to be involved in our villages events and participate in as many of them as you can.

From Coffee and cake mornings to HIGH TEA in the village hall

barbecues, talks BINGO, games nights.

sing alongs.

Dont be shy to come forward.

Contact 07306546794.  Lynn , I would love to meet you and listen to your ideas.

The Needham logo.

 

St Mary's Church and The Mayflower

 

Remembrance Sunday

St Peter's Church was almost full for the Remembrance Day service.  The service was followed by the lighting of the Village Beacon by Harold Jefferson. 

Eliot Walker, aged 9 years,  played 

The Last Post beautifully.

Remembrance Sunday

 Please join your fellow Needham residents on Sunday evening in a service of remembrance and lighting of the village beacon.

Service of Remembrance at St Peter's : 6pm

Beacon Lighting : 7pm

Soup & rolls in the Village Hall 

FOODBANK

The Hare family will be collecting donations for the Foodbank on Saturday (13th) morning as they do and have been doing every second Saturday of the month.

Christmas Craft Fair

 

Keep up tp date

Keep up to date with events in the Village through Facebook.

 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003656732450

St Peter's Church

 

Keep in touch

 A Needham Village WhatsApp group has been set up by Helen Walker.  

If you would like to keep in touch with other Needham residents text Helen on 07880 733584 so you can be added to the group. 

*Please note that others will be able to see your messages and your number but it's a friendly group of villagers.  

If you need a hand, a hello or just to relay a message, then this WhatsApp group may be just what you're looking for.  Feel free to add people to it to create a community.  With winter approaching we may all need it. 

This is a Village WhatsApp group with nothing to do with any specific committee or business within the Village. 

Broadband

 Hurray! 

County Broadband is in the Village and properties are being connected today and this week. The Village Hall will have internet soon.

Needham Link

 

Summer BBQ

 

Editorial

 

Parish Council

 

Borderhoppa

 

Village Hall

 

Anne Robson Trust

 

Notices

 

History of the Old Fishmongers

 

Waveney Heritage Centre

 

Coffee Morning

 

Useful Info

 

PLEASE NOTE: FOODBANK COLLECTION IS ON SATURDAY 9TH OCTOBER

Two Helens

 

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/helens-skydive

The Big South Norfolk Litter Pick

 

Rooting for Nature

 

Needham Summer BBQ

If you would like to help at the BBQ or any future events please contact Georgina at georginalf13@gmail.com

 

Sponsored Skydive

Helen Major of Mill Lane is having a change from asking for sponsorship for taking part in the Pink Ladies' Tractor Run this year by doing a Skydive in aid of Cancer Research UK.  

If you would like to sponsor her for this very worthwhile cause please visit her JustGiving page at 

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/helens-skydive

The skydive took place on 19th August.

Meet our Policeman

 

Your local Safer Neighbourhood Team will be visiting your community to provide an hour long drop in session, alongside other activities such as speed enforcement and patrols. Why not come along to speak to us about any policing problems or issues you have; or to just say hello and meet the team. We will be at the following locations on the below dates and times. 

07/08/2021         08:30 - 10:00      Needham - High Road by Village Hall & Church 

St Peter's Tidy Up

Well done to the working party led by Robin Twigge for an amazing job in the churchyard.  The churchyard looks amazing. 

County Broadband

 

Incompetence or scam?

We are still waiting for connection by County Broadband. The sales pitch was very persuasive and we, along with many people in our village, signed up eagerly. This was over 2 years ago and we are still waiting. Today I phoned the Director of Sales, James Salmon, but he could not give me any information about when we will be connected as he didn’t have the, quote ‘bandwidth’ to help me. He suggested I phone customer services. The Sales Manager, Tim Dagnell-Scott was not answering his phone so I spoke to a customer services agent but she could not answer my question either. Apparently, they are waiting for the ‘Build Team’ to complete the operation but do not have a clue when this will happen. Customer services don’t seem to be able to access any data from this team. 
This delay is on top of unexpected additional charges being levied on connections to some of the properties in the village. We’re beginning to think this may be an elaborate scam. If not, it's sheer incompetence.

