Wickham Skeith Newsletter October 2020
~ DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ~
Sadly clubs and social events are still ‘under wraps’ so dates are few and far between: Thursday 8th October 2pm Annual Church Meeting via Zoom Thursday 22nd October. 9.45-10am & 10.05-10.20 Mobile Library van Monday 9th November 8pm Parish Council Meeting via Zoom
Welcome to the Village We'd like to extend a warm welcome to Johnny and Julia Humphrey who have moved into Oak Farm. Although there are very few community activities at the moment, we look forward to getting to know you and hope you will be very happy here.
~CONSERVATION AREA ~
Current boundary of the Conservation Area
~CONSERVATION AREA ~
Wickham Skeith’s Conservation Area At its last meeting, Parish Council considered proposals for tree felling at a number of properties around the village green. It was agreed that it would be helpful to publish a map of the conservation area boundary with a reminder of the implications of the designation. The boundary was last reviewed and adopted by the District Council in 2008. It describes the trees contributing towards the character of the green, singling out the line of oaks at Wickham Place and a group of walnut, field maple and ash further west. The appraisal also notes the weeping willows and poplar and two horse chestnuts on the green itself and the beech by the footpath to the church. But all trees are included. The Local Planning Authority is under a duty to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of Conservation Areas and the trees may be an important contributor to the landscape. Therefore anyone proposing to carry out works to a tree in a Conservation Area must give at least 6 weeks’ notice to Mid Suffolk District Council. This period of time allows the council to consider the relative importance of the tree and decide whether to make an individual Tree Preservation Order to protect it. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +
Macmillan Fund Raising A quick report before the newsletter deadline. What a foul day! Glad we didn't try for a garden event! I have a collection of envelopes which kind folks have put through the letterboxes of Sue and myself and will report the total contributions in the next newsletter. Don't worry if you have forgotten as I will wait for another two weeks before doing the sums. Thank you so much for supporting this charity. They will miss out on millions of pounds today which should have been their main fun, fundraiser. And we miss out on our lovely social event. I'm putting a pound in a cup today for every drink we make, and I've charged Kevin £5.00 for his packed lunch! Every penny helps! Margaret Knights, 6 Grange Road
~HISTORY NOTES~
Why Wickham Skeith? It’s a bit of a nerdy topic this month but I hope you will persevere to the end. I will try to explain the origin of the name of our village & in the process dispose of a myth or two. The best sources for the origins of place-names are the county volumes published by the English Place-Name Society. For most counties, these were published in the 1920s & 30s; the Suffolk volume didn’t appear until 2016 – Suffolk does seem to be a bit slow with some things. A Dictionary of Suffolk Place-Names by Keith Briggs and Kelly Kilpatrick provides a detailed entry for Wickham Skeith, some of which I will quote below. The village appears in Domesday (1086) as Wicham. This is a common English name (e.g. Wickham Market, Wickhambrook etc) and is an Old English word usually meaning a homestead near a Roman settlement. We know that there was a Roman farm or small villa between the church & the road to Thornham and there was also a significant Roman settlement at Stoke Ash. Briggs & Kilpatrick see the original part of Wickham as being around the Hall and Church. The Skeith bit doesn’t appear in documents until the 13 th century. It’s a word from Old Danish, the language used by Viking settlers in East Anglia, and means a border or a boundary. I have thought for a long time that Skeith referred to the area along the Street; it is after all close to the northern parish boundary. Briggs & Kilpatrick confirm this. “Skeith is that northern part of the parish now known as Wickham Street, formerly Skeyth Strete, containing Skeythe Halle and connected by Skeythe Weye to The Green.” The village has two parts so a two part name makes sense. Now for a couple of old stories which, I fear, are incorrect. Firstly, some old placename books say that the Skeith in Wickham Skeith means a racecourse for horses. That seems to be a misreading of the north country name Hesketh where the 1 st part of the name derives from hestr, an Old Norse word for horse & an alternative meaning of skeith as a track. This also means that the old village story that the Skeith was an old racecourse up by Abbey Farm is also, well, just a story. (Sorry Alan Lummis.) Oh and there was also never an Abbey, but that’s a story for another newsletter. Pete Davidson
~NEWS FROM THE CLUBS & OTHER EVENTS~
Hilltop Women’s Group You have probably guessed that we won't hold any meetings now till after Christmas. Next year is our 50th Anniversary! So let's hope we can celebrate at some point in 2021. Margaret Knights. rosecottageflowers@ hotmail.co.uk. 01449767708 Sue Merriam 01449766222
Wickham Skeith GardeninG club Given the ongoing situation the Committee have decided to cancel the rest of this year’s meetings and hope that things will have settled by next year. We are trying to put together the same list of speakers as we had lined up for this year so you will know what to expect. Paid up membership will be carried over to 2021. All being well we hope we can start again next February but, obviously, that will depend on the rules at the time so I will write to you again in the new year. Stay safe and keep your pecker up!! Rosie Bassett 01449 765908
Mobile Library Next visit to Wickham Skeith 22 October 9.45-10am layby @ Chalet Bungalows and 10.05-10.20 @ Haymead House, The Street.
