Old Buckenham Parish Council
NEWS:
19/10/2023
Precept Grants
Applications for Precept Grants are now open. These are grants that the PC give out towards local community groups. Please contact the Clerk at oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk for a copy of the application form. Completed forms need to be returned to the Clerk by Friday 30th November
11/10/2023
Local Plan Review and Consultation
Breckland Council is reviewing its Local Plan. There are the following consultation events still running and it will be open until 30th November 2023.
- Wednesday 11th October, 6.30pm-7.30pm – via Zoom (sign up at brecklandlocalplan.commonplace.is)
- Saturday 14th October, 12pm-3pm –Swaffham Market, Market Place, Swaffham
- Tuesday 17th October, 10am-1pm, Dereham Market, Market Place, Dereham
If you wish to leave feedback, you can leave comments at:
https://brecklandlocalplan.commonplace.is/
09/09/2023
Clerk and RFO Advert
Allotments Open Day
02/08/2023
Revised Bus Services
The bus services available in Old Buckenham have recently been reviewed. Information on the updated services and times are available in the library of the website, under "Bus Services Sept 2023". These will be effective from 3rd September 2023.
30/06/2023
AGAR Documents
The Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) has been completed and is available to view under the 2023 Folder of the Library. Please be aware that the period for the exercise of public rights is 30th June to 11th August 2023.
30/06/2023
The Great Grid Upgrade: Norwich to Tilbury
The nearest consultation meetings are
Friday 7th July: Diss Youth and Community Centre, 2-7pm
Monday 10th July: Tibenham Community Hall, 1-6pm
More information can be found on their website
http://nationalgrid.com/norwich-to-tilbury
19/06/2023
Unclaimed Energy Vouchers
The government is encouraging households on traditional prepayment meters to redeem their energy bill support vouchers, with £160 million yet to be claimed.
The scheme will remain open until 30 June and customers can redeem the vouchers at their local Post Office or PayPoint.
01/06/2023
Community Champions Tribute
ROYAL NORFOLK SHOW COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS TRIBUTE – INVITATION TO TAKE PART
As an acknowledgement of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and Queen, and their commitment to supporting community cohesion and volunteering, a tribute to community champions will take place at the Royal Norfolk Show on Wednesday 28 June 2023. The tribute, organised in partnership between the Norfolk Lieutenancy and the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, seeks to gather nominated community champions from a range[1] of community-based organisations, charities, volunteering groups and recipients of already established local award schemes.
The tribute will involve the assembled community champions taking part in a massed gathering in the Show’s Grand Ring where they will be addressed by HM Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, The Lady Dannatt MBE. The aim of the tribute is to say thank you to those who do so much for our communities and good causes and to acknowledge their work in a high-profile setting. Nominated community champions will also receive a complimentary ticket to the Royal Norfolk Show for Wednesday 28 June 2023.
As the leader of a Norfolk-based community group, charity, or volunteering organisation I am writing to ask you to nominate two deserving individuals to represent your organisation by taking part in the Community Champions Tribute. If your organisation has multiple locations/branches/detachments please do make further nominations as appropriate. Nominated individuals should contribute to your organisation in a voluntary capacity rather than as paid employees. So that we can assess demand to take part in this event I would be most grateful if you could complete the form provided below and return to Ms Helen Bibby email helen.bibby@outlook.com by Friday 9 June 2023.
[1] May include sports groups, local interest groups and places of worship with volunteers or a voluntary element.
If you would like to nominate someone, please contact the Parish Clerk for an application form: oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk
15/05/2023
Updated Mobile Library Information
09/05/2023
Annual Parish Meeting
The Annual Parish Meeting will be taking place on Saturday 13th May at 11am. The full Agenda can be found in the Library -> 2023 Meetings -> Agendas
25/04/2023
The Big Help Out
On Monday 8th May, as part of the King's Coronation Celebrations, the Palace is promoting the Big Help Out. This is a day to come together as a community to help look after our village. There are four areas that the PC felt needed a bit of TLC:
1. Litter Pick: 11am at Ottomer Pond: Littler pickers and bags provided but please bring your own if you can.
2. Painting the bus shelter from 10am: Bring a paintbrush and help us refresh the bus shelter and also cover the graffiti
3. Allotments from 10am: if you can bring your gardening gloves and some tools to help give the area a little tidy
4. Playground at 3pm: Bring a broom and help gather up all the rubber chippings that have "escaped"
If you can do half an hour or the whole day, we would appreciate any time you can give. It's a great opportunity to give our village a spring clean and looking her best.
Any queries, please get in contact.
27/03/2023
April Parish Council Meeting
The April Parish Council meeting has been cancelled.
