PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
The Parish Council
The Parish Council is made up of 9 councillors who represent the village on various matters. We are one of three tiers of local government: the others being Norfolk County Council and the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk. There is currently a councillor vacancy. If you are interested in finding out more contact the clerk.
We meet at 7.00 pm usually on the first Monday of the month at the Memorial Pavilion, Fakenham Road, South Creake, but due to the current situation with COVID-19 we are meeting virtually. Please see the agenda for joining details. The public is very welcome to attend our meetings.
The Parish Council are responsible for:
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The Allotments
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The children's Play Area
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Outdoor Gym
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The upkeep of the Village Green and Playing Field
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Bus Shelter and Seating
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Street Lighting
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General Maintenance around the Village.
New Information Boards
The Parish Council have already received some positive comments following the installation of the new information boards on the banks of the River Burn.
The signs were designed by Tangerine Creative and installed by Parish Councillors very recently to inform both visitors and those living in the village as to how they can help to manage the duck population and protect our rare chalk stream – River Burn.
Changes to the Mobile Library Service
Following the public consultation last year and the final decisions made by Norfolk County Council Cabinet in January 2023. We are preparing to decommission one mobile library and continue to operate five vehicles, and an electric mini mobile, due for commission later this year.
n accordance with the key principles agreed by Members, Norfolk Library and Information Service will cease the majority of stops that happen within 1.5 miles of a branch library.
We will be working with customers to ensure they know what is happening. Anyone that is unable to visit a branch library will be able to contact their local library and request a visit from the Home Library Service (HLS) that we operate in partnership with the Royal Voluntary Services (RVS).
Every route and stop has now been reviewed and whilst we have tried as hard as we can to minimise disruption, it does mean that in a number of cases the day and time which the mobile library visits has had to change. This is to ensure that we make best use of the mobile library resource for as many people and communities that we can.
Customers at all affected stops are being given a copy of the new timetable and the planned introduction date for the revised services is Monday 3rd July. All the new stop and route information will be on our website www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries (available from 30th June).
Should you have any comments about these amendments please don’t hesitate to contact us at central.mobiles.lib@norfolk.gov.uk.
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Time to Talk Public Sessions
Mr Giles Orpen-Smellie, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) will be hosting online “Time to Talk” sessions, which are open to the public and offer an opportunity for a 15minute slot with the PCC either via Microsoft Teams or telephone to discuss any issues.
The dates these sessions are to be held are below and to book a slot please contact the PCC’s office directly at opccn@norfolk.police.uk or call 01953 424455.
Thursday 30th March 9.30-12.30
Friday 12th May 9.30-12.30
Friday 21st July 9.30-12.30
Friday 18th August 9.30-12.30
Friday 3rd November 9.30-12.30
Norfolk ALC - Help in a Crisis
With increasing energy prices and ever rising food and commodity prices we are all anticipating that many people among us will struggle this coming autumn and winter. There are many places that people can turn for help and support, however, knowing exactly where to go for the right type of advice can be tricky.
In order to help you offer the best possible advice to your residents and to provide quick links to sources of help and support, Norfolk ALC has put together the 2 documents.
The first “short” document offers a single page of contact links to advice services and other lists of information about places people can go for help; this document has been deliberately edited down to keep all the information on one page so it can be viewed at a glance.
The second document is an expanded list of sources of help, that you may wish to keep.
Norfolk County Council - Cut back in bus services due to driver shortages
The following cut backs will be happening to Sanders bus services from 30th October due to driver shortages. The revised timetables will be in place until at least Easter. All services mentioned are under contract to Norfolk County Council.
Service 23: Litcham area to Norwich: Wednesdays only: Return journey from Norwich moved forward by 30 minutes to 1310
Service 27 & 28: Creakes to Fakenham and Fakenham Town service: Service withdrawn on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, now only operating on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Service 25: Litcham area to Norwich: Tuesdays withdrawn, now only operating on Fridays
Norfolk Resilience Forum
This multiagency update provides information to customers and businesses affected by the flooding on the actions being taken and gives the contact details for each organisation involved in flooding response, including Anglian Water of course.
Norfolk Resilience Forum Flooding Letter April 2021
Norfolk ALC
Introducing CHANCES Helping People Get Back Into Work
After rather more than a year of lockdown we’re all looking forward to a bit more personal freedom, but many people have struggled over the past year and need help to get back into work – or, if they are young, to find their very first job. They will struggle even more if they suffer from ill health – be it of the body or the mind – possibly exacerbated by lockdown.
Chances is a project to help and Jason Slack, the Kings Lynn Advocate for Chances (but speaking here for the whole of Norfolk) has sent us this wonderful article explaining the project and asks if we can spread the word far and wide in our own communities.
Voluntary Norfolk’s Employment Services Team are part of a new £4.9 million partnership project, led by Norfolk County Council, to help people get back into work and to support people that may find it difficult to work due to their health.
The Chances Project delivers personalised employment support to people both near to and far from work, including those seeking help with health conditions, employability skills, or a lack of self-confidence.
WHO WE CAN HELP
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Aged 18 or over
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Unemployed for one day or more
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Living in the Norfolk area
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Has the legal right to live and work in the UK
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Motivated to move forwards and looking to make positive life changes.
WE CAN OFFER
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Specially designed help for people who are not able to access current national support schemes
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One to one coaching to improve job prospects, skills, confidence and wellbeing
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Support to overcome barriers to employment, such as transport, childcare or physical or learning disabilities.
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Support and advice on job searching, CVs and application forms
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Access to a variety of voluntary positions and training opportunities
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Funding to purchase essential equipment or ID to increase employment prospects
All of our support is locally based, bespoke, flexible, one-to-one, completely free and voluntary. As such, within reason there are no time limits on the support we give individuals. We will take the time to forge community links, trust and rapport with individuals and ‘go the extra mile’ for them where needed.
The Acres – Registering a Public Right of Way
The Parish Council has also submitted an application to Norfolk County Council in order to register the route across the field between Leicester Road and London Lane, locally known as ‘The Acres’ as a ‘public right of way’. To accompany the application, we required a number of ‘user evidence forms’ to be completed which many of you kindly did. The Council would like to thank those of you who have supported the application and also to say thank you to the individual living in the village who was instrumental in helping the Parish Council negotiate the process.
We have been informed that the application process is slow and given that Norfolk County Council has a high volume of similar applications it could take two or more years for a decision to be announced. To reassure those who have concerns, Norfolk County Council have advised that if the route is ploughed up and highway rights are eventually certified they will remain and the landowner will have to reinstate the route to its present form.