Village News Archive

News from the Winterton-on-Sea Parish Council & the village, March 2020

An open letter from Winteton-on-Sea Parish Council, 29th March

Dear Villagers

With the continued escalation and huge concern from all of us during the Covid-19 crisis as I type this I note that 1228 people have died  to date , this number is set to increase dramatically.

We as a parish council continue to try and ensure that our village is safe offering support to all who need it and in particular the most vulnerable of our residents.

It is very much appreciated that extreme concern, worry and in some situations anger are present unfortunately because within Winterton last weekend, we had an influx of visitors who were, what can only be best described as naïve, ignorant & foolish to the seriousness of the situation. Consequently, visitors ignored all the guidelines and still treated the village as a destination for dog walking, exercising and an escape away from their own areas.

At this time in the escalating situation, it would be appropriate to say that by not accepting the government guidelines visitors are being disrespectful to the health and wellbeing of the residents of Winterton-on-Sea. To this end and to deter day-trippers and others the following is as we understand in place until further notice:    

Beach Car park is closed

The Beach toilets are closed

The Village Chip shop is closed

Dunes Café is closed

The Fisherman’s Return is closed

Holiday Let bookings as much as we can determine are cancelled and no new bookings are being taken; the vast majority of 2nd homes in the village are Holiday lets . Police are patrolling the village on a regular basis and it has been witnessed that several people are being stopped, questioned with respect to the reason for being in the village and turned away as appropriate. In discussions with the Police, it is the current situation that they cannot stop home owners turning up in the village, however this may change in the coming days as Government tighten Police powers to act.

Current guidelines are STAY AT HOME SAVE LIVES

The only reasons to leave home are:

To shop for basic necessities or pick up medicine

To travel to work when you absolutely cannot work from home

To exercise once a day, alone or with members of your household

Always stay two meters apart

DO NOT meet others, even friends & family

We as a Parish Council have been active in assembling a support group within the village to assist in helping individuals who are restricted by quarantine or other circumstances. If you are self-isolating, unwell, housebound and need provisions or the collection of a prescription and have no available friends or relatives you should phone the Parish Council. Leaflets  were distributed throughout the village last Saturday explaining and containing contact phone numbers:

01493 394932

01493 393877

01493 393978

The network of volunteers is growing and to all these people we are very grateful.

We as a Parish Council and the friendly residents of our beautiful, welcoming village Winterton-on-Sea are saying during this critical, life threatening time with particular focus on the most vulnerable to  people who against all advice from the UK Government and the World Health Authority still intend visiting, PLEASE stay away at this very difficult time in all our lives we look forward to welcoming you back when we all hopefully return to normal, safe and healthy.

In closing, we all know the rules please remember the following ;

Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds

Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available

Wash your hands as soon as you get back home

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands)

When you cough or sneeze put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Stay In touch with family and friends over the phone or internet

Try to keep yourself busy do light exercise

Be mindful of your mental health  

KEEP SAFE

© All content copyright 2021

WE have made the decision to close the car park from 4.00pm today and would ask all visitors to stay away during these unprecedented times. We have the full support of Winterton Parish Council and the closure is in line with other Norfolk coastal car parks.

We thought by keeping the car park open it would help to take any visitors away from the village centre. But we did not anticipate such an influx over the weekend.

With a high number of elderly residents in the village closing the car park is the right thing to do.

We feel very grateful that people wish to visit our beach and use our car park and we thank all our loyal patrons for their support, but please don’t visit us at this time.

Consider how you would feel if people were unnecessarily coming to your street, or the area where your loved ones live. We hope to see you again in better times.

An annoucement from the owners of the car park, 23rd March

An appeal for volunteers and donations to support local organisations and communities during Covid-19                                                         

The Voluntary Sector and Great Yarmouth Borough Council are appealing to the community for volunteers and donations to help support residents as part of the local response to Covid-19. 

The borough council is working hard with community and public sector partners, both at local and county-wide levels, to continue to support our communities, particularly those who are considered vulnerable and/or self-isolating without any other means of neighbourly or family support. Further information about the new Community Team for Great Yarmouth will be released in the coming days.

As part of this, Voluntary Norfolk and Community Action Norfolk are now working with local councils and health providers to co-ordinate a county-wide appeal for volunteers. This ensures a centralised point where individuals and groups can register and coordinate their work in response to requests. If you able to volunteer, please click here for more information and to register.