The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on 11th May in the Methodist Church at 7:30pm. Please note the change of routine day and location. This is due to the Elections timetable. From June, meetings should return to the regular time of the first Thursday of the month in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall.
10/03/2023
Notice of Elections
The Notice of Elections in Breckland has been published and will be open for Nominations from 24th March until 4th April (4pm).
More information about the elections and the schedule of events can be found here: https://www.breckland.gov.uk/elections/2023-district-parish
If you would like further information or to put yourself forward for a place on Old Buckenham Parish Council, please contact the Clerk at: oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk
08/03/2023
Village Hall AGM
09/12/2022
Allotment Clearance
In January, work will begin to clear the overgrowth from the allotments and get it tidied up. If you have previously rented an allotment and have left any of your materials there (tools, sheds etc) please ensure that they are removed as soon as possible as anything left will be removed and disposed of.
09/12/2022
Christmas Tree Switch on
02/11/2022
Change of Date
The November Parish Council meeting has had to be rescheduled to Thursday 10th November. It will still be in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall at 7:30pm.
19/10/2022
Platinum Jubilee Tree Planting
12/10/2022
Precept Grants 2023/24
Applications for next years Precept Grants are now open. These grants are for charity, volunteer or community organisations within Old Buckenham. If you would like an application form, please email oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk
The deadline for receiving completed applications is Sunday 20th November.
13/09/2022
Ukranian Refugee Grants
Breckland Council is offering grants of up to £500 to help support Ukrainian refugees (eg practical personal or household items, transport costs, volunteer expenses etc). It is now open and closes 30th September.
https://www.norfolkfoundation.com/funding-support/grants/groups/supporting-ukraine-in-norfolk-fund/
08/09/2022
Old Buckenham Parish Council are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty dedicated her lifetime and reign to public service and the people of the UK and the Commonwealth. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this sad time.
12/08/2022
Rescheduled August Meeting
The August Parish Council meeting has been rescheduled for Monday 22nd August at 7:30pm in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall.
15/07/2022
Annual Parish Meeting
The Anual Parish Meeting of Old Buckenham will be taking place on Saturday 16th July at 10am in the Village Hall. The Agenda is availble to view in Documents of the website.
Tea, coffee and cake will be available to everyone too. We look forward to seeing you there will everyone welcome to contribute their thoughts and ideas.
11/05/2022
Royal Scarecrow Trail
This year, our scarecrow trail is taking on a Royal theme as part of our Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. Its free to enter and there is a prize for those that complete the trail. With such a creative village, we can't wait to see what you create: a corgi, a prince or maybe even the Queen herself!? Please email Naomi Bailey (pc99bailey@gmail.com) ASAP to register your interest so that you are on the map.
11/05/2022
Commemorative Jubilee Mugs
If you would like to order a Commemorative Jubilee Mug then please email the Parish Clerk (email below) or return the order form which you will find in this months Newsletter. Mugs are £5 or free to children under 16. When ordering a free mug, please include the child's name and DOB. The mugs can be collected (and paid for in cash) from the Village Hall on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th June.
oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk
27/04/2022
Make a Change
Jackie Weaver is the face of the Make A Change campaign, encouraging everyone to consider being a part of their local Parish Council. If she has managed to persuade you, then contact the Clerk (oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk) or any of the Parish Councillors (details in Village Newsletter) for more information. We would love to have more people helping us to look after our community.
13/01/2022
Household Support Fund
The Government announced its Household Support Fund (HSF) on 30 September 2021, allocating £6.69 million to Norfolk County Council to be spent by the end of March 2022 to alleviate winter hardship while the economy recovers.
The fund is to support residents with financial uncertainties, providing a bridge between the end of furlough, the reduction in Universal Credit, and unprecedented increases in the cost of household bills and fuel. There is a major focus on supporting families, with 50% of the fund to be allocated to households with children.
If you would like further information, please visit
https://www.breckland.gov.uk/article/18302/Household-Support-Fund
06/01/2022
Covid Guidelines for January Meeting
Due to the current Government guidelines, masks are required to be worn at tonight's Parish Council meeting. Due to the current high number of cases, the Parish Council would appreciate if attendees could also take a lateral flow test before attending. Many thanks for everyone's cooperation in helping to keep our residents safe.
02/12/21
Presentation and December PC Meeting
A reminder that there is a presentation of a Commemorative Plaque tonight at 7pm in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall, in recognition of the hard work, resilience and community spirit shown during the Pandemic.
An update agenda for tonights meeting, which follows the presentation at 7:30pm, has been uploaded to the Library.
18/11/21
Christmas Tree switch on!
