WAYLAND PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRUST

REPRESENTATIVES MEETING MINUTES FOR JULY 25TH2016

PRESENT: Karen Weir (Ovington), Katharine Wolstenholme (Watton Tourism Assoc.), Roger Harrold (Saham Toney), Bronwen Tyler, Chair, (Thompson), Claire Bowes (Breckland),Iris Welford (Great Hockham), Stan Hebborn (Watton), Jan Godfrey, Suzanne Rhind, Pam Morgan.

  1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

Bronwen welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Marcia Forsyth (Ashill) and Lisa Savage (Watton Sports Centre).

  1. MINUTES OF THE MAY MEETING

The minutes of the last meeting were approved as being an accurate record.

  1. PARTNERSHIP FUNDED PROJECTS
  1. Heritage

Bronwen updated on the progress with the project. The book is now complete and has been printed. Jan is working on 3 trail leaflets around Wayland Memorials and one is at the printers ready for the celebration event. A DVD is being produced of additional material. Some additional material that has been collected could be used to produce other books outside of the project. The launch, on 4th August at Broom Hall, is in hand with Neil Storey giving a talk. The final report on the project is due by 31st August. Iris asked how many villages are involved with the project?Bronwen explained that all Wayland communities have been included, even where there is not an active person to lead the research.

  1. HAPPY

Suzanne reported that the project is progressing well. The steering group, which has 9 members, is meeting regularly and they are taking the lead in decision-making. Additional volunteers are required so Jean is producing posters and attending the Wayland Show to recruit extra people. She has also produced a questionnaire to find out what people would like. There are two Teddy Bear Picnic’s organised – 23/8 in Gt Cressingham and 25/8 in Watton. A new Games group will be starting at the library from 29/8. Stan suggested that the HAPPY project could apply to the Town Council for extra funding.

  1. Growing Together

Suzanne reported that we have appointed Pamela Morgan as the Project Worker and are delighted that she is able to join us for the meeting tonight. Pam starts with us from 1st August and will want to meet as many people as possible as soon as possible to kick-start the project as it has a short timescale.

  1. Dementia Café

Jan reported that the Dementia Café is going well. The funding that we have received so far has enabled the group to provide additional activities such as Extend and to purchase games and to go on trips with the group.

  1. PARTNER COMMUNITY REPORTS

Thompson: Recent events held include Open Gardens, a Flower Festival and a Midsummer Merriment. There is a Car Treasure Hunt planned for Sunday. The annual Lavender’s Lunch is during the first weekend in September. They are waiting to hear about planning permission for the new Village Hall. Unfortunately there have been some negative comments. JG asked if the meeting were happy for her to write a general letter of support for the scheme outlining the importance of quality village halls to communities. This was agreed. A first stage bid has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for repairs to the Church.

Watton: Stan reported that the Town Council are planning to host a Firework event on 29th October on the Wayland Show showground. Details are not yet confirmed so this is not for public promotion yet. The aim is for the event to be free. Help will be required nearer the time, particularly around publicity. It was felt that this was an excellent idea.

Ashill: Roger reported on behalf of Marcia that there is a fundraising BBQ planned for 13th August 4 – 8pm in the Rectory Gardens. Tickets are £5 for adults and 32.50 for children.

Saham Toney: Roger reported that the Village Fete was held on Saturday and proved to be a successful day. However new helpers will be needed next year to take other the organisation otherwise it will not be able to go ahead. A Cream Tea is taking place on 28th August at 66 Hills Road and on 10th September they will be involved with the Norfolk Churches Trust cycle ride. On 17th September there is a Car Treasure Hunt starting at the Church, tickets are £5 per car with an optional tea extra.

