Village News Archive

News from the village,

June 2022

A PROCLAMATION heralded a packed programme of Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Winterton, from a beacon lighting at the beach car park that drew a large crowd, to a party on the green.

People gathered to make the most of the four-day holiday and the chance to socialise. The Hermanus put on a family fun weekend, the church tower opened to the public, there was a table top sale and neighbours staged their own parties.

Sunday morning’s downpour gave way just in time and people ignored the threatening grey skies to set up their picnics on the green, where there was music and live performances, including songs from the schoolchildren.

Luna remembers the nose knows

Platium weekend gallery

Sheds could become workshops

PROPOSALS for new double yellow lines at pinch points and an idea to turn the village hall storage sheds into workshop space that could be rented out were aired at the annual parish meeting.

The event was a change from the traditional presentation-style event as people in the parish were encouraged to chat with councillors about the ideas on the table.

“It is more about hearing from residents so we can soak up their ideas,” Deputy chairman Nigel Coe said. “This is primarily an engagement session rather than an AGM.”

Cllr John Smithson said sheds at the back of the village hall were in poor condition, suffering damp and rot, and although they were currently used as storage for two groups using the hall, they generated no income.

It could be knocked down to leave a bare yard but he said what the council would like to do in the future was to repair them, replace the rotted studwork, improve insulation and rent them out as small workshops to artisans or crafters.

The suggestion was that the money earned could be used to pay for improvements in the village hall, like removing the partition wall between the hall and the kitchen and creating a new lounge area with IT facilities.  

Residents were also given a sight of proposals for new double yellow lines covering problem junctions at either end of Wilmer Avenue, The Craft where it meets The Lane, The Holloway and King Street, Beach Road at King Street and Black Street outside the church.

“We considered lots of other approaches, including permit parking,” said Cllr Smithson. And yellow lines covering more areas would restrict people who lived in the village for 365 days a year. So the suggested scheme concentrated on junctions and reflected areas that were coned on busy weekends as part of the council’s regular traffic management.

The council is encouraging residents to give feedback on the proposals and offer their own ideas.

Welcome back to the Hermanus

WE are back, our main building is back in action. Although not every room is complete, it feels wonderful to have our doors open and welcome our customers back inside!

The family lounge bar, our Coach & Horses bar, foyer, hallways, and our customer toilets are all open. To see people sitting in our Coach & Horses bar enjoying the picturesque view over the dunes and sea is lovely, considering we have not been able to use it since before Covid, with social distancing not being an option, due to it being the smallest room.

We’ve had many comments from staff to say how nice it is to have that atmosphere back again! The re-opening of a business after so long never comes without a few teething problems. But they were issues that we were able to get under control and swiftly dealt with by the team and our very efficient contractors.

The feedback from guests has been gratefully received. Everyone has made comment about how happy they are to be back and to hear from them that we’ve done a fabulous job in achieving what we have in a short amount of time is wonderful.

We certainly had a big job on our hands and with delays on materials it’s been no easy task, but the team has pulled together and really got stuck in. We are a very small team, but we are mighty and we were not going to be defeated. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped, offered support and shared kind words over the last 10 months, it really has not gone unnoticed by any of our team!

We still have plenty of renovating to do, which will get done in due course. But the team is now focused on serving customers through the summer season. So please bear with us and keep up to date on our social media with further progress.

We are still awaiting more carpet, as we needed so much to replace throughout the building that we’ve had to wait for the extra to be made and delivered from Belgium, so you can imagine how long a process that is.

We’ve had a lot of questions regarding our larger bar where we used to serve our Sunday lunches, and The Highwayman Restaurant. These two rooms are being used for storage while we continue the repairs and are yet to be redecorated. But they are in the pipeline and we will let you all know when we are able to reopen them.

The rebuild of the popular family arcade, where the fire took hold, is paused due to circumstances beyond our control. Within a couple of days of us expecting to receive our planning permission, new rules were put in place by Natural England, causing everything to come to an instant halt. It’s nothing to do with our plans as a company, just new rules across the board, so we are sitting tight at the moment until we can move forward again.

We are very much looking forward to celebrating our 50th Year of Family Business at Hermanus in 2023, with the fifth generation recently welcomed into the family. It is a huge achievement to have come this far. We would not be able to continue without the huge support of our customers, whether they’re returning guests of 46 years or first time visitors.

We will be open Tuesday to Saturday evenings from 4pm, and for Sunday lunches from 12pm-4pm. On Mondays we will be closed. We may have to close for an evening or day to complete further renovations. We aim to keep everyone as up to date, but if you are planning on heading up, just give us a call to ensure we are open first. Alternatively keep an eye on our social media pages.

Thanks from all the team at the Hermanus.

James Denton

Rising costs challenge to local business

INFLATION has hit the highest rate in four decades, energy costs are soaring and households are facing a cost of living crisis.