Swimming Course

 

Give hockey a try!

 

Needham Nook

 Needham Nook looking lovely in the May sunshine.

 This is the  May/June edition of the Needham Link.  There have been technical difficulties this month so the online Link may not look as it should, however, we hope you enjoy catching up with events in the village.

Needham Village Link

 

Editorial

Welcome to the Spring edition of the Link.  As you will see, there has been much going on in the village so I shall keep my contribution mercifully short! The tree planting in the Nook is a milestone and congratulations to all concerned.  We are still living with COVID, although its impact is decreasing so we can start to plan for the future.

Our hearts go out to Sue Simmons and family who recently suffered a devastating fire at their home, the Old Fishmongers, but the reaction of villagers has been magnificent at this time of personal crisis.

Alan Jeffery

Geocaching in Lockdown

Lockdown 3.0 has been a lot harder than the first two lockdowns. Could it be lockdown fatigue or the fact that the days have been short, dark and cold?

Indoor activities continue to focus mainly on jigsaws. We have completed over a dozen puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty but all with 1000 pieces. At the time of writing we are attempting our most challenging jigsaw: a puzzle of 3000 pieces measuring 144cm by 68cm depicting Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica. This is by way of compensation for our cancelled trip to Madrid last year where we had hoped to see the real thing.

Outdoors, we have been more adventurous. We’ve continued with our government authorised outdoor activity of walking, although with reduced enthusiasm until we discovered Geocaching. Geocaching is an outdoor activity using GPS on a mobile phone to look for hidden containers at specific locations. We’ve found it has given us an incentive to find new routes in the area and is a fun way to exercise both mind and body. Geocaching is a hobby with caches hidden worldwide. There is, however, no need to travel far as there are at least fifty hidden within walking distance of Needham and even some in the village. If you have a bicycle then there are hundreds to find locally. It’s like a treasure hunt except instead of a map where X marks the spot you use an app on your smartphone and your powers of observation. Instead of buried treasure you’re looking typically for a small waterproof container containing a ‘log’ and sometimes a pencil with which to sign and date the log as evidence of your find. It’s best to take one’s own pencil or pen though. Once you have found 20 caches you are then allowed to hide your own cache which we did at the beginning of April. We await with excitement reports of it being found by other cachers! It's an activity for all ages; friends of ours have found that it is a really good way to encourage their children to get extra exercise.

For more information on Geocaching visit www.geocaching.com or www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/family-hiking/what-is-geocaching 

or download the app on your smartphone.

River Waveney

 REDUCING POLLUTION IN THE RIVER WAVENEY

At the River Waveney Trust, we are currently undertaking a campaign to deliver advice and guidance to homeowners on best practice septic tank and sewage treatment system management, to help address pollution in the River Waveney catchment. Due to a lack of mains sewerage, Needham is one of the target villages for this project.

I hope many of the villagers will have received a leaflet introducing the campaign we are running in collaboration with Groundwork and the Environment Agency. While Covid restrictions remain in place we are limited in the further engagement we can provide, however we are currently able to test watercourses (drains, ditches, main river) for ammonium, and we hope to soon be able to visit each village to deliver information in person to the community.

Emily Winter 07788 419475
Web: https://www.riverwaveneytrust.org

Needham Parish Council

A meeting of Parish Councillors was held by Zoom on Monday 29 March. James

Macmillan was unanimously voted onto the Parish Council to fill the casual vacancy that had arisen.

The Parish Council had received complaints from several residents they had been asked by County Broadband to pay for the fibre connection to their home that was always understood would be free. Some of these charges were considerable. County Broadband were therefore asked: why had these charges been levied; would there be further charges to bring cable into the home; and who benefits from the Gigabit Voucher Scheme?

It has taken a lot of persistent questioning but County Broadband eventually supplied the following information: they provide a ‘standard’ installation that includes 15 metres buried fibre cable in soft ground and an additional 2 metres in hard ground or 55 metres overhead cable. Anything above that incurs a charge. However, County Broadband informed us they have recently improved their rates.