The main issue of concern in the village is the recent flooding and the impact new developments will have on this in the future. 20 properties were flooded on 28th June and 30th June with many people still displaced from their homes as a result. It was generally agreed that poor maintenance and/or removal of ditches/gulleysetc was a major contributory factor. Claire said that she had received assurances from NCC Highways that gulleys would be cleared. Jan asked Claire if NCC had any plans in place to address the future likelihood of events like this happening? Claire said that policies were being looked at. Watton Town Council are organising a meeting to bring together all relevant agencies to look at the issues in the town. Roger encouraged everyone to go on to the NCC website to report flood issues. Jan explained that in 2009 the Partnership encouraged partners to produce Emergency plans using templates provided by Breckland Council. These templates are still available if required. Stan reported that he had spoken to the manager at Jewson’s who said they have a supply of bags of sand for £2/3. They have also given a contact number so that they could be open within an hour in an emergency.

Norfolk County Council: Claire reported that public consultation is now open on devolution and encouraged everyone to have their say.Information is going to individual households. There is going to be a second verge cut following complaints. Stan said that signs are being covered by overgrown hedges/tress. Of particular issue is a 40MPH sign on the B1108 as you enter Carbrooke outside the Flying Fish which is obscured.Claire said she would follow this up. Also following complaints, the proposal to turn off the street lights on the Brandon Road has been withdrawn. The annual Summer Reading Challenge is now under way for children in libraries.

Breckland Council: Claire reported that Breckland is again running its summer programme of activities for 5-11 year olds. Visit the website for more information or contact the Communities Team.

Wayland Show: Claire encouraged people to enter the home-baking and craft classes etc. New this year is Have-a-go Stock Judging and a Dog Show. The Annual Spring Ball raised £14,000 for the Alzheimers Society.

Great Hockham: Iris reported that Thetford Academy had visited the village to perform a rendition of Romeo and Juliet on the village green as a thank you to a resident. Starting on 31st July for 3 weekends the Eagle pub is hosting a Beer, BBQ and Jazz festival.

Ovington: Karen reported that the Gravity Race was a great success and that they are hoping to do it again next summer; £499.49 was raised for the Village Hall. The Church is hosting an Opera Singer on 26th August at 7:30pm. The Parish Council are in the process of contacting landowners in the village to ask them to clear ditches.

  1. Forthcoming Events
  1. Gallery Birthday:Jan reported that it is the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the Gallery this year so a special event is being held on 9th September with an exhibition ‘Anything Goes’.
  2. Exhibitions: The Photography competition has had 36 entries which will be displayed over the summer. This will be judged by the Mayor and her son and there will also be a public vote. In November an additional Remembrance event is planned.
  3. 2017 Book Week: Jan presented initial plans for a Book Week to be held between 27th February – 4th March 2017 to coincide with World Book Day. There will be lots of different activities such as competitions, exhibitions, workshops etc. and we are looking for as many other organisations to get involved as possible to make this a real Wayland-wide event. Jan is currently applying for funding to support this. This is the first step towards widening our tourism focus.
  1. Consultation
  1. Tourism Project: Following a forward planning meeting held by trustees, Bronwen has put together a proposal for tourism-related packages that could meet our economic, cultural, environmental and social remit for Wayland. This was discussed and it was agreed that this was a good project to start with because of its wide impact and also because we have a lot of resources already such as the Church Tours and Word Journey etc. We now need to investigate it further with regards to the costs involved, such as staff etc. Suzanne suggested the Power to Change grant which has a funding round in October would be a good target to aim for. We are looking for additional ideas/comments so please feed these back to us. Stan said that if WTC can support in any way, please ask. Pam asked about the visitor profile for Wayland? It is mostly older people but we would want to try and attract more families as the activities don’t have to all be in Wayland. Claire said to speak to Breaking New Ground. Stan reported that he was in talks with National Express to re-introduce the Watton stop. Iris said that she is part of the Attleborough Creative Writing group who might be interested in getting involved.
  1. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was none.

  1. CHAIR & DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on Monday 26th September, 7pm at Broom Hall. Stan nominated Watton Town Council as the next Chair.