So we asked local businesses about the challenges they faced in the current economic climate.

Jeanne Farace at Poppy’s said: “We try to get price marked items to keep cost down, but they have gone through the roof. For example, lemon Fanta has increased from £1.25 to £1.65.

“Cheese that I use for my scones was increasing in price by £5 every time I ordered it. I am now trying a slightly cheaper cheese but this is still coming in quite expensive.

“We are waiting for prices of flour to rise due to the war in Ukraine which will have a knock on effect with other produce. We are already seeing pasta prices going up.”

Newspapers had gone up in the past six months – the Daily Mirror from 70p to £1. And the cost of carriage on papers had risen by £10 to £60.

Some products like cranberry and pistachio porridge were no longer available because of the cost of ingredients and others are in short supply at wholesalers because of problems getting them into the country or a lack of packaging.

“We always try to keep to a minimum margin but even with this people are paying well over the odds,“ said Jeanne. “Some suppliers have said to us that the major supermarkets are killing their industry by wanting to purchase goods below manufacturing prices. But this is something that has been ongoing for years.

“The shop is also on a fixed rate for electricity at the moment until August. I shudder to think how much our electricity bill will be on the new tariff. It will easily be in the thousands per month. Like most householders this is really going to hit us.”

Over the road at Loomes, owner Sathees Vethanayakampillai said he had tried different suppliers to keep costs down where he could – even going to London to get stock at more competitive prices. But because it was a small independent business without the buying power of a large supermarket chain customers had to accept prices would need to be a little bit more.

A lot of products were priced automatically with a manufacturer’s recommended retail price and these were rising. “Things like £1 chocolate which is now £1.25,” he explained.

“Some people are looking for cheaper items and some don’t care about price. We have a mixture so we have to cater for all.”

War in the Ukraine has added to the cost burden on the fish bar just weeks after new owners Adrian and

Lynne Collins took over.

Adrian said: “The cost of our main product, fish, is very unstable due to the war in the Ukraine, with 50 per cent of cod caught in Russian waters and trade having been stopped with Russia.

“We have been told fish prices will continue to increase significantly in the near future while the trade war continues. On top of this gas, electric, vegetable oil and paper/packaging costs have risen dramatically.”

He added: “We have absorbed costs over the last six weeks, but will be increasing prices in the near future.”

Hermanus manager James Denton said: “With us reopening our main building this season, following 18 months of on/off lockdowns and then a devastating fire, we have definitely seen a significant rise in costings across the board. From food and drink to electricity costs, some of the increases have been absolutely crazy!”

And it was a similar story at the Fishermans. Landlord Darrin Winter said the price of vegetable oil, a major ingredient, had almost doubled from £17.99 for 20 litres to £34.99. Last year 5kg of chicken breast cost £21.99. At the moment it is £26.99.

“Fish prices have also gone crazy,” he said. “We’ve just gone to reprint our menus and prices have increased. Beer has also gone up 11p a pint so our beer went up 10p. Not forgetting an increase in wages too.”

The cost of producing this newsletters has also risen, Roger Newman, who owns Century Printing in Stalham, explained why the cost of paper had soared.

Covid reduced the production levels at mills due to staffing issues and then supply chains were

interrupted because of disruption to shipping. Increased demand – largely because of online shopping – led to paper mills turning to production of packaging material, including for Covid testing kits.

Stocks depleted fast, mills couldn’t keep up with demand and there was a 10-week strike at a major Scandinavian plant.

“As a result of all of this paper prices have been increasing rapidly over the last 12–15 months. Some grades have almost doubled in price. The worldwide demand for paper pulp is a large part of this, as well as the increase in energy costs (paper mills are huge energy consumers). Increases in shipping and logistics costs are also to blame. The number of paper mills in production has reduced as many were claiming to be unprofitable even pre-Covid.”

Russia is a major producer of pulp and the war has cut off that supply. The combination means demand vastly outweighs supply and suppliers have control of the market.

“For us printers, there are a number of other increased costs. The obvious one is the cost of ink, but more so aluminium printing plates. There is a shortage of aluminium and plate costs have been rising constantly over the last 18 months. Finally, energy costs; we’re luckily still on a fixed contract, but when that ends we’ll be looking at around a 300 percent increase . . eyewatering!”

Driveway sparks concern

REVISED plans for a driveway serving one of the new houses being built on the site of Caters in Black Street have drawn criticism from the parish council.

Permission was granted for two three-bed chalet-style homes. But the developer has since submitted revised plans to replace an integral garage with a living room and turn the property into a four-bed. That has prompted concern over the potential number of cars.

First warden in two decades

THE dunes nature reserve has its first full time guardian in two decades.

David Beardsley, who grew up not far away, is the seasonal warden for Natural England.

