Village News Archive

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She stressed: “That car park is perfectly safe to be used the way it is being used. We are not endangering anybody’s life and I am not just winging it.”

Changes to the road lay out and a more secure barrier at the end of Beach Road are other short term priorities. In the medium term the anti-tank blocks and other debris on the beach, including eight to 10 metres of Tarmac from the road, were a concern as was the situation of the toilet block.

More damage is being done to the dunes south of the car park and the sea is now getting very close to the old lifeboat foundation. There are fears it could attack the loos from behind. Councillors heard the borough council was in charge of the facility but it was not clear if there had been an assessment.

Cllr Emma Punchard who said: “There is a lot of concern about the level and speed of erosion on the beach. Even CPE seems quite surprised. The line that they had before - that there is nothing to be done - it’s just about management and adaptation. I still

EROSION SHOCK : Poposals are being drawn up for a new entrance to the Beach Road car park after dramatic erosion.

Parish councillors heard it was among a range of measures under discussion for the short, medium and long term.

It follows borough and parish councillors’ meetings with Coastal Partnership East and the landowner Jan Hewitt who said drawings for the new entry had been done by a planning consultant and would be submitted for planning permission.

“I’m working very closely with Natural England and they are happy with what they have seen,” she said. “Everybody that I thought could be difficult to deal with has just been overwhelmingly helpful.”

The borough council, the Health and Safety Executive, Natural England, Crown Estates and CPE were all involved.

think there’s a discussion to be had with residents about what’s happening. I asked for a public meeting and they have just ignored my request.”

Parish clerk Stacey Kent suggested the council could act as a conduit and invite them to a public engagement event and chairman Mark Bobby added it needed to happen soon.

NORWICH DIRECT: Bus users in Winterton and Hemsby could find themselves on a direct route to the city if Norfolk succeeds in a bid for millions of pounds-worth of government funding to improve public transport.

The county council is hoping for £106m cash of the Government’s new £3bn national bus strategy scheme called Bus Back Better, which is intended to create more frequent, reliable and cheaper bus services outside London.

As part of the bid a bus service improvement plan was published last autumn and an enhanced partnership is set to be formed with local service operators.

Borough and county councillor James Bensly wants the improvements to include a new service linking Winterton, Hemsby, Scratby, California, Martham and Ormesby with Norwich.

Currently passengers wanting to get to and from the city centre have to change buses at Market Gates in Yarmouth and the journey can take up to two hours.

“It is hopeless for tourism,” he said. People holidaying in the area who used public transport had to go to Yarmouth first to get on a bus to Winterton and it wasn’t a great start to their breaks.

A direct link would also benefit young people. “It provides our youngsters in the area with more opportunities for jobs, interviews, going into the city.”

At the county council’s infrastructure and development select committee meeting in January he handed over a petition with more than 200 signatures calling for the new route.

Members of the committee heard if they didn’t commit to forming the partnership with the bus operators by March 31 the authority would not be able to receive any more transport-related funding from the Government and would lose future Covid recovery cash.

That would mean instead of services being improved they would be cut because they would no longer be financially viable.

As part of the partnership the council needs to develop a plan and one of the objectives is to rebuild passenger confidence with a marketing campaign, faster journeys, better connectivity and improved facilities.

Others include green and sustainable transport and a simple and affordable ticketing system.

The scheme is due to go out to public consultation this month or next and this will be used to help the authority work out what to prioritise if, as expected, it doesn’t receive the whole amount.

Cllr Bensly urged villagers to take part in the consultation when it went live to make sure their voice was heard. The more people who responded the better, he said. The plans can be found online at https://bit.ly/3KPIHgM

COUNCIL TAX RISE: Council taxpayers will be charged an average of just over £6 more for the parish council from April.

The yearly bill for a Band D property is going up to £67.74 after the precept was set at the full meeting on January 26.

