Newsletter for April 2008

The following information has been taken from the Town Council Newsletter which is delivered to the residents of Dereham, every quarter.  If you do not receive a copy through your door, then please call into the Council offices to pick up a copy from our reception area, or pop along to the library.  The next edition is due out at the beginning of December.

DEREHAM TOWN  COUNCIL

Welcome to the Spring edition of the Dereham Town Council Newsletter!  As this is the end of the financial year and a new Mayor is about to be elected, this Newsletter will mainly be about the Annual Parish Meeting with the Mayors Annual Report and the Accounts for 2007 / 2008.

What’s happening at the Council!

The Council has come a long way in the last year and achieved a great deal as highlighted in the mayors report over page. But this doesn’t mean that we are resting on our laurels, there are some important pieces of work which the Council will be looking at over the next 12 months these include:-Play areas and open spaces - The Town Council will be taking over these from the District Council later in the year. We will be consulting with Dereham residents over the next few months to gauge your views on how these can be improved and applying for funding later in the year to refurbish the Neatherd play area. We will also be purchasing a number of 5-a-side goals which will be placed at suitable locations around the Town this summer.Green Infrastructure study - This is a really exciting piece of work; as we are working in partnership with the County Council and Breckland Council to commission a Green Infrastructure Study for the Town. This study will identify all the green spaces in the town and how they are currently linked; so that wild life and people can move between them.  It will highlight which areas are currently not protected from development but should be and where new green space should be allocated, in order to improve this network of open spaces. This will set a 20 year vision for the improvement and protection of open spaces in Dereham.Dog Fouling - This is a big issue for many people, the Town Council has installed 18 bins in the last year; which brings the total of dog bins maintained by the Council up to 53.  Over the next year we will be working with Breckland District Council to identify other ways of keeping our streets, parks and play areas clean and pleasant.

Commons Working Group - The Commons Working group comprises mainly of residents of Etling green and Neatherd Moor. The purpose of the group is to work with Councillors and advise the Council on how these areas can be improved for both people and wild life. The Town Council has allocated £1,500 for this coming year, so that the group can implement some actions while they work with the Town Council to obtain funding for other work.

DEREHAM TOWN COUNCIL

ASSEMBLY ROOMS

RUTHEN PLACE

DEREHAM   NR19 2TX

Tel; 01362 693821Fax; 01362 693405 

generalenquiries@derehamtowncouncil.org http://derehamtc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk 

Open;-  9am to 4.30pmMonday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 

 Dereham Town Councillor’scontact details;-

Timothy Birt            698829  (Toftwood)

Ann Bowyer             697613  (Neatherd)

Phillip Duigan          692443  (Toftwood)

Michael Fanthorpe  695636  (Central)

Robin Goreham        691179  (Central) 

John Gretton           692707  (Humbletoft)

Mike Griffin             694795  (Neatherd)

Robert Hambidge 07831401088  (Central)                                 

Diana Irving            691110  (Humbletoft)

Stephen May          696691  (Toftwood)

Linda Monument    694670  (Neatherd)

Lynda Turner         654932  (Toftwood)

