The taxi bus service bringing people back to Denton from Harleston will be changed from Tuesday to Wednesday starting on 5th January 2011.
The Tuesday taxi bus will not operate on 28th December or 4th January but the Friday service will run on 24th and 31st December then again from 7th January.
The results of a meeting between the local parish councils, the bus company and the county council was reported to the January meeting of Denton PC.
Further details can be found on the Transport page.
An open meeting was held at the Village Hall on Thursday 2nd December to discuss the revised Playground Improvement Scheme. Details of the modified scheme were explained.
Work on-site has started. It is hoped that all the new equipment will be installed before Christmas.
This year’s Village Supper followed in the great tradition of these annual events. Great food, the savoury tart, the excellent roast beef and the gorgeous lemon sponge were well beyond Delia standards; the wine (chosen by the village’s own “sommelier de haute qualite”) was very quaffable and, of course, the company was just brilliant.
Congratulations and thanks to everybody who contributed to what is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Denton social calendar.
The Viilage Hall’s Annual General Meeting will be held, at the Hall, on Monday 6th December 2010 at 8.00pm. All inhabitants of the village of eighteen years of age and upwards are entitled to attend and vote at the meeting.
The AGM will be followed by a meeting of the Management Committee. For further details please phone Kath Hanner (788414) or David Godsmark (788352).
Liz Cargill who leads the Village Compost Scheme has announced the results for the 2010 season, the seventh, which ended recently.
A total of 15.75 tonnes of material were collected for processing. This will qualify for around £750 of recycling credits. When sales of the compost produced are added the total income from the scheme comes to over £880 for the year.
The introduction of a 30 MPH speed limit through Denton is about to take a step forward.
One of the conditions attached to the construction of the new affordable houses in Norwich Road was the requirement for a speed limit; something most villagers have wanted for many years. The official advertisement announcing the scheme, which will run from just north of the new properties to just past Hillside (Mrs Hooker’s house) on Trunch Hill, is to appear in the EDP on November 19th.
The Ad has now appeared. It and further information now appear in the Features section.
There was good news for Denton households at this month’s meeting of the Parish Council. Responding to news that both the County and District Councils would be freezing their council tax levels for the coming year, parish councillors decided that they too should respond to the country’s current financial problems.
After discussing ways of balancing the books in 2011/12 they decided they could manage without increasing the precept at all beyond this year’s £3,231. The parish precept is collected by the district council as part of the overall Council Tax levy. In theory the charge (currently £20.84 for a Band D property) could fall if any new properties are completed before the start of the financial year in April.
Earlier this year Playbuilder funding of £47,000 was awarded to the village but then withdrawn. The latest announcement makes £25,000 available; enough for a significant re-vamp of the play area. There is a meeting later this week when we will hear more but we do know that the money will need to be spent by the end of March.
The special meeting to discuss the future of Denton’s bus service is to be held on 17th November. Representatives of both Denton and Alburgh Parish Councils will be meeting staff from Norfolk County Council and Anglian Bus. District Cllr. Murray Gray will also be there.
The November Parish Council meeting was told that bus users have raised a number of criticisms of the current, stop-gap, arrangements. The system works well on Tuesdays and Fridays when the taxi-bus brings passengers back from Harleston at a reasonable hour. On other days the wait in Harleston is too long. Switching the Tuesday service to Wednesdays, market day, would be sensible. Even more attractive would be a return to bringing the old 580 service back, serving Bungay and Harleston, even it was just for two days a week.
This year’s Rising Stars show was a great success. Nikki Wright’s clever adaption of the traditional Hansel and Gretel story, with lots of suitable local references, kept the audience laughing all the way through. To everybody’s relief the Witch was saved rather than burnt. The cast responded to the script wonderfully with brilliant performances. The youngest groups, appearing as elves and crows, were outstanding.
As usual the set and costumes were excellent and the orchestra did a great job. Getting the audience to join in most of the songs, familiar tunes with special words, worked very well. It was a great team performance. Details of the cast etc. can be found in the DVC Section.