He said: "It’s the first time since 2003 that the reserve has had a full time warden, so I thought I would take the opportunity to try and inform the community of what the reserve has to offer, and some of the things visitors can do to help conserve the wildlife that inhabits it.

Hop on to bus consultation

PEOPLE in the village are being urged to add their views on a bus strategy that could result in a direct route between Winterton and Norwich.

Norfolk County Council is set to be handed £50m from the Department for Transport to improve services and it wants to hear from the public.

Last autumn it published a five-year plan outlining ideas to make ticketing simpler, bring in cleaner, greener buses, cut fares for under 25s and improve links.

County councillor James Bensly urged Winterton residents to take part in the consultation that runs until July 5.

“Can I please encourage all residents to feed into this in the hope of getting our bus service back in the northern villages like Winterton, Hemsby, Ormesby along with Scratby and California,” he said.

“We need this vital service to Norwich for all ages and all walks of life to have the same opportunities as others do in more urban areas of the county.

“I believe this will stimulate the

quality of life for our residents by unlocking the great city of Norwich to all.”

The consultation launched on May 17 and can be found online at norfolk.citizenspace.com/consultation/bsip/ where it can be filled in or downloaded. Call 0344 800 8020 or email haveyoursay@norfolk.gov.uk

The council says the responses will help to decide what improvements should be made.

Solution offered to prescriptions problem

MEASURES are being put in place to help patients unable to order repeat prescriptions after a dedicated phone line was shut down.

The Coastal Villages Surgery has responded to concerns raised through the newsletter that people in Winterton who are unable to use the internet or get to the surgeries in Hemsby and Martham were missing out.

In the meantime the surgery has stressed its drivers delivering medicines to the village are able to take repeat prescription request forms back with them.

It explained the phone line was started around four decades ago before most people gained access to the internet. Over time pharmacies took on a lot of ordering for patients and the line was used less and less.

In October one of the largest pharmacy chains had to make a business decision to stop ordering for patients. That affected a lot of them in Winterton.

Senior clinical pharmacist Mary Weatherstone said: "The potential impact in increased calls to ther surgery was more than it could manage as the existing phone line could not have coped. Other surgeries in Great Yarmouth were not affected as they were part of a separate prescription ordering service which Coastal Villages surgery did not have access to."

Although the practice has plans to change its own phone system in the future, to have a dedicated prescription line would potentially mean many more calls which would increase the wait for people calling in for appointments.

At the moment the prescription hub has three people processing 35,000 items a month.

The practice has employed a delivery driver for 10 years and part of the job has always been pick up repeat prescription request orders “because we understand not everybody has access to the internet.”

If needed, requests can be given earlier than a week before prescriptions are due, but might not necessarily be done earlier.

The surgery has a system that means if a request is too early it isn't sent out until closer to the issue date in case there are any changes  to treatment - from hospital admission for example.

Anyone that cannot order online should write to the prescription hub at the surgery and the prescription

team will get in touch to find the best way of ordering for those that have no access to the internet.

Letters can be sent via the delivery service driver or dropped into the surgery.  

Progress on lifeboat move

A DELICATE operation has been carried out to lower Winterton’s old lifeboat and make it stable on its trailer in preparation for a temporary move to Scratby.

The 125-year-old Edward Birkbeck has to leave its home of the last five years at the Old Rectory, where it has been undergoing restoration, and is being put into storage until a permanent home in the village is found.

The process took several weekend sessions. Ian Barclay, who was involved in the work, said: “The boat was lowered by jacking up the bow and stern end in turn and removing a supporting block each time, then lowering each end. The trailer side supports were lowered accordingly to keep the boat stable on the trailer. The main stabilising effect was provided by the blind faith of the volunteers, under Maynard's instructions. Faith can move mountains and lower boats.”

"As most of you will know, Winterton Dunes is a wonderful place to be, with its vast, open and undulating landscape, you really get the sense of being somewhere truly wild, and is just the perfect place to escape for a while. Our dune-heath habitat, along with pools scattered around the site attracts an array of wildlife, including birds such as stonechat, skylark and nightjar, but also a variety of dragonfly/damselfly species, adders, lizards and the fantastic natterjack toad.

"We are currently in the middle of the bird breeding season and it is vital that any birds attempting to raise young are given space, to avoid nest damage or disturbance -  birds may abandon their young if disturbed. The steps you can take to avoid this are to keep to the marked paths and keep dogs on a lead or at least under close control. We want people and their dogs to come and enjoy this fantastic place, but if they can make these steps, I fervently believe that the dunes can be of immense value to both wildlife and people. Your co-operation is very much appreciated."

Original plans showed space in front of the buildings for parking, but now the proposal is for a barrier and a driveway at the side.

At the May full parish council meeting Cllr Dawn Clegg said: “If it’s a three or four- bedroomed house you’re going to have more than one car and that is going to be a problem.”

She feared it would mean more cars parking on the street in front of the houses and by the green.