~ W I C K HAM S K E I T H PAR I S H C O U N C I L ~ DRAFT
MINUTES of PARISH COUNCIL MEETING held MONDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2020 by videoconference
Present: Cllrs T Thorogood (Chair), R Palmer, K Knights, Cllrs Warboys (MSDC) and Stringer (SCC), H Roberts (Clerk) and 1 member of the public. Apologies received and accepted: Cllrs M Freeman and M Blair. 1 14/09/20: Chair’s Welcome: The Chair opened the meeting, welcoming those in attendance. 2 14/08/20: Declarations of Interest and dispensations: none. 3 14/09/20: Minutes of Meeting: Minutes of Meeting held 14th July 2020 were approved by all Councillors. It was agreed the Chair’s signing of the minutes would be done outside of the meeting. 4 14/09/20: Village Forum A member of the public had emailed the Council with concerns about traffic speeds through the village. This was discussed under the Community Speed Watch agenda item 5.5.1. The village Tree Warden brought to the Council’s attention some recent and proposed tree felling: willow at Jack’s Barn; small-set walnut at Spring Cottage; eucalyptus at Homeleigh, with additional work on a walnut. The tree warden had reviewed these and did not have any objections. It was agreed the Council would include a reminder of the village’s conservation area in the village newsletter. The Tree Warden also mentioned some trees on private land that were at risk of obstructing public footpaths. The Council re-affirmed that it is not able to carry out remedial action on private land. It was agreed that the Clerk, in consultation with the Tree Warden, would circulate a list of Tree Preservation Orders to the Council. 5 14/09/20: Reports from County and District Councillors, Police, Parish Clerk and Parish Councillors 5.1 14/09/20: SCC: Cllr Stringer’s reports for August and September are available on the parish council’s website. Main points: Covid-19 update. Sizewell C: SCC withdraws support. Closure of Age UK. Climate Emergency recommendations report published. Changes to Children’s Centres. Cabinet agrees £65m loan for third Lowestoft crossing. Infrastructure Board established to oversee costs of large projects 5.2 14/09/20: MSDC: Cllr Warboys’ report is available on the parish council’s website. Main points: Update on Joint Local Plan. Update on consultation for changes to the planning system. Response to Govt. white paper on planning reform. Gateway 14 consultation. Recovery Action Planning for businesses. Wellbeing NHS. Home but not Alone. Locality Awards. Cllr Warboys requested anyone to get in touch if they of a community group in need of some funding. Disabled Facilities Grant. Cllr Warboys asked anyone who needs any kind of adaptation to their home to please get in touch. 5.3 14/09/20: Suffolk Police. Report provided by Clerk based on Suffolk Police newsletter. One crime was reported in the area in July 2020. 5.4 14/09/20: Parish Clerk
Website accessibility. Update to councillors sent 24th July 2020. The initial evaluation form has been produced. Changes to the website are still to be made, but it is anticipated these will be completed shortly. Village Green. Village Green document circulated to Councillors. Land Registry search may be resubmitted, but Village Recorder may be able to confirm ownership. Village Recorder is interested in reviewing the Council’s file to take copies – date to be arranged. Suffolk County Council Archive may take copies of the documents but are not accepting any documents at present. Draft policies for Information Retention and Data Protection and Processing – work ongoing. Facebook and Twitter accounts details for Wattisham Parish Council shared with councillors.