There was a good turnout for the Coast to Coast evening at the Village Hall on October 9th. The Magnificent Eight (or was it Nine, or even more?) had done a great job in decorating the hall and their illustrated (with maps, pictures and video clips) presentation was most entertaining. An excellent supper was seved half way along the route from St Bees Head to Robin Hood’s Bay and the evening raised £280 for British Heart Foundation Funds.
This year’s Companion Dog Show, held at the Village Hall on October 3rd, was the most successful yet with a record number of entries. A good time was had by all, dogs and owners, and more than £1,000 raised for the Breast Cancer Care Charity.
Following the protests re the loss of the 580 service reported earlier there have been several developments.
First, as a stop gap measure, from next Monday 27th September, Mondays to Fridays, the 004 bus from Norwich to Harleston will divert via Denton. It will come up Trunch Hill, pick up at Chapel Corner at 9.02 am and then turn round to return down Trunch Hill on its way to Harleston. The return 004 service from Harleston will leave at 14.40. In addition to the 004, a taxi bus will operate, on Tuesdays and Fridays only, to pick up from Harleston at 11.30am to take passengers back to Denton. Note there will be no service to Bungay.
Our district councillor, Murray Gray, has taken up the issue and successfully moved a motion at last week’s council meeting deploring the lack of consultation and calling on Anglian Busses and the County Council to work with local parish councils to resolve the issue.
A special meeting of all the interested parties is to be held next month.
A public meeting held in the Village Hall on Monday 13th September heard about progress with the project to investigate the setting up of a Community Shop in Denton.
A steering group has been formed to move things forward. Further information can be found on a new page in the Features Section.
Details of this year’s Rising Stars show have been announced. There will be two performances at the Village Hall on Friday and Saturday, 29th/30th October.
It has been revealed that the village’s only scheduled bus service is to be withdrawn with effect from tomorrow Friday 3rd September.
The Anglia Bus 580 service, linking us with Bungay and Harleston with two buses a day in each direction, is the only way that most non car owners can access shops and other services.
The Parish Council have protested about the way this decision has been taken without any proper consultation or notice and they are pursuing the issue with the company and the County Council. It is claimed that bus drivers have not been issuing tickets to passengers for some time so any statistics quoted by the bus company must be questionable.
A group of Denton residents have now completed a coast to coast walk starting from St Bee’s Head in Cumbria and finishing at Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea coast.
A full report of their daily progress appears on a Special Page in the Features Section.
We are sad to report that, because of family commitments and health reasons, Johnnie Carslake is standing down as editor of the “Denton and Alburgh Parish News”. We must record our thanks to Johnnie for his great contribution to this vital part of community life.
The new editor, from the October issue, is Keith Dunbar of Alburgh. Contact details appear on the Parish Magazine page.
David Lambert and Jean Whipps are delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter Jennifer to Mr Paul Wharton son of Mr and Mrs Robert Wharton of Pulham Market.
Following recent events on the Playing Field the Parish Council have decided to take action to prevent any further similar occurences.
They have agreed to erect a barrier system of low metal posts and bars at a cost of around £750. This was obviously not included in the year’s budget so they are appealing to residents to make a contribution to the costs. These should be sent to the Parish Clerk, Pauline Sandell.
Alternatively, anyone willing to help with the installation work is asked to contact Terry Hanner, Tel:788414.
Anyone used to setting their clocks or watches by the Denton church clock had better “watch out” for the next few weeks.
One result of the work currently going on at the church, to install toilets and reorganise the tower area, is the temporary removal of the ladder that gives access to the clock winding mechanism. As a result the clock has stopped, at 9.30.
A highlight of this year’s Village Fete held at Glebe Farm was the Scarecrow Competition.
This attracted nearly twenty high quality entries and the judges, Alma and Eric Herring from Topcroft, had some difficulty deciding the winners. Eventually the prizes were awarded as follows:
First – Adrian and Gemma of Rose Cottage, Darrow Green Road with “Bloody Wind”.
