Great Ellingham Parish Council

Sent out on behalf of Norfolk County Council – for information

On 6 December 2016 the Secretary of State approved an Order to make the whole of England an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone for 30 days, in order to help protect poultry from a strain of Avian Influenza in Europe. Welsh and Scottish Governments have also introduced identical measures.

Outbreaks of a highly pathogenic strain of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in poultry and wild birds in several countries in Europe. No cases have been found in the UK and this Order is a precautionary measure to help prevent potential infection from wild birds. Poultry keepers are being urged to reinforce biosecurity measures at their premises.

This Prevention Zone introduces mandatory enhanced biosecurity measures and requires the immediate housing of all poultry, or where this is not practical, their separation from wild birds. Other captive birds should also be kept separate from wild birds. Keepers should also ensure that poultry and other captive birds are provided with feed and water that is not accessible to wild birds.

The full Order and its requirements can be seen here –

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/575130/ai-prevention-zone-161206.pdf

Further information regarding the latest situation can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu

Poultry keepers should keep a close watch for signs of disease. If they have any concerns they should seek prompt advice from their vet.

Members of the public are also being asked that if they find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or gulls, or 5 or more dead wild birds of other species in the same location, they report them to the Defra Helpline on 03459 33 55 77.

The parish council are in discussions with the developer regarding the design and equipping of the piece of amenity land which Melton Farms have donated to the village.

Please click here to view the proposed design of the area.

Stow Bedon’s Indian Prince H.H. Frederick Victor Duleep Singh (Prince Freddy).

Saturday 12th November 2016 2.30 p.m. at St Margaret ’s Church, Breckles, NR17 1ES

A talk by Peter Bance, Historian on the Last Maharaja of the Punjab and the Duleep Singh family.

Prince Frederick was a devout Christian and was instrumental in saving several Norfolk Churches. In 1906 Frederick took up residence at Breckles Cottage (renaming it Breckles House), Stow Bedon as a tenant of Charles Bateman Hanbury. He was often referred to locally as “The Black Prince”. Prince Frederick lived at Breckles House until 1909, when he secured a long lease for the larger Blo’ Norton Hall, where he spent the rest of his life until he died in 1926. The fascinating history of the Last Maharaja of the Punjab and his children is detailed in two books written and compiled by historian Peter Bance Sovereign, Squire and Rebel Maharaja Duleep Singh and The Duleep Singhs, the Photograph Album of Queen Victoria’s Maharaja .

In this, the 90th anniversary year of Prince Frederick’s death, we are extremely fortunate to announce that Peter Bance who has written and lectured extensively on the Duleep Singh Family will be giving at talk at St Margaret’s Church, Breckles at 2.30 pm on Saturday 12th November. Copies of Peter Bance’s books will be available for those wishing to buy a copy and he will be signing copies after the talk. Tickets at £5 are limited.

Please telephone to reserve a ticket as soon as possible:

Karen Allen 01953 498 408

Ann Cuthbert 01953 483 128

Your local Mobile Library Service

Mobile libraries are free to join and are open to people of all ages.  Items can be chosen from the vehicle or reserved via the online catalogue for collection from a mobile library. They can be returned to any branch library or mobile library in Norfolk.  All mobile libraries are equipped with a lift for people with mobility problems and wheelchair users.

Our mobile libraries offer:

• Fiction books for adults and children (book request: adults – 60p, children – free)
• Non-fiction books for adults and children (subject requests are free)
• Large print books (book request 60p)
• DVDs for adults and children (a small charge applies)
• Audio books on CD and tape (tapes – free, a small charge applies for CDs for adults, children – free)
• Jigsaw puzzles (free)

The mobile library service offers an e-mail reminder system to advise mobile library users that the mobile library will be in their area within the next two days. If you wish to be added to the mailing lists, please ask your mobile library driver for the green e-mail slip to complete or alternatively contact us direct with your name, e-mail address and mobile library route number.

The mobile library service is keen to recruit more ‘Mobile Library Friends’ – volunteers who help us to promote the service by doing any of the following:

• telling their friends/neighbours about the mobile library
• delivering fliers locally
• putting up posters
• suggesting improvements/alternative stops.

If you are interested, please speak to the mobile library driver or contact us direct.

To check the mobile library timetables for your area, please click on the link: www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries-local-history-and-archives/libraries/your-local-library/routes-and-timetables and choose your village from the list. Or click here:

mobile library timetable

More information is available on the Norfolk County Council website: www.norfolk.gov.uk (search ‘mobile libraries’), or contact the mobile library office on 01603 222303 or e-mail: [email protected] .