~ W I C K HAM S K E I T H PAR I S H C O U N C I L ~ 5.5 14/09/20: Parish Councillors 5.5.1 14/09/20: Community Speed Watch. It was agreed at the last Council meeting that Cllr Knights will pass the speed-gun battery and key to Cllr Blair, and that Cllrs will send Cllr Blair their details for the rota for volunteers for Speed Watch. Cllr Stringer said he would request that the appropriate SCC authority move the speed indicator pole to the Finningham end of the village. It was agreed that the Clerk would check if the Council, laptop has the speed-gun software on it, with a view to start collecting statistics. 5.5.2 14/09/20: General Data Protection Regulation. Nothing to report. 5.5.3 14/09/20: Community Emergency Plan. The Emergency Plan is still active; the Council will review whether to close the Plan as covid restrictions are lifted. 5.5.4 14/09/20: Defibrillator. Not discussed. 6
14/09/20: Correspondence Received Quiet Lanes Suffolk. Circulated to Cllrs 18th July 2020. Quiet Lanes are a statutory designation for single track roads. It was agreed the Council would not submit an expression interest. Headway Suffolk. Newsletter circulated to Cllrs 18th July 2020. Healthwatch Suffolk Digital health and care survey. Published in village newsletter. SALC Planning webinars. Info circulated to Cllrs 25th August 2020. NALC Planning consultation. Circulated to Cllrs 25th August 2020. Team Doctor trial. Info circulated to Cllrs 25th August 2020. SALC Mid-Suffolk Area Forum: 17th Sept 2020. Info circulated to Cllrs 25th August 2020. Licensing Policy consultation. Circulated to Cllrs 27th August 2020. Bacton church re-opening guidance. Email circulated to Cllrs 8th September 2020. MidSuffolk District Council Free Composting event. Circulated to Cllrs 8th September 2020. Publicized on Council website. Insurance renewal. Discussed under Finance agenda item, agenda item 7.2. Enquiry from resident regarding traffic. Discussed under Community Speed Watch agenda item 5.5.1. Enquiry from resident tree felling. Discussed in the village forum, agenda item 4.
7 14/09/20: Finance 7.1 14/09/20: Financial position as of 31st August 2020 was presented by the RFO and approved by the Council. It was agreed the Chair’s approval signature would be obtained outside of the meeting. 7.2 14/09/20: The Council’s insurance policy was reviewed. It was agreed to renew the current policy with no changes. 7.3 14/09/20: Invoices for Approval. The Council approved the payment of an invoice for £186.74 for the renewal of the insurance. It was agreed this cheque would be signed outside of the meeting. It was noted that the Land Registry had returned a cheque for £7 for the village green land search. It was agreed the Clerk will re-submit the search with specific co-ordinates, with a new cheque. 8 14/09/20: Planning Matters 8.1 14/09/20: The Council noted the application: DC/20/03609: Notification of Works to Trees in a Conservation Area - Pollard 1no. Willow tree to 5-10m: Jacks Barn, The Green, Wickham Skeith, Eye Suffolk IP23 8LX. The Council had no comment. 8.2 14/09/20: The Council noted the decision on: DC/20/02506: Erection of a conservatory/porch (following demolition of existing porch): Holly End, 133 Grange Road, Wickham Skeith, Eye Suffolk IP23 8ND. 9 14/09/20: Casual Vacancy As no election had been requested by the residents, it was agreed by a unanimous vote that Mr. Tom Rowe would be co-opted onto the Council. Due to covid restrictions, it was agreed that Mr. Rowe would sign the necessary declaration form as soon as possible after the meeting. It was agreed that the remaining vacancy would be advertised again in the village newsletter. 10 14/09/20: Working Parties 10.1 14/09/20: Village green This was discussed under agenda items 4 and 5.4. It was noted that Cllr Knights would speak with the Tree Warden. 10.2 14/09/20: Grimmer Fishing. Not discussed. Next Meeting: Monday, 9th November 2020.