Second – Margaret and David of Wheatcroft, Norwich Road with “Anyone for Stuffing”.
Third – Ken and Julie of Stonecroft, Norwich Road with “Family of Four”.
Also: Highly Commended – Kath & Terry of Woodgate, Darrow Green Road with “Fiddler on the Roof”.
All the caravans had left the playing field by 10.00 pm on Wednesday 23rd June.
The successful court submission by the Parish Council had the desired effect and the travellers departed without any further action being required.
A number of residents turned up on Thursday evening to clear up the litter etc. left on the site. We hope that the matter is now closed though it has cost the PC a total of £240.
Our cycling correspondents have submitted the following report.
We did it! Yes, we completed our proposed sponsored bicycle ride and have raised £433.50. We would like to thank everybody who supported our little venture and feel sure the money is going to a very good cause.
We began our ride at 9 a.m. setting off from Quidenham to cycle through the Lophams to Eye, then down to Debenham where we took a break for coffee and sticky buns. We continued due south through Ashbocking, Westerfield and into Ipswich arriving at the hospice in Walker Close at around 1 p.m. Then we cycled through the centre of Ipswich, took a route to Sproughton, Kersey, Great Waldingfield and arrived in Long Melford at about 4 p.m. We had completed 61 miles and decided to call it a day!
On the Sunday we had a leisurely start leaving Long Melford at 11 a.m. and made our way to Clare, before turning off towards Great Wratting, Carlton Green and Six Mile Bottom. At one point we found ourselves pushing our bicycles along a footpath we had mistaken for a national cycle track — a 1.5 mile walk along the side of a dyke! (time consuming but very pleasant) We cycled through Fen Ditton, took the Horningsea road and crossed the River Cam to Milton by way of a footbridge over a lock. Fortunately provision was made by way of a metal ramp to help cyclists push their bikes up two sets of steps, across the bridge and down more steps on the other side (great fun, but need to be reasonable strong).
We found the hospice at Milton, took photographs and had completed 36 miles that day making a total of 97 miles altogether. We had estimated 100, so not far out!
Our cricket correspondent has submitted the following report.
Denton cricketers braved the elements on Saturday and staged a match amongst themselves at Wortwell playing field where over 200 runs were scored as the rain and sunshine had their own battle for supremacy.
Whilst Robin Godsmark (33) and Matt Birkinshaw (20) chipped away at some rather friendly bowling, Ian Cooper filled his boots to score a breezy 70. Even after filling up on an interesting mix of cider, flapjacks and cheese sandwiches at the interval, chasing a total of 175 was too hard a task, and only Mike Goater made it into double figures as the side batting second mustered a meagre 41.
Throughout the game there were some terrific catches taken, none better than the two taken by Adrian (“I’ll only play if you’re short”) Hipwell.
It’s hoped that we can find some opposition to play against in the coming weeks to put this Denton side to the test. If you know of a team that would like a game please contact Steve Whiteman – (07751 900127).
Denton Parish Council has decided to take vigorous action to tackle the encroachment by travellers on the village playing field.
On Tuesday, 8th June, a well attended meeting of the Council heard reports of the opportunities for legal action against the current trespass. This included comments from South Norfolk Council’s Gypsy & Traveller Liaison Officer who confirmed that the Parish was handling the situation correctly. SNC’s solicitor had also been consulted.
The Parish Council had already delivered letters to all the travellers requesting that they should vacate the site by 10 am on Monday 7th June. This had not happened so at the meeting the Council decided to initiate action immediately through the County Court in Norwich to seek an Order for Possession from the court. It was anticipated that the case would be heard by the end of the following week. If this action was successful and the Order granted this would then be served on the travellers.
It was hoped that the travellers would respond by leaving without any further delay but, if necessary, enforcement action would be required with the grant by the court of a Warrant for Possession which might then involve the use of bailiffs. People at the meeting raised concerns about the potential costs of the process but members of the Council felt they had no alternative.