Road users reminded to look out for each other in safety campaign Drivers and cyclists are being urged to look out for each other, as part of a joint drive by Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Constabulary to reduce the number of cyclist casualties on the road. ‘Mind out for each other’ encourages all road users to be more considerate towards each other with the aim of helping to make Norfolk’s roads safer – for both cyclists and motorists. Norfolk is regarded as a safe place to cycle, and 1 in 5 drivers cycle at least once a month, however both need to do more to keep each other safe. This campaign comes in response to the increasing number of adults taking up cycling, and the rising number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Norfolk’s roads. 48 pedal cyclists were killed or seriously injured (one fatality, 47 serious injuries) on Norfolk’s roads in 2015 – more than in any other year during the last decade. This is a 50% increase on the 2014 figure (32 – no fatalities, 32 serious injuries), and more than double the number killed or seriously injured in 2010 (22 – one fatality, 21 serious injuries). Three out of every four cyclist injury collisions occur at junctions, and cyclists are seven times more likely to be injured on urban roads than on rural ones. Running until mid-October, the campaign includes bus, radio, press and online advertising. Norfolk County Council will be focusing on making both drivers and cyclists aware of the issues around cyclist safety, while Norfolk Constabulary are concentrating their efforts on enforcement to ensure all road users are obeying the laws of the road. The council will be offering free workplace seminars to cyclists to cover the economic, health and environmental benefits of cycling, whilst providing advice on equipment, routes and behaviours and delivering key safety messages. As a followup, commuter cyclists will be offered a bespoke on-road training session, which will offer an insight into the potential hazards a cyclist could face on their commute to work and advice on their riding behaviours. Norfolk Constabulary will maintain their ongoing commitment to treat all road users equally; if a cyclist is seen breaking the law or putting themselves or other road users at risk, they will be stopped and dealt with in exactly the same way a driver would be. Norfolk County Council’s Casualty Reduction Team are taking bookings from businesses for cycling theory workplace seminars. If you are interested in setting up a session, or want more information on what the sessions entail, email [email protected] or call 0344 800 8020. For further information, including tips on how car drivers and cyclists can help keep each other safe, please visit www.think.norfolk.gov.uk/mindout

16865_ncc_cyclist_a4_poster-space

A resident has made the parish council aware that some recently issued bills from Anglian Water may be incorrect. It is possible that you may have been charged for sewerage, even if you are only supplied with water. Please check your last two bills.

There may be good news coming for some of your parishioners if they have a private pumping station on their property.

Currently, homeowners have to spend hundreds of pounds every year for electricity running costs, maintenance and repairs to look after these private pumping stations. They may even have been flooded if it’s broken down in the past.

From October 2016, many of these private pumping stations will transfer over to Anglian Water and become our responsibility. We will take over all of the maintenance and the running costs too, saving customers hassle, worry and money.

We’d like to ask for your support in letting local residents know about this, and asking them to get in touch with us if they think they have a private pumping station.

To help customers identify and report the pumping stations easily, we have launched a specialist website: www.spotapumpingstation.co.uk.

We have also produced some posters, which you can download here, that can be published in your parish magazines and newsletters, or placed on your parish noticeboards.

If you have any questions about this campaign, please reply to [email protected]. For any other queries, please contact our Public Affairs Team on [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your support.

Anglian Water Private Pumping Stations Campaign Team

Norfolk County Council are conducting a survey in Breckland and South Norfolk as part of their Total Transport project to find out more about how local people travel, why they might struggle to travel, and how they access travel information.

If you live in either of these areas and would like to have your say, please use the link provided – http://tinyurl.com/TotalTransport – to complete the online survey. The online survey closes on Sunday 10 July.

Alternatively, if you do not have access to the internet, please call the Total Transport Project Officer, Kristen Jones, on 01603 22 34 83 and we will send a paper copy of the survey to you, which you can return by freepost address. Paper surveys need to be returned by Wednesday 6 July.

Thank you very much – we look forward to hearing from you.

EACH 2016 Ride for Life

Looking for a great day out? Come and join us for a wonderful family day out for the 2016 East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) Ride for Life. Set in the beautiful surroundings of Thetford Forest, you’ll have a choice of off-road and on-road cycle routes (ranging from 10 miles to 50 miles), or for those who’d rather not cycle, why not don your walking boots and enjoy a 3 or 6 mile walk? And new for this year, we have an exciting Treasure Trail for under 5’s, with prizes all the way! Enter as an individual, a family, a group of friends or why not get a group of colleagues together and enter as a team?! The more, the merrier, and all funds raised will go towards helping us to continue to provide care and support to children, young people and their families, as well as “the nook”, a new purpose-built children’s hospice in the heart of Norfolk. Entertainment, refreshments and activities; there’s something for everyone – dogs on leads welcome too.

For more information, please visit our website www.each.org.uk where you can enter online. Alternatively email [email protected] , call 01953 666767 or visit one of our shops for a registration form.

Reg charity 1069284

Ride for Life 2016

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Voluntary Norfolk are looking for drivers to help people attend medical appointments. Further information and contact details can be found here:

Volunteer Driver Information