Clerk Stacey Kent said it was a deficit budget, so the council would have to dip into surplus funds but it protected council taxpayers as much as the council from having to impose a bigger increase.

The council agreed to increase hire charges for the village hall to £8 per hour and to remove the 10 per cent discount. The clerk said it was the most fair increase possible.

Chairman Mark Bobby added it would be reviewed quarterly and an eye would be kept on utility bills.

Up to £1,000 has been allocated for the repair of the village hall outside doors and the hire of the playing field to £350 a year. A general reserves business continuity balance will be kept.

Winterton Coast Watch on the move again

ACCELERATED erosion at the beach car park means the Coast Watch tower is likely to be taken down in the next few weeks and put into storage until a new site can be found.

The group has set up a £10,000 fundraising appeal towards the cost of relocating the facility, built in 2005 to replace an earlier tower that also fell victim to the ravages of the waves.

Controller Roger Rolph said the recent rate of erosion had taken them by surprise. He wrote to the organisation’s head office in October to advise that the tower would have to be moved within the next two or three years. But the sea hit so hard that by the time the letter was received the deadline could be measured in months rather than years.

“It has put the pressure on,” he said. “The problem is where do we go? We don’t want to be on sand because we might have to move again.”

Simply moving the tower back is not thought to be a realistic option.

Land behind the fishermen’s sheds has been considered, but the likelihood is that it will be needed for sheds that have to be relocated.

Roger said the owners of the Hermanus and Winterton Valley Estate had put forward their sections of the dunes as potential sites, but access is a problem. A second World War bunker south of Beach Road has also been suggested.

And there are other issues to be taken into account including power connections and toilet facilities.

“We want to stay in Winterton and we’re looking high and low,” he said.

The appeal is online at gofundme.com/f/tower-relocation-fund and donations can be made at the car park. Coast Watch volunteers are staffing the gates on Mondays and Tuesdays up until the school holidays and proceeds will go towards the fund.

The tower was built by former controller Alan McMurchie

and supporters who raised the money to buy the units. See our Coast Watch feature in the June 2021 issue online at wintertonnewsletter.co.uk

Plans to replace part of the Hermanus complex after fire

PLANS for a wifi lounge and a retro-style games room at the Hermanus holiday complex have been lodged to replace part of the building destroyed in last summer’s major fire.

The application by owner Ivan Denton involves rebuilding and extending the games room on the ground floor and adding two first floor holiday apartments.

In a design and access statement agents Middleton and George said the centre was long-established and an important contributor to the local economy.

They pointed out the borough council’s planning policy sought to encourage the upgrading, expansion and enhancement of existing holiday accommodation.

“In our opinion the proposed design will improve / enhance the appearance of the site and will not impact on any neighbouring properties,” said the statement.

The Hermanus before the fire

A large section of the complex was badly damaged when fire broke out on August 3, just before lunchtime.

Norfolk Fire Service sent eight crews to tackle the blaze, managing to contain it by 3pm.Once owned by ex-RAF pilot Ken Temple, the Hermanus has been a popular holiday destination and a local employer for many decades. At one point it hosted film stars and in the 70s it housed a cellar disco.

Full details of the planning application, with the reference 06/22/0020/F, can be seen on the borough council website.

“The existing main entrance will not be affected and there is sufficient parking to serve the two new holiday units. Access to the new games room at ground floor will be suitable for wheelchair users etc. from both outside and to the main reception area/toilets.”

On the first floor there will be a pair of two-bedroomed apartments with balconies.

New plans for the Hermanus

Neighbourhood Plan

VILLAGERS have a chance to vote on the document that will act as a guide for future development in their community.

A referendum on the neighbourhood plan is being held on February 24 in the final stage of the process after more than three years of work by a team of residents and parish councillors.  If it wins public backing it will be become part of the statutory plan for the parish used by the borough council and the Broads Authority when deciding planning applications until 2030.