In accordance with the PC’s decision, proceedings were issued in the Norwich County Court on 9th June and on 10th June papers collected from the court showed Friday 18th June as the hearing date. On the same day court documents were served on travellers on the Playing Field with Norfolk Constabulary in attendance.
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At the court hearing in Norwich on the 18th before the District Judge the travellers were represented by a barrister but the Parish Council were successful in its claim for an Order for Immediate Possession. A special meeting of the Council was held the same evening and the Court Bailiff is being briefed. If the travellers, nine caravans are currently on site, do not move voluntarily appropriate enforcement action will take place to remove them from the playing field.
This report, first posted on 9th June, will be updated as the situation develops.
On Sunday, 30/5, a group of six caravans and associated vehicles set up camp on Denton Playingfield. How long they plan to stay at this location is unknown. A pony is currently tethered on the adjacent allotment land. Another, seventh, caravan has since arrived.
The Parish Council, who lease the land involved from the Rogerson Trust, are trying to take appropriate action. The police have been informed and have visited the site. South Norfolk District council have been contacted and their Gypsy & Traveller Liaison Officer, Tony Cooke, has visited the site. He has advised the PC of the options open to them and the issue will be discussed at the PC’s normal monthly meeting next Tuesday, 8/6 (a report of that meeting now appears above).
Our district councillor, Murray Gray, is also trying to help but it must be emphasised that neither the DC, nor the County Council, have any direct responsibility for taking action re trespass on private land.
In the meantime, to avoid any unpleasantness etc., residents are advised to avoid contact with the travellers.
It was reported at this month’s Parish Council meeting that Saffron Housing are making good progress with the development of their affordable housing project off Norwich Road. They hope to start work on site by the end of the month.
The Parish Council have been asked to suggest a name or names for the development. So far the only proposal, from a member of the Council — Peter Hill, is “Skinner’s Meadow” in recognition of the family who made the land available for the project.
The Parish Council have learnt that their bid for a major grant to pay for planned playground improvements has been successful.
As recorded in the Features Section, the project to provide a complete revamp of the children’s playground on the playing field has been moving forward steadily for more than a year. It was already under way when the county council announced their “Playbuilder” funding scheme and the Denton team, led by Annie Whitemen, responded by submitted a bid.
The Chairman and Vice-chairman of the Parish Council have been re-appointed for another year.
In spite of rumours of a possible parish putsch, this year’s PC Annual Meeting, held on 11 May, saw the re-election Liz Cargill and Terry Hanner to these positions.
The weekly collection of garden waste will resume on Sunday, 11th April, and will continue until the end of October.
Each household in the scheme will be provided with a supply of bags and an information sheet before collections begin. Users are requested to read the information sheet carefully; several problems were encountered last year.
Following the great success of their sponsored bicycle ride ride last year, Jenny Crowhill and Liz Cargill are at it again.
They hope to raise a few pennies for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice by cycling to visit each of the three hospices in the region during the weekend of May 15th/16th.
Various events are being organised by EACH in Thetford Forest but Jenny and Liz felt they would like to try to visit the hospices in Milton near Cambridge, Ipswich and Quidenham, a round trip of about 100 miles. They would love to complete the ride on the Saturday but, being realistic, may well have to finish the last 20 – 30 miles on the Sunday. We’ll see!
Further details will be provided on the website in due course.
The Norfolk Community Ambition Award scheme was the main topic at the Annual Parish Meeting held on March 16th.
Nearly 30 local residents attended the meeting at the Village Hall. Details of the scheme were described by Peter Hill. A single award of £50,000 was available but a set of detailed crieria had to be met. He circulated the following list of potential projects that had been put forward during the recent discusion on Dentontalk.