~ C O M M U N I TY PAG E ~
Jams and Chutneys Thank you so much to everyone who has bought jam, chutney and mint jelly to raise funds for the church. You have been brilliant and I have sold out twice! If anyone would be interested in a Mary Berry mincemeat for the freezer do get in touch with me on 01449 767121. Face Coverings Jos has asked me to say that she is happy to make more of her beautiful, comfortable face masks for a donation to the church and thanks all her customers for the money raised for the church. Phone her on 01449 766219 Greeting Cards Liz Davidson is a card-maker who would like you to buy her cards for church funds. She has birthday, general and Christmas cards, all handmade. The cards may be seen at Liz’s home at the moment and she will not be offended if you don’t buy! Phone her on 01449 766622 The sale of jams and face coverings raised another £137 for St Andrew’s Church this month . THANK YOU. Please stay safe everyone – with love and thanks from Margaret Jones-Evans 01449 767121
Coronavirus Update It appears that the majority of people in the village have coped with the inconvenience of the measures imposed upon us by the pandemic and our authorities. Neighbours and volunteers have rallied round to give support where it was needed and the various delivery services have brought necessary items to our doors. We do not know how much longer we will be under restrictions, but we just wanted to remind you that we have a list of keen, eager people who are happy to help out if needed. Please contact one of the following if you need any help: Margaret JonesEvans: 767121, Liz and Pete Davidson: 766622, Jenny and Will Elphick: 766885, Nigel and Sue Merriam: 766222
~ S T. A N D R E W ’ S C H U R C H
~
Rector: Revd Carl Melville 01449 781650 carlmelville@hotmail.com Readers: Helen Matter 780379, Elaine Miller 770337, Sheila Wright 768644 Elders: Peter Paine 767897, Janice Shea 781263, Jean Willoughby 766621 October services for the Cotton/Wickham Skeith ‘bubble’: 4th Harvest – 11am Holy Communion at Cotton 11th Trinity 18 – 9.30am Holy Communion at Wickham Skeith 18th St Luke – 11am Morning Prayer at Cotton 25th Bible Sunday – Morning Prayer at Wickham Skeith 1st November All Saints’ Day – 11am Holy Communion at Cotton
Please note: If you are shielding or fall into a 'vulnerable category' outlined by the government, you must weigh up if you should come to church or stay at home. If you experience symptoms of COVID-19, then you must not enter the church buildings. As described last month, Revd Carl has drawn up a “Covid Rota” for services in the immediate future. The churches of the Benefice have been paired for the time being, Cotton and Wickham Skeith, Bacton and Old Newton. This is only a temporary measure and will help to maintain services without the need to rely on retired ministers from outside the benefice. Our services will alternate, 9.30 here one week, the next 11.00 at Cotton. Please support these services. Please try NOT to go to Bacton or Old Newton, so that churches can always accommodate attendees, and everyone is in a “Biobubble”. We cannot sing but can have instrumental music; masks must be worn, hands must be sanitised on entry, seating will be socially distanced and there will be no coffee or socialisation after the service. If you can download the service booklet on to your phone or tablet computer from the link or QR code in the pew sheet email please do so and bring your device to services, or print a paper copy that you can keep and bring each week in order to minimise possibilities for cross-contamination. If you like to follow the readings please also print a copy of the pew sheet. If you don’t receive the weekly newsletter including the pew sheet please contact Revd Carl who will add you to the distribution list. As the weather cools please feel free to bring your own cushion or blanket, though we hope our new heaters will keep us warm. The online services will continue even when we are ‘back to church’, for the benefit of those who would prefer not to mix indoors. You don’t need to join Facebook, just go to their website, search for Bacton Benefice and ‘like’ then open the video – when the message to join Facebook appears click ‘not now’. Once a service has been broadcast it is available to watch at any time that suits you. The annual church meeting postponed from April will be held remotely on Thursday 8 th October at 2pm via Zoom. If you would like to ‘attend’ please email Mary Paine at fuzzywig337@gmail.com who will send the link for the meeting on the day.
~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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TREE SERVICES AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE
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~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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~ ANNOUNCEMENTS ~
The Parish Council has a vacancy for a Councillor Should anyone wish to stand for Parish Council please contact the Clerk, Huw Roberts, for information. Contact: wickhamskeithpc@hotmail.com or 0777 180 8677
Booking the Village Hall It seems, from recent government announcements, that we are still unable to make the village hall available for meetings, social events etc. Just a reminder that when we are able to open up again, all bookings of the Village Hall and its equipment should go to: Denise Carle, 9, Grange Road, IP23 8NE. Telephone 01449 767838 or Email denise.alexander63@yahoo.co.uk Hourly rate: £8.00 The rate is per hour or part thereof. Minimum booking period 2 hrs. Day rate (24 hour period): £85.00. 25% reduction in rate for Wickham Skeith residents and Wickham Skeith village groups and organisations. Official bodies (e.g. elections): £200.00 per day. A 30 minute "warming up" period will be allowed in cold weather.
Business Adverts Adverts are £5.00 per month, £25 for 6 months and £50 for one year. Cash or cheque (payable to “Wickham Skeith Village Hall”) to Melinda Appleby at Haymead House, The Street, in advance of the advert being placed please.
This newsletter is produced by Wickham Skeith Village Hall Committee
And finally... Please send all your village news and adverts for next month’s newsletter to Melinda: mappleby@tiscali.co.uk or call 01449 766879 By 25th October 2020
Newsletter printed by CopyDiss, 42a Mere Street, Diss IP22 4AG Tel: 01379 644567 www.copydiss.co.uk