It lists seven objectives that include support for the provision of affordable housing and for clubs and services that enhance lives, providing the right infrastructure so visitors don’t put additional pressure on the environment and looking to reduce the impact of traffic and parking in the centre.

Because the housing requirement in the current and emerging borough local plans is zero, the neighbourhood plan does not suggest land for residential development. But it stresses a need for more affordable housing to attract younger people and families.

It says 36 per cent of residents are 65 or older, based on a 2016 estimate - a rise of 20 per cent on the 2011 census - and it indicates Winterton has become a popular retirement village. But younger people are leaving, possibly because the right homes are not available to them.

While the plan says villagers recognise the contribution tourism makes to the local economy and sustainability of shops and the pub, the issue of second and holiday homes and the effect on the community, particularly increased property prices, is highlighted with a warning that it threatens the long term life of the village as a year-round community.

“Reported impacts include some residents feeling isolated as they have few permanent neighbours, especially in the winter months, and that this can harm community cohesion. This perhaps is mostly related to second home ownership rather than holiday lets as the tourist economy in Winterton increasingly operates year round.”

To address the problem one of the policies is that proposals for all new housing, apart from specific tourist accommodation, will only be supported where occupation is restricted in perpetuity, to ensure it remains a main home. Occupiers will have to prove it with verifiable evidence like being on the electoral roll or registered at a local GP surgery.

The full plan and more information can be seen online here or by appointment at the town hall. The village hall polling station will be open from 7am to 10pm. Applications for postal votes need to be with the council by February 9.

Crime wave hits Winterton

WINTERTON has been hit with a winter crime wave.

Teenage shoplifters targeted Loomes, stealing nearly £200-worth of e-cigarettes in one go and several properties in the village were burgled.

The shop was hit on December 17 just after 4.15pm. CCTV caught two people entering the shop and one of them picking up a box of 30 e-cigarettes before making a quick exit.

A staff member was elsewhere in the store and returned to the till when he heard the bell go to tell him a customer had walked in. But the box had gone.

Earlier on two youngsters, thought to be around 14 or 15, who tried to buy e-cigarettes were refused because of their age.

“We expect this kind of thing in our business but we don’t expect it to happen here,” said owner Sathees Vethanayakampillai, who has been in the village more than a decade.

As a small family-run outfit the cost of the theft was difficult to absorb. “£180 is a lot of money. Normally, in a day people steal about £5 or £10-worth of stuff.”

And he was concerned about the teenagers. “They are young people and I don’t want them to go down the wrong road.

Since the incident security has been beefed up and staff are more vigilant. The theft was reported to Norfolk Police and anyone with information asked to contact them on 101.

Shortly after the burglary she found herself wondering if the burglars were back whenever she heard a noise. Her son and daughter-in-law fitted deadbolts on several internal rooms to help her feel more secure. “It’s like Fort Knox now,” she said.

Jane used to be a victim support worker and has spoken to burglary victims in the past. But she said although she could feel for them she never realised the full effect of it until it happened to her. “This is my village. What they have taken away from it as far as I’m concerned is a sense of security,” she said.

Homes in neighbouring Scratby and Hemsby were broken into on January 17. Marcus Stewart, 20, of Middlegate, Yarmouth was arrested and charged with those burglaries, along with two in Wrentham, Suffolk four days before. He is due to appear at Norwich Crown Court on February 21.

One of the victims of the house burglaries described the shock of discovering her home had been violated. Jane Roberts, was only out for about 40 minutes on New Year’s Eve, when she returned to find a utility room window wide open and realised what had happened.

“I rang 999, I was shaking like a leaf,” she said. The operator took details and calmed her as they waited for police to arrive.

But it wasn’t until later in the day when it really hit her. “Suddenly I thought what if they come back. I just felt so angry because this is my home and they had violated it.”

At first she thought nothing had been taken, but then she discovered her grandmother’s treasured locket containing a picture of her grandad, had gone along with a bracelet her goddaughter had given her. “It was just horrible,” she said.