Of the 37 customers they have written to 9 are subject to excess installation costs. Five of these are overhead and will receive a reduced rate and three will be free. The Gigabit scheme is designed to cover the cost of a ‘standard’ installation. However, excess installation fees are still chargeable. It was confirmed that the whether free or charged for, there is no further fee for bringing cable into the house.

It was disappointing to learn that, despite assurances that every house in the parish could be connected, County Broadband have decided that some outlying properties will not now have that option.

County Broadband was left under no illusion that their manner created considerable ill feeling in the village. However, our approach to them seems to have made them change their attitude and any residents that turned down the option of being connected due to the charges being levied are urged to contact County Broadband to agree revised rates.

In other discussions it was reported that eight fruit trees have now been planted at the Nook. Also, the swing has received a safety check and can be used and the goal posts are complete.

A suggestion received that the Parish Council should organise a litter pick was warmly supported. Details of a date and a request for volunteers will appear in a future edition of the Link once the Covid restrictions have been lifted.

During lockdown Councillors have been able to meet successfully through Zoom due to legislation that was passed to allow this. This temporary legislation ends on 7 May. It was therefore decided to bring forward the date of the next meeting and the Annual Parish Meeting to Wednesday 28 April in order that it can again be held by Zoom.

Andrew Major, Chairman

The Needham Nook is complete

 On a grey day in March, 12 members of the community gathered for a socially distanced tree planting day, creating Needham’s very own Orchard at The Nook. Eight fruit bearing trees can be seen in the Western most part of the field, lovingly planted and mulched in to give them the very best start. Some of those present have agreed to ‘adopt a tree’, committing to take care of it over the coming year or two, ensuring it has enough water during dry spells and nurturing it towards maturity. There are still a few trees that have not been adopted, so if you would like to take part, its not too late! Please contact Fairlie on greenigloos@gmail.com to arrange this.

Having a community Orchard was an important part of the original vision for the Nook, providing community food and adding a mixed environment to the project for all of the community to enjoy. The bench has been moved to achieve a better view of the area, and since the last edition, a pair of football goals and a large swing have also been installed.

With the completion of the installation stage of The Nook, Needham Action Group can now truly hand it over to the community to take care of and have pride in. It is extremely gratifying to see it so well used and enjoyed by many both from within the village and beyond, and many thanks for all of the encouraging comments and expressions of delight about it.

We hope that when the time comes for community outdoor events to be once again permissible, we will be able to hold a celebration event of this immense achievement for the whole community. If you are interested in helping to put on this event, please contact me at the address below.

Fairlie Winship: greenigloos@gmail.com
Please get in touch if you would like to Adopt A Tree

Fairlie

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's James in a Paramotor!

 If you’ve heard a strange buzzing sound over Needham recently, you may have thought that we’re being invaded by a swarm of mosquitos or even the dreaded Asian hornets, but there’s a simpler reason and it’s closer to home.

James MacMillan so loves the scenery of the Waveney Valley he regularly takes to the sky in his
Paramotor which is essentially a parachute with an engine strapped to James’s back. He says that the view of Needham from the air is stunning and has shared with us two of his aerial photographs.

James has recently joined Needham Parish Council as a councillor. He said the he joined because he “would like to be more engaged in my local community. Sometimes we feel a bit out of it where we live on Upper Burnt House Lane. I was fortunate to grow up in a village where my mum was involved in lots of things. As a result it would sometimes take 45mins to buy a loaf of bread from the bakery 100 metres from our house. I miss that”

James has lived in Needham for over 11 years in what can be described as a multi-generational and multi-species household which comprises his parents and parents-in-law and includes Rose Martin (mother-in- law), a former Needham Parish Councillor. He is married to Gemma, has 2 children as well as 3 horses, 2 dogs, 4 cats and 2 ducks. COVID has made them realise how lucky they are living together, and are able to support one another through these times.

When he’s not Power Gliding James can be seen running, usually with his running partners – Bertie, a Border Collie and Nellie, a Jack Russell (shown above). He also swims and paddle boards down the Waveney. As a Business Development Manager for an Anglo/Swedish Company he travels around the UK (in non Covid times) and sometimes abroad. James is a very welcome and valued new member of the Parish Council.