Author: alpington-yelverton-admin

The next Parish Council meeting will be 7.30pm at the village hall, on Mon 5th July. The agenda is downloadable below.

Most residents will have received a small paper flyer from the Parish Council on these planning proposals by now.

The proposals cover the whole of South Norfolk, so there’s a lot of information which doesn’t directly apply to our villages. For that reason we’ve put this post together to summarise the parts of the proposals that you’ll be interested in.

Credit for the summarised info and downloadable files goes to the Parish Council, who’ve done a great job clarifying what it all means for us.

This post takes most of the text from the flyer, and adds some downloadable maps and documents. There’s a lot of text below but the summary is:

• Anyone with an opinion on these proposals should submit their comments during this consultation period, before 2nd Aug. Don’t miss your chance!
• In the paper flyer the contact email address was incorrect, the correct one is near the end of this post.
• There’s a virtual exhibition on the whole plans here: www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/vchap
• Below you can download maps of Alpington, Yelverton and Bergh Apton, showing exactly where the ‘preferred’ and ‘shortlisted’ sites are.
• There is also a downloadable document below showing the detail of each of these sites.

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Text taken from the Parish Council’s flyer:

Village Clusters Housing Allocation Plan Consultation

On 7 June South Norfolk Council opened a public consultation on a draft of its Village Clusters Housing Allocations Plan (VCHAP) that will allocate sites for 1,200 new homes in smaller villages across South Norfolk.

The consultation runs until 2 August and any comments must be submitted by then.

For the purposes of the VCHAP, Alpington, Yelverton and Bergh Apton form a Village Cluster. The VCHAP has identified two preferred and one shortlisted sites in Alpington, with no sites currently preferred or shortlisted in Yelverton and one preferred site in Bergh Apton. In Alpington, the preferred sites are the field behind Church Meadow for up to 25 dwellings (numbered SN0400 in the VCHAP) and extending the Settlement Limit in Alpington on the western side of Nichols Road near the School (SN0529SL). Also shortlisted as a reasonable alternative site for up to 25 dwellings is land on Wheel Road near the Reeders Lane/Burgate Lane junction (SN0433). The preferred site for over 25 dwellings is in Bergh Apton (SNO412) and is the former concrete works on Church Road. Maps showing these sites are displayed on the Village Hall and Mill Road Notice Boards.

The map can also be downloaded here:

And the Parish Council has extracted some relevant details for our villages from a much larger document. This document gives detail on each site in question:

The Parish Council has for many years objected to the principle of extending the established development boundaries of our villages and this latest plan would place further burden on our inadequate road infrastructure and services.

This is an important consultation affecting the future of our villages and we urge you to look at this Plan and comment on it.

You can do so by visiting www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/vchap where you can also attend the virtual exhibition. If you have difficulty accessing this information online, you can contact the South Norfolk team on 01508 533805 or email them at lp@s-norfolk.gov.uk

Next Parish Council Meeting

Separate from the VCHAP consultation, our Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday 6 September at 7.30pm (doors open at 7:15pm) in Alpington Village Hall. Please come to meet your friends, neighbours, and local councillors.

Further details will be posted on noticeboards and on this website closer to the date.

The Parish Council (PC) has responsibility for the very old Veteran Oak tree growing on the edge of the Garrick Field (Memorial Field).

Along with many villagers, the PC recognise that this is a much loved tree and it’s presence is valued, it can be seen from the public footpaths and nearby housing on Church Meadow.

Imogen Mole South Norfolk District Council’s Conservation and Tree Officer visited and offered advice and compiled a report, below are some of her comments:

“Ancient and Veteran trees are exceptionally valuable and considered an irreplaceable habitat. This individual has a stem diameter that qualifies it as ancient and also a number of veteran characteristics including decay features, such as branch death and hollowing. It has a good functional crown and is adapted structurally to these characteristics but there is evidence of fire damage.

The features present on this tree contribute to its biodiversity, cultural and heritage value and because of the evidence of fire damage coupled with its location in relative close proximity to dwellings, it could be at risk of future inappropriate work or further damage.

I recommend a Tree Preservation Order (TPO)is placed on this tree to secure it’s long term future and ensure best conservation practice and management of this tree.”

If you are a BBC SpringWatch fan, the episode aired on Wednesday 26th May explained why Oaks are such a valuable habitat supporting over 2,000 species.

Ancient and Veteran trees are exceptionally valued and considered an irreplaceable habitat.

Imogen Mole, South Norfolk District Council’s Conservation and Tree Officer

If you’re interested in the definition of the terms “veteran” and “ancient”, click here for a good summary.

The Yelverton Oak now has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) in place which will help to ensue it’s future for many years to come.

The PC are currently planning for the Oak to be surveyed by a qualified tree surgeon and following this for any appropriate remedial work to be completed.

The sun has finally made a very welcome appearance and we have also had enough rain to launch our gardens into Summer mode.  Now we can start enjoying our gardens while doing some ongoing weeding, watering and feeding. 

Lawns

Continue to mow as needed, cutting the grass a little higher in hot dry weather.

Mulching

If your borders are in full sun and dry out quickly, consider applying a mulch of compost or bark on top of the soil between the plants to reduce water evaporation.

Feeding

Feed container plants, bedding plants and veggies. Liquid-feed tubs and baskets every two weeks if you haven’t already mixed in controlled-release fertiliser.

Bulbs

Lift Spring bulbs when their leaves have turned yellow. Put them indoors in a shallow box to dry then remove the dried leaves and store them in a cool dry shed for Autumn planting.

Greenhouses

Water the greenhouse to dampen it down in hot weather and ensure you have sufficient shading on the glass to prevent your plants from becoming scorched. Spray cucumbers with water to maintain a humid atmosphere for them.  Feed tomatoes, peppers & other greenhouse crops with a high-potash feed such as Tomorite as per the instructions on the bottle.

Harvesting

June is also the time for harvesting early crops – Strawberries, salads, spring onions and radishes you sowed or planted earlier in the year. You may also have the first onions – they are ready when the leaves turn yellow. 

Bring indoor plants outside for the Summer

Move any summer flowering house plants into the garden. They will brighten any patio area and benefit from the extra light.  

Relaxing

Roses are at their best in June, so try to take some time to relax in your garden and enjoy the lovely space you have worked so hard to create. 

Correction re Aphid treatment

In May’s Gardening Tasks, I suggested spraying roses with a washing-up liquid solution to clear greenfly. A colleague has pointed out that this is no longer recommended as many washing up liquids are not plant friendly. Please only use propriety pesticide or greenfly killer to clear greenfly in order to prevent possible damage to your plants and roses.

These tips were kindly contributed by local resident Cara MacColl

Jun/Jul edition of Eleven Says, the Newspaper of the Bramerton Group of Churches covering 11 Parishes.

Lots of road closures at the moment! This one is 15th – 16th June, Mill road (the road out to Green Pastures. Starting at its crossroads Junction with Threadneedle St, for about 50m.

The relevant part of the official notice:

ORDER prohibiting the use by vehicles of the C375 Mill Road from its junction with C374 Threadneedle Street for 50m northwards…

Anglian Water sluice valve repair works are required at the C375 Mill Road from its junction with C374 Threadneedle Street for 50m northwards in the PARISH OF ALPINGTON

Framingham Earl Road is closed tomorrow near to Yelverton pond, for 5 days, due to overhead power cable replacement works.

7.30pm at the village hall Alpington, on Monday 17th May. In person!

Find the agenda below:

For residents’ information, the Parish Council has arranged for new life safety equipment to be installed at the pond. See below for pictures.