Shop including resurrecting Weekly Market/Buying Local
Community Car Share
Community Tool Share
Green Fuel Processing Plant
Allotments (Communal allotments), Community Farming
Broadband/ Computer Tech Share (Young and Old)
Music Workshop
Community Choir
Creative Arts East - Films
Cookery Courses
Tennis
Short Tennis
Promote sports based on extended Village Hall
The meeting then considered how the various projects matched the scheme’s criteria. It was recognised that most of them were just too small or limited to qualify. This did not mean they they should be dropped but might proceed by other routes. It was agreed that even the bigger proposals, like the provision of an all-weather tennis court, were unlikely to be successful in this competition. The meeting therefore decided that no bid should be made.
However there was considerable support for developing some of the smaller projects and two people offered to co-ordinate this work. Mike Goater, who is already pursuing the Short Tennis idea, will cover improving sports facilities and Adele Godsmark will pursue the cultural and IT themes. It was noted that these ideas might need to be linked to the planned extension of the Village Hall.
The meeting also received wide-ranging reports from the Chairman of the Parish Council, Liz Cargill, from the local County Councillor, Tony Tomkinson, and from our District Councillor, Murray Gray. They, and the other members of the Parish Council, were all thanked for their work on behalf of the parish over the last twelve months.
The Agenda for the Annual Parish Meeting, on Tuesday March 16th, is now available. It is hoped all parishoners interested in the Community Ambition Award scheme will attend.
A review by our theatre correspondent – Oldstager.
The annual Denton panto is, for me, one of the year’s highlights of entertainment. It invariably succeeds because, I think, it embraces the word “amateur” in its purest meaning. Latin experts may correct me, but I take the meaning of the word “amateur” to be “one who loves”. Our village panto is always written, constructed, performed and supported by people who seem to “love” what they are doing. Long may it remain so, for we, the villagers would be the poorer without this home-grown treasure.
The traditional fairy-tale of The Sleeping Beauty is well enough known for me not to repeat it, but in Dentonia, the kingdom in which it was set, we were offered extra layers and depths of story that kept us all intrigued. Not one, but three beauties; flash-forwards and flash-backs in time; even a revelation at the end that one of the characters was a princely descendant. Maybe he should have logged on to the Ancestry site a bit earlier!!
It was good to see some of the dependable characteristics of the performers being integrated into the show to enrich our delight, but I wouldn’t mind betting that some of the cast (the young ones in particular) have more to offer and to give, and I hope that some of them might want to build on this year’s achievements in next year’s panto. Learn the lines early, be comfortable about who you are, what your character is all about (indeed — what the scene is all about) and then you will be able not only to contribute to the work but to help build it.
A few words of praise. First of all, to you ALL, for having the will and the courage to stand up before us and to perform, to present to us an entertainment which lightens and enlightens our lives. It is an act of giving and we, the audience, applaud you for it and are thankful to receive it.
Next, to Gill who appears to have dreamed-up so much and to have fleshed-out the story; to all who created the colour behind the curtains — the sets and the costumes and the lights, which transported us to a new world, Dentonia behind the curtain of Denton. A special word of praise to, not one, but TWO musicians, Simon and Ken, who provided the bedrock of music for all the cast to build upon and sing so lustily.
In Repertory companies it used to be a nightly occurence for an audience to applaud the first entrance of their favourite actor within the regular company, and this, too, could happen in the West End with some stars, so it was with great pleasure that I noted on the Friday night (when I attended) that Terry received a similar accolade.
Mike Fitzgerald showed us a side to his character, which included at the curtain call a glimpse of long knickers (passion-killers I would have thought, Mike) and which proved highly entertaining, but be careful, Mike — it could be habit-forming and you might have to go into detox.
I must mention that the front of the programme stated that the production was dedicated to the memory of Roger Dove. A laudable sentiment in itself, but also highly laudable was the firm, assured and entertaining performance by Kathryn Dove as Clippy. Well done, Kathryn.
A number of Denton residents are taking advantage of an improved delivery service.
The local three-times-a-week milk delivery service provided Dairy Crest has been enhanced to include a wide range of essential foodstuffs and other domestic items. Under the “milk&more” service customers can order via the net up till 9.00 pm and have them delivered with their milk the following day.
