Village News Archive

News from the village,

February 2022

A digest from the Winterton-on-Sea Parish Council meeting

HARD QUESTIONS: The coastal management organisation responsible for Winterton is to be asked to a public meeting to explain what it is doing about erosion.

And the answer is expected to be “nothing.”

Dramatic losses of dune face in recent months, the need for a new entrance to the car park and the planned removal of the Coast Watch tower have caused serious concern among residents. There are also fears for the toilet block.

The parish council is asking Coastal Protection East to meet villagers on March 21 and answer questions. MP Brandon Lewis is also being invited.

Chairman Mark Bobby said a request would be made for the school to be used because of the number of people likely to turn up.

Cllr Emma Punchard said the main question would be what the organisation was doing about it. “They’re not doing anything, so they won’t want to answer that question,” she told colleagues at the February council meeting.

“They need to explain why they’re not doing anything,” Cllr Marie Hartley said.

Cllr Bobby said the meeting, which will have a 7pm start, should take the form of a presentation by CPE followed by questions and answers.  

Villagers will be able to submit questions in advance but others can be put on the night.

CPE is made up of officers North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk Council and manages the coastline between Holkham in the north and Felixtowe in the south.

In October 2020, after storms gouged chunks from the dune face in front of the Dunes Café where Second World War concrete blocks were positioned in a bid to protect it and the car park from the sea, CPE told the council it was felt that if the café was moved back the erosion would come back to a more natural line and stabilise – that’s the hope.”

CPE’s view then was that the blocks were not helping the rate of erosion.

CHANGE OF PLAN: The parish council is objecting to an application that could see new homes being built on the site of Caters Garage turned into four-bed properties.

Permission was granted for two chalet-style three-bed houses and work has started. But now plans have been lodged with the borough council to turn the garages of both into living accommodation and create a fourth bedroom in each.

“Parking is going to be a big issue,” Dawn Clegg said at the February 23 full meeting. “You could potentially have 10 cars there."

An initial bid for access from Back Path raised objections from the highways department, so the driveways have to be off Black Street. Marina Carr said they were told there was adequate off-street parking because of the garages, but without them there would be less space.

The council decided to object on the grounds of highway safety. The plans can be seen online at great-yarmouth.gov.uk

CALL FOR DIALOGUE: An effort to improve dialogue between the parish and the Burnley Hall estate is to be made after people in the village voiced their shock at the drastic cutting back of trees on land off Low Road.

On social media birder Sean Offord described it as environmental vandalism and said the hedge had sheltered the only pair of bullfinches to winter in the village.

At the last parish council meeting Rebecca Durant asked councillors if dialogue between the village and Burnley Hall could be improved. Many people were shocked at the devastation but having the chance to talk might help to prevent moaning.

“I do understand it is their land and I understand that they probably looked into it before they cut the trees and the hedges down. But if there was communication between us it would be nice to understand why it was done and for us to have the opportunity to tell them they have rare birds in the trees.”

Cllr Marina Carr said a lot of residents felt very strongly about what was done. It might have been for good agricultural reasons but talking would be a chance to make the estate aware of how much the site was loved.

“If we share with them what we’re doing within the parish, with the wildflowers, they might be really open to it,” suggested Cllr Emma Punchard.

“What we are seeking is some form of collaboration and engagement," added Cllr Marie Hartley.

A PLATINUM DAY TO REMEMBER: Plans to stage a giant open-air tea party on the village green to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this summer are being drawn up.

The event on June 5 is set to feature live performances, music and a barbecue as well as a cake stall and will raise money for the lifeboat restoration fund.

Organiser Terry Byrne is setting up a display of military vehicles to mark the 78th anniversary of D Day.

The village could also host one of thousands of beacons due to be lit on June 2 all around the UK and overseas.

Parish councillors have formed a working group to help mark the historic anniversary and Marina Carr told colleagues at the full meeting on February 23 they had done a lot of research into health and safety implications and permissions that would have to be obtained.

Although it was in the early stages, she said: “We are working on it and we want to do the best that we can.”

She said an approach had been made for the village to have a beacon as it did 10 years ago for the Diamond Jubilee.

A spokesman for the Hermanus later said it would not be able to host the beacon this time round because of the recent fire. More than 1,500 beacons are to be lit in an operation overseen by pageantmaster Bruno Peek.

The tea party will run between noon and 5pm. Families and friends in groups of up to 12 will be allocated a table on the green. Four chairs will be provided but guests can bring more.

To book, call Terry or Eunice on 01493 393843 or send an email to tceab@aol.com with numbers and ages of any in the group under 14.

SET TO BEAR FRUIT: Ten fruit trees are to be planted in the village as part of a project to improve the environment.

One - a plum - is to go in the children’s play area, three are set to be planted behind the bus shelter and it is hoped Norfolk County Council will agree the remaining six can be installed in the Holway near the bench.