18/11/21
Commemorative Plaque
Every Parish in Norfolk is being presented with a commemorative plaque as a reminder of the community spirit and resilience shown during the Covid 19 Pandemic. On Thursday 2nd December, Old Buckenham will be presented with their plaque by the Deputy Lieutenant. This presentation will take place in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall at 7pm, just before the Parish Council meeting at 7:30pm. The presentation is open to anyone wishing to attend. We are pleased that Terri Hammond and some of the amazing team of volunteers who worked so hard during the pandemic will be attending. We look forward to see some of you there.
09/11/21
Remembrance Sunday
There will be a service of remembrance this Sunday 14th November at the War Memorial at 10:45am.
20/10/21
Welcome Pack
The Parish Council have finished compiling a Welcome Pack for new residents that move to the village. It includes general facts about Old Buckenham as well as practical information, such as bin collections etc. If you are aware of new residents moving in to the village, please could you contact the Clerk with an address, and a date if possible, and we will ensure a Welcome pack is delivered for them. Many thanks for your help.
14/10/21
Precept Grants
If you are a local community group and ish to appliy for a Precept Grant from the Parish Council then please email the Clerk at oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk for a copy of the application form. The deadline for returning the completed forms is 20th Novemeber.
29/08/21
September Meeting
The agenda for the next meeting on Thursday 2nd September as been uploaded. The meeting starts at 7:30pm in the Memorial Room of the Village Hall. As social distancing restrictions have now been lifted, there is no longer a need to 'book' a place with the Clerk. We look forward to seeing you then.
12/08/21
Village Scarecrow Trail
The total amount raised from our recent Scarecrow Trail around the village has raised a fantastic £312.40. This will go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the playground. A big thank you to everyone that took part and to Cllr Naomi Bailey for organising the event.
09/07/21
New Bench
You may have noticed a new addition to the Green this week. A new memorial bench has been placed outside the Almshouses in memory of Bill Wardman who you may remember ran the Village shop for many years and unfortunately passed away in 2020. The Wardman family contacted the Parish Council last year about having a memorial bench on the Green, but they specified they would like it to benefit the residents of the Almshouses. After some discussion, its current location was chosen. The family have had a beautiful oak bench made that can sit three people and has an extra arm to make standing easier (i.e. using two hands to push yourself up), there is a ramp up to the bench and there is an extra wide plinth to allow a wheelchair to park next to the bench also.
The Parish Council and the Wardman family hope residents will use the bench to “enjoy the fine view of Old Buckenham” throughout the year.
28/06/21
Playground Closure
The children's play area will be closed this Wednesday 30th June for one day. This is to allow for the removal of old play equipment. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
31/05/21
Return to Face to Face Meetings
Our meeting on Thursday 3rd June will be the first face-to-face meeting since March 2020. We will be returning to the Memorial Room in the Village Hall and the Agenda can be found on the Library page. However, in order to comply with current COVID regulations, we will be limited to the number of people that can attend. In June, we are expecting 8 members of the PC (including the Clerk) to attend which will leave space for 4 members of the public in the room. If you wish to attend the meeting please email the Clerk at oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk so that numbers can be controlled. If you have a comment/question you would like raised at the meeting, it may be easier to email this in before the meeting.
A limit on numbers is a frustrating problem that many Town and Parish Councils are facing across the country but we are hopefuly that these current restrictions will not be in place for too long and that we will be able to return to normal soon.
Many thanks for your patience and understanding
3/12/2020
Message from Norfolk County Council.
Norfolk Winter Support Offer
Norfolk County Council, alongside local councils across Norfolk, is aiming to support as many residents as possible this winter to access financial and other support if they are facing hardship.
We know for many people this winter will be challenging for a variety of reasons, and there will be a lot of people who will need help with things like paying the bills and buying food, and many people who have never needed help before.
To make sure people can access help and support where they need it this winter, we have implemented the Norfolk Winter Support Offer and we need your help to make sure we reach as many people as possible.
Where you work with a family or resident in Norfolk, who is currently suffering from hardship and unsure how to pay their bills, keep warm and buy food, we are asking that you help them apply to the support offer. You can do this with them online at www.norfolk.gov.uk/covidwintersupport using a simple form.
Help is also available to those suffering hardship because they are having to self-isolate or support their child or vulnerable family members to self-isolate.
To help you understand the support that is available, here is a quick summary:
The Norfolk Assistance Scheme (NAS) already provides hardship support to Norfolk residents, and this offer is being extended to reach more people where needed, over the winter period. The offer uses an additional government grant that is primarily aimed at families with children.
Initially the two-week provision includes
- Morrisons food boxes
- Additional support with household essentials like nappies, formula milk and cleaning products
- Paypoint top ups for gas and electricity
- Daily living allowance for living expenses and household bills where needed.
