Summer Fete – I think most people would agree that the fete was a great success It wasn’t possible to count visitors but, there was good footfall throughout the day. My thanks go to those who organised the event; they did a brilliant job. I also thank those who helped on the day. The proceeds were shared between the Village Hall and the Tiny Tots group. We expect to offer another fete next year.

Village pub – It’s good to see the pub reopened and, apparently, thriving. Being so close to Chicken Roundabout I am pleased to see references to it in Barwoods signage, their wi-fi password and in the cocktail menu! The Council does have concerns about dangerous parking in the Loddon Road when Barwoods is busy. We understand the pub management is doing its best to discourage parking here. We have alerted NCC but no action is proposed.

Highways – I filled in an online form to report the fallen 30/60mph sign in Loddon Road. It is “with Highways” but, at the time of writing, has not been fixed. I reported the faulty Loddon Road static speed monitor. The suppliers have told NCC it is too old to be repaired. NCC will decide whether or not to replace it. A number of residents have contacted DPC and NCC requesting traffic calming measures in Pirnough Street. We share their concerns. Parish Councils have no authority over such matters. The PC will raise our concerns, again, with NCC. A small number of volunteers have removed the graffiti from the signage at Chicken Roundabout three times. We will not tolerate this vandalism.

Public Amenity Area (Adjacent to The Malting development) – Regular readers of this magazine will know that the lack of maintenance of this area is an ongoing problem. In an effort to get progress we have badgered P J Livesey, the owners, but, to no avail. They ignore us. The Broads Authority (BA) is the planning authority for this part of the parish. Currently, there is no indication that the BA is succeeding in making the owners fulfil their obligations, under the planning permission, to “maintain the area in perpetuity.” Against this background the PC has decided to ask P J Livesey to give the land to the parish. We would require PJL to pay the legal costs of the conveyance; we will request a sum of money to pay for the initial clear up. The cost of future maintenance of the area would, of course, become a cost to the PC but it would be a very small amount per household. Residents already pay for the upkeep of the village’s other open spaces.

Proposed Pump Track for the Thwaite Road Play Area – The priority now is to raise the necessary funds to go ahead. We have drawn a blank with a number of grant awarding bodies. Sizewell – we are too far away; National Lottery – we are not in a deprived area. At the July meeting the Council found ways of making money available for the project. With the support of our Responsible Financial Officer, £50k will be taken from a budget for the repair/replacement of street lamps. Sufficient funds are left in the budget for this work, for several years, and the withdrawal will be restored over five years. £20k will come from a budget for the management of our play areas. These amounts will make grant applications elsewhere more likely to succeed since grant awarding bodies often expect match-funding. Several applications will be sent off soon.

Keith Weston
Chair to Ditchingham Parish Council