___________________________________________________________________________________

  Annual Report from the Town Mayor 

Councillor John Gretton welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He first spoke of his civic year.  My wife and I have greatly enjoyed the civic year.  It was a great honour to be asked to “cut the ribbon” at three local schools, opening the new garden at Kings Park Infants, the new buildings at Scarning Primary School and the new block at Dereham VI Form Centre, which includes a new Library and a café for students. It has been a great privilege to visit local organisations run by volunteers including the Stepping Out Club, the AGM of Mid Norfolk MENCAP and several events at Dereham Cancer Care which is one of the Mayor’s Charities for the year.  I really want to pay tribute to all the scores of volunteers who run clubs and societies in Dereham.  Volunteers are the bedrock of the town and I thank you all most warmly.  It is especially pleasing to note that Dereham Scouts are celebrating 100 years in the town this year,  My wife and I have been very kindly entertained to dinner by a number of organisations including The Royal Naval Association, the Dereham Articulate Speakers Club celebrating their 20^th Anniversary, Dereham Cancer Care Christmas Dinner and the very memorable Burns Night Supper with Dereham Rotary Club.  We also enjoyed attending the various civic celebrations including Civic Sundays at Swaffham, Fakenham and Thetford and Civic Celebrations at Attleborough, Thetford and Breckland.  I would especially like to thank all who helped with our own Civic Sunday on 22^nd July especially St Nicholas Church, Dereham Army Cadets and Dereham Scouts.   Other memorable events included Battle of Britain Sunday and the reception we had here at the Assembly Rooms and seeing Dereham Round Table ride on their cycles from the Market Place on their way to scale Norfolk’s three highest mountains in aid of Quidenham Hospice.  However, the most solemn moment of the year for me was laying the town wreath at the War Memorial at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month.  Finally in this section, I am glad to say that the Mayor’s Ball for Dereham Cancer Care on 25^th April has been a sell out and I am greatly looking forward to an entertaining and successful evening.  I would especially like to thank those who have donated action items and other help with the evening. Turning to the Council’s work during the year, as with all years, it is a mixture of success and frustration. The elections in May 2007 returned a refreshed council with a good mix of seven previous councillors and five fresh faces.  One of our  most pressing tasks was the appointment of a new Town Clerk and we were pleased to welcome Mr Tony Needham who has made an excellent start as Clerk, moving forward numerous plans and initiatives.  At the same time we strengthened the office with the promotion of Mrs Jillian Barron to the position of Deputy Town Clerk.  Mr Ian Mann has taken over as Caretaker of the Memorial Hall.  I would especially like to congratulate Jillian Barron, Dawn Brightman and Thelma Jackson who worked hard on their CiLCA (Certificate in Local Council Administration) training and all received their pass certificates. When I became Mayor I pledged that we would be a hard working council.  We are working towards the enhanced status of being a Quality Council, which will place us well in discussions around the first tier of local government in the current Local Government Review. Our council committees have worked hard this year.  The finance committee recommended an efficient budget with a precept of 5% to enable us to effect repairs on our historic buildings. The Markets and Buildings committee is still working towards relocating the Friday Market to the Market Place, but this is dependent on Norfolk County Council creating a new bus interchange down the middle of the Market Place.  The committee is also planning a feasible and costed scheme of refurbishment for the Memorial Hall.  We have installed two new flagpoles on the War Memorial Green to enable the British Legion or Unit flags to fly alongside the Union flag or cross of St George.  This is especially with Battle of Britain Sunday and armistice Sunday in mind.   We are working towards becoming a Fairtrade Town and we are supporting the campaign to “Say no to plastic bags”.  We have pledged our support to the Town Band in their role in providing, with great enthusiasm, the musical backdrop to the town.  We held a successful; Christmas window display competition, won by Wooden Tops who sent the prize cheque to Children in Need.  We have installed 11 new dog bins with a further 7 waiting to go in and we have ordered a new bus shelter for Windmill Avenue.  We received 60 young trees from Bennett’s Electrical to celebrate their 60 years of trading in the town and have planted them on Abbots Field.  We have given grants to local organisations including the CAB, Dereham Band, Dereham Meeting Point, Dereham Festival and Toftwood Scouts.   When I have finished my Annual Report, Councillor Duigan will give a report on the work and future plans of the Heritage and Open Spaces Committee and Lynda Turner will report on the work of the Recreation Committee.  Lastly, I would like to thank all the Town Council staff for all their hard work, especially when we were short staffed pending the appointment of a new Clerk, during which period Jillian Barron worked hard as Acting Town Clerk.  And finally, I would like to announce that Tony Needham has also gained his CiLCA certificate which means that we can now confidently apply for Quality Status and so we hope that this time next year we will be reporting to you as a Quality Council.  Thank you. The presentation of Long Service Awards to the Dereham Community Car Drivers then took place.  These were for Mr I Porter Mrs Neeve and Mrs Yaxley.  The Mayor, Councillor John Gretton expressed his appreciation of all the work the Community Car drivers did.  Report by Councillor Phillip Duigan Chairman of Heritage & Open Spaces Committee Congratulations firstly to Bishop Bonners Cottage who have just been given their Museum Accreditation.  Our committee is programming maintenance of dog bins, putting in new bins and replacing old bins.  We will also be working with Breckland Council with regard to dog fouling.  We are working with the Norfolk County Council, Breckland Council, Etling Green Society and the Dereham Society on the management of Etling Green and Neatherd Moor, a report has now been produced. This is a plan for us to go forward on how we can make Etling Green and Neatherd Moor a better place for wildlife and for people. Copies of the report are available for people to take away.  A working party has been set up and if anyone would like to be part of this group please contact the Town Clerk. We are also hoping to get help from the British Trust for Nature volunteers. Finally a very big thank to the two societies for all their work and we hope you will see improvements to this area going forward in the next year or so. Report by Councillor Lynda Turner Chairman of Recreation Committee The Recreation Committee has been working long and hard over the last year. The Recreation Ground is still awaiting lighting and CCTV but this is underway.  The response we have had from the public to the work that has taken place is very encouraging and their appreciation is shown by the increased number of people using the Recreation Ground.  The new Leisure Centre is taking over the booking of the tennis courts on our behalf, but we will still be responsible for the management and maintenance of the courts.  We are in the process of taking over all the play areas in Dereham from Breckland Council.  Much research has been undertaken with regard to their management which, due to costs, will be undertaken on a rolling programme and we will be consulting residents as we look at each area. Our first proposed redevelopment is planned to be on Neatherd Moor and we will be conducting a survey to find out what people would like to see.  Last November we had our annual meeting of the allotment holders.  We are working very hard to maintain a good working relationship with everyone.  We are delighted to inform you that the take up of allotment plots has increased so much that we now have waiting lists for a number of sites. As a Council we are undertaking a Green Infrastructure Survey of all open spaces, water courses, etc to try to maximise the recreation space, open space, cycle paths and footways.  A tender has been put out to get this underway; this is supported by both Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council.  There has been a lot of publicity recently regarding open spaces and green spaces, but from our committee’s point of view our green lungs are important to us all, and we will do all we can to preserve and increase them. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

In total the Council had a budgeted expenditure of  £503,736 for 2007/8 and the total budgeted income is £453,736.  The Council gets most of its income from Council tax but also receives income from other sources in order to minimise the pressure on Council tax bills.  Remember that every penny paid to the Town Council, is spent in running and improving facilities and services for the people of Dereham.

If you did not recieve a copy of the Spring 2008 Newsletter and would like to see a breakdown of the finances, please contact the office on 01362 693821 and will would be happy to send a copy of the newsletter to you, or feel free to pop into the office to see a detailed version.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Christmas Window Display & Decorated Market Stall 

In December, the Town Council asked the shops and market stall holders to enter a competition for best Christmas display. We had some lovely displays to judge from, but the overall winners were;-

Shop Displays;-1^st prize - Woodentops (Their £100 donation went to Children in need)