Further details are available via the Shopping Page.
This year’s Annual Parish Meeting, on Tuesday March 16th, will include a discussion on the proposals raised for a bid from Denton under the Norfolk “Community Ambition” award scheme.
The meeting’s agenda will include all the normal business, reports from village organisations etc., but this year there will be an additional item. Under the scheme communities can obtain a grant of up to £50,000 for an appropriate project. This is a new competition which aims to reward “exceptional community spirit” in Norfolk as the judges look for an inspirational idea which brings people of all ages together and brings alive the aspirations of a community.
A number of ideas have come forward, some from Dentontalk, including: a community shop, a scheme to develop IT skills & access and some form of music workshop. These and other ideas will be discussed at the meeting.
NB The meeting was originally fixed for the 17th but it was then realised that the Gardening Club were, unusually, holding their monthly meeting on a Wednesday.
Everything went smoothly at this afternoon’s meeting of South Norfolk’s Planning Committee. The recommendation to approve Denton’s Affordable Housing scheme went through unopposed. Parish councillors, Liz Cargill and Peter Hill, attended the meeting to support the application as did our district councillor Murray Gray.
The only extra condition on the application is the requirement for an official 30 MPH speed limit past the site but, as the applicants, Saffron, have agreed to pay for it, this should not cause any problems. There will now be discussions and consultation on the extent of the restricted area.
As has been stressed before, anybody interested in the new accommodation (2 – one bedroom flats, 3 – two bedroom houses, 1 – three bedroom house) must be on the Council’s Housing Register for at least six months. Further information on how to apply is also in our AH page. Or you can write to South Norfolk Council, Long Stratton, Norwich NR15 2XE or ring 01508 533633.
A good time was had by all at the annual Village Quiz Night at the Village Hall last Saturday.
Eleven teams battled it out for the “Brain of Denton” Trophy and the contest proved to be very close. In the end the “Doc and the Maidens” team from Middle Road triumphed by just a single point from “Dentingham” with “Slippery Slope” taking the booby prize. As usual the food was excellent and everybody had a great time.
Fingers crossed, but it looks as though two local birds are going to be killed with just one stone at an important meeting in Long Stratton next week.
The main Planning Committee of South Norfolk Council is due to meet next Wednesday, 3rd February, and on the agenda is Application No. 2009/1711 — Denton’s affordable housing scheme. Details on the Council’s Website. This was submitted, by Saffron Housing, two months ago but has been held up by an objection from County Highways. They were concerned about the speed of traffic passing the site on Norwich Road.
To get round this objection Saffron have now agreed to meet the costs of a 30 MPH speed limit and, as a result, the application is recommended for approval.
So, all being well, Denton will be getting both six new affordable homes AND a speed limit at the same time.
Anybody interested in the new accommodation must be on the Council’s Housing Register. Further information is on our Features page.
The Parish Council are organising a village survey to establish local safety concerns.
Last night’s PC meeting was told of progress with the survey which is being conducted following advice from the local Safer Neighbourhood Panel. It seeks to find out what issues are worrying Denton residents.
Most of the village has now been covered, on a house-to-house basis, and the rest will be contacted soon. The results will be passed to the police for analysis with a report back to the PC. It could produce useful evidence for seeking changes including, hopefully, support for a speed limit.
We are sad to announce that Stephen Easton died on 31st December.
Stephen lived with his wife Fiona at Twin Cottage in Middle Road for many years and was a very active member of the community, particularly the Church, the Gardening Club and DVC. After a period living in Hoxne he recently moved into the Trees Nursing Home in Harleston.
We extend our deepest sympathy to Fiona (who can be contacted on 01379 855016) and their family.
The funeral service will be held at St Mary’s in Denton on Friday 15th January at 11.30 am followed by refreshments at the Village Hall. Family flowers only please but donations to Christian Aid in Stephen’s memory can be made via Rackhams of 11 Exchange Street, Harleston, Norfolk, IP20 9AB.