Week three onwards
- Support with things like broadband and help to get online
- Additional support with household items such as washing machines and fridges
- If further food and essential support is needed after the initial two-week period, then this will be implemented by NAS for as long as is required.
Pink Orange – Ingredients boxes
Some families will already have heard about this offer because they will have been contacted by their allocated worker.
Pink Orange will provide ingredients boxes including recipe guides to targeted families across Norfolk, NAS are able to refer to Pink Orange as part of their wrap around support offer. You just need to make one referral to NAS and they will do the rest.
Free School Meals vouchers
All schools and educational establishments in Norfolk will have received communication about ensuring that all children who are eligible are signed up for free school meals (the means tested pupil premium element and not the universal free school meals that all children in reception to the end of year 3 are entitled to).
Schools are then able to provide a link and code for EdenRed which is the chosen provider of supermarket vouchers to the value of £15 per child per week, for two weeks over Christmas and a Week at February half term - these vouchers can be used at all main UK supermarkets.
If you are working with a family who you think may be eligible for free school meals, who are not currently receiving them, please encourage them to speak to their children’s education provider or support them in that conversation where needed.
Children who are home schooled and may be entitled are to complete the Norfolk Assistance Scheme form and will be supported to access EdenRed by NAS.
Self-isolation support
Some residents are also entitled to a self-isolation support payment of £500. To help someone apply for this, or to find out more please check the NCC website.
Please make sure that you help us to reach as many families in Norfolk with this offer of support, so that together we can keep Norfolk residents safe, resilient and well this winter.
Thank you
14/10/2020
The Parish Council are now looking at finances for next year and if you would like to apply for a Precept Grant, then please email for a form (oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk). Please return by Friday 20th November.
Old Buckenham Parish Council now have their Facebook Page up and running. If you have a Facebook account and would like to be kept up to date on PC news then please follow us.
There's Something A foot
03/10/20
Over the last few months the Parish Council have been looking at what we have been doing, and most importantly how we have been communicating to our `audiance, `you. `i am pleased to say that we have started to take some actions to improve our reach.
Over the next few weeks we will be starting an Old Buckenham FaceBook page. The web site is going to receive more updates than before to help get a bigger foot fall. However you do not have to wait as this website already has a "Have your Say" Section, or if it is more urgent the "contact us, page and then we have the spoken word, so if you want to discuss an issue with you local representative we have the contact details of council members and the clerk
With all these new methods of communication we will not be forgetting the more establised methods. Minutes on the notice board and the Village Mag, mag which is now being delivered through every door with the parish council increasing our subsidy due to the increase in copies needed
Archive
The Agenda for the meeting on May 7th at 7:30pm has been uploaded (Library - Minutes - 2020 - 2020 Agendas). This will be held virtually via Zoom. If you would like to join and/or participate, then please email me at oldbuckenhampc@live.co.uk. For security reasons, please include your full name and address. If you have a comment/question you would like to raise, please send this as well by 5pm Tuesday (this is in accordance with NALC guidance and will also help if there are connection issues). I will send out the link and password for the meeting on Wednesday to those interested in joining. This will be for your use only. Please do not forward it on to other parties. This is our first virtual meeting at OBPC so fingers crossed it all runs smoothly! Rachel
20/06/19
Remember that the Met Office are holding a drop-in session at the Village Hall on 28th June 2-8pm. This is a chance to learn about the proposed Weather Radar for Abbey Road.
Documents for the December Meeting
Agenda for Thursday December 6 and the unapproved minutes from the November meeting have now been loaded into the library
The Parish Council extends a welcome to residents to attend the council meeting and to make a time restricted (3 minutes) contribution to items on the agenda
EXCITING NEWS
At tonights Parish Council meeting (June 7), our County Councillor, Stephen Askew shared some fantastic news. This being that Norfolk County Council are due to vote on a crossing on the B1077 to make this road safer for pedestrians.
Four alternatives are to be considered.
1. Do nothing
2. Install an island refuge so the road is crossed in two stages
3. Install a Zebra Crossing
4. Install a Pelican Crossing which stops traffic enabling a safe and secure passage over the road.
Your Parish Council are looking to recommend option 4 at the next PC meeting. However, we would like to know your opinion. You can either use the "contact us" section of this web-site, or leave a comment on the Old Buckenham Blog, see the links section or come along to the next meeting on July 5th.
The Parish Council wish the residents of Old Buckenham all the best for 2018, and look forward to meeting you at the monthly council meetings.
Agendas and meeting minutes are in the site library
Also there is an article on adopting a telephone kiosk
documents/adopt-a-kiosk-brochure-1.pdf
and details of the council meetings for 2018
Meetings are held on te first Thursday of the month
Survey results have been released, go to Neighbourhood Plan page and click on the link.