To ensure this much-needed support continues to be available to support community projects, a funding call has been put in place, led by the Norfolk Community Foundation. Donations received will allow the local organisations involved to carry on their vital care and support work during this challenging time. Click here to donate.

Cllr Carl Smith, leader of the council, said: “The council, alongside the voluntary sector, are working hard behind the scenes to get preparations in place as soon as possible that will allow us to offer services such as deliveries of food and medicine, to those most vulnerable and those who are self-isolating but who may not have family and friends around them.

“We are asking for people to rally round their community in this trying time and help in any way they can, whether that be volunteering or donating. We have already seen a fantastic level of community response and we are so grateful for those who are helping us to support those in need. The new volunteering portal aims to help coordinate those efforts and match them with need, so we all work together efficiently and effectively.”

An appeal from Great Yarmouth Borough Council, 23rd March

A message from Winterton-on-Sea Parish Council

The Village Hall is currently closed for bookings for any other matters relating to the Village Hall please call the Caretaker on 07707 728525.

For emergencies or urgent matters please call Cllr Smithson 01493 394932 or leave a message on 07918 978921.

Kind regards

Parish Clerk

Winterton-on-Sea Parish Council

A call for volunteers, 22nd March

Call for Volunteers: Voluntary Norfolk will be using their volunteering portal to gather the various roles that are needed in the sector.

The link for Members to promote and direct local community groups and individual people interested in volunteering to is:

https://www.voluntarynorfolk.org.uk/home-2/volunteering-2/register-to-volunteer-2

Call for Fund-raising: Again working countywide in Norfolk, the Norfolk Community Foundation has set-up a ‘Covid-19 Community Response Fund’ to support vital community projects which are well-placed to take action. This additional public funding-raising will help to adapt or expand services to provide much needed care and support – now, and in the months ahead.

The Norfolk Community Foundation hyperlink to allow people to make a donation is:

https://www.norfolkfoundation.com/giving-philanthropy/covid19communityresponsefund/

Great Yarmouth Borough Council to suspend collection of bulky waste items

27th March

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is temporarily stopping the collection of bulky waste items for four weeks, in order to prioritise collection of rubbish and recycling bins during the coronavirus pandemic.

The council asks residents with large waste items to hold onto these on their own properties until normal service is resumed. Residents are reminded not to use illegal waste collectors, as this results in fly-tipping. It is the legal duty of the householder to check that anyone they pass waste onto has a waste carrier licence from the Environment Agency.

No further bookings of bulky waste can be made, but collections booked before March 26 are still being undertaken into next week. In order to focus resources of essential services, the council has scaled back a number of other non-essential services, such as grass-cutting and grounds-maintenance. The situation will be kept under review.

The council is also postponing brown bin garden waste collections for four weeks, from Monday, March 30. Garden waste collection is an opt-in paid-for scheme, so customers will have their subscriptions extended by a month to account for the loss of the two fortnightly collections. At this time, no new subscriptions can be made to the scheme nor existing subscriptions renewed.

Cllr Penny Carpenter, chairman of the environment committee, said: “In line with Government guidelines, the council is prioritising staff and resources into our most essential and necessary services, which includes the collection of rubbish bins, recycling bins and clinical collections.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but these are exceptional circumstances and it is neither possible nor desirable to operate business as usual. I would like to pay tribute to all the staff who are keeping essential services going and to thank the public for their continued understanding and patience. We are continuing to review the situation and will resume normal service as soon as circumstances allow. Please bear with us."

Great Yarmouth Borough Council

A message from Cllr John Smithson, of Winterton-on-Sea's Parish Council

24th March

We are holding meetings as a parish in order to provide support for people who are in isolation, and do not have a local support mechanism.

We have received from a member of the parish, information from Ludham council/church which will in all probability provide a frame work, to enable us to get basic needs to the vulnerable.

I would very much encourage people, who represent other community groups in the parish to get in touch with the parish council in order that we can coordinate and maximise our resources.

We hope to have firm information, early next week.

All offers of help and advise can be forwarded to my email: mrjohnsmithson@gmail.com

An announcement by Winterton Coastwatch, 19th March

Corona virus

Following government advice & in line with Sea Safety Group policy Winterton Coast Watch has closed until further notice from 17th March 2020.

All other Coast Watch stations have or are closing in the next few days.

There will be further announcements to follow so please check this page or Winterton Coast Watch Facebook page www.woscw.co.uk for any new information.

Stay safe,

Winterton Coast Watch.