Cllr Emma Punchard said the In Bloomers had volunteered to take responsibility for harvesting the fruit in a few years’ time when the trees had matured enough and it would be for the whole village.

Cllr Norman Parcell explained four areas had been designated within the village for wildflower planting - a plot near Bulmer Pit, a strip of land near the church on Black Street, an access to the playing field and a corner on George Beck Road.

“The whole idea is to improve our village and improve our environment,” he told colleagues.

And he said the group would make sure it was informing people what it was doing.

Parish clerk Stacey Kent said signs would advise passers by the areas were part of a village project and were not just left messy.

Cllr Marie Hartley said: “This is happening in many communities across the country. Everyone’s becoming aware of the environment. As a parish council we have to lead on that and encourage residents.”

The wildflowers are part of a project organised by the environment and ecology group. As reported in last month’s newsletter, the aim is to create more habitats for butterflies and other pollinating insects as well as wildlife.

It involves a variety of plants and devising a grass cutting strategy that encourages different wildflowers and insects.

Anyone that wants to get involved or offer suggestions can email durantr@onlyoner.co.uk for information.

UNDER SEA CABLE WORK: BT has applied to the borough council for planning permission to land a new Iceni telecoms cable linking the UK with the Netherlands.

The work involves excavating an existing cable duct and bringing the cable as far as the beach manhole, trenching between the low water mark and the duct and restoring the beach afterwards.

An environmental study has been carried out and concluded there will be little impact on local ecology. It highlighted a potential effect on the little tern colony, but said if the work was done in  March or the first part of April the significance would be negligible. A decision is due by April 12.

BUS SHELTER MAKEOVER: Volunteers are to smarten up the bus shelter ahead of the village jubilee celebrations.

Cllr Dawn Clegg told the parish council the In Bloomers were willing to paint it with a preservative and Cllr John Smithson was going to make repairs to damaged sections.

“There is an idea to put in a water butt and a gutter on the back, which will help to protect the back and provide water for watering,” she said.

The council agreed to give £500 to the in Bloom team to buy materials and do the work, including painting the benches.

Other Village News

Police get face to face again

NORFOLK Police officers are getting back out speaking to the public about crime and antisocial behaviour issues, the area’s safer neighbourhood action panel heard.

Members of the public were told the force had been affected by the Covid pingdemic and the Yarmouth area had suffered large abstractions of officers to Norwich, which had been hit hard by County Lines drug dealing.

But face-to-face sessions were now being organised in the villages again.

Parish councillor Nigel Coe told the meeting on February 10 Winterton had a very low crime level but over the past two to three months it had suffered several problems.

“The shop has had a couple of thefts, quite a lot of property has been broken into and there is low level vandalism,” he said. He wanted to know how aware of it police were.

Sgt Ash Waterhouse said over the past three months 12 investigations had been created for a number of different offences.

There were three burglaries, a number of violence against the person cases, the two thefts and four or five instances of antisocial behaviour.

Sgt Daniel Smith highlighted the Street Safe initiative which gave the public the chance to report what areas made them feel unsafe.

Between November and December there were seven in Caister and two in Flegg and the villages, while north of the river in Yarmouth there were 38 and 36 on the southern side.

A study was being made of areas where people felt unsafe. In town many reports were about being followed. In rural areas most were about street lighting. But a lot of villages had neighbourhood plans that did not accept lights.

“The easy answer would be to put street lighting in there but if we physically can’t do that there must be another answer,” he said. “We are looking for more creative solutions.”

He stressed that although he wasn’t saying there was no crime, it was safe.

When it came to setting police priorities for the rural areas Cllr Coe said: “I think the key thing for us is visibility and ideally, following up on issues as and when resources allow.

“Somewhere like Winterton particularly, elderly residents do get impacted when their neighbours are broken into.”

The next online meeting for the panel is on May 12. People who live in the area and want to have a say on local concerns can join in. Email OperationalPartnership@norfolk.police.uk to confirm a place.

And people will be able to talk to officers in person on March 2 at the sports field in Waters Lane, Hemsby.

Referendum gets thumbs up

Just over 200 people turned out to vote on the neighbourhood plan that will be used to guide future development in Winterton if as expected it is adopted by the borough council.

A total of 164 of them voted in favour, 53 against.

The poll, which ran until 10pm in the village hall on February 24 asked voters whether they wanted the document to be used by the borough council and the Broads Authority to help decide future planning applications for the village.

A team of volunteers made up of residents and parish councillors spent three years drawing up the plan which listed seven objectives including issues like affordable housing for young families and infrastructure that mean holiday visitors didn’t put an extra strain on local services.

One of its policies was that new housing, apart from tourist accommodation, would only be supported if it could never become a second home.