Burgate Lane in Alpington will be closed from 31st March to 11th April 2025 to facilitate the installation of a new fibre network.
From the official notice: …affecting the U76372 Burgate Lane from its junction with U76373 Reeders Lane for 655m north westwards (the “Road”) in the Parish of Alpington to facilitate installation of new fibre network for BDUK, the Road will be temporarily closed (except for pedestrian access) for the duration of the works/period the closure is necessary which is anticipated to be from 31st March to 11th April 2025, but may continue to be closed/restricted until the 23rd May 2025 where the closure is still required beyond the anticipated dates…
A message passed on from the Parish Council from the leader of South Norfolk Council, regarding the proposal to create a Combined Authority across Norfolk and Suffolk. A consultation is open now at the link provided, if you want to have a say.
Norfolk and Suffolk have been placed on the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP), following a request from both County Councils to join the programme and delay their County elections in 2025. The DPP is for areas wishing to pursue establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority (also known as a Combined Authority). This will be with a view to inaugural mayoral elections in May 2026.
Government have recently released a consultation on the proposed establishment of a Mayoral Combined Authority across Norfolk and Suffolk. For context, the proposed Combined Authority will led by a Mayor, with Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council having constituent and voting seats (district councils will not have a constituent seat). Devolved power and funding would be passed to the Combined Authority who will make decisions for Norfolk and Suffolk on topics such as strategic transport, housing, growth and the environment.
The Parish Council has been given an update on the broadband improvements that are currently going on in the village. The message that CityFibre have sent is below.
You may be aware that CityFibre has been awarded a contract to provide a full fibre broadband network to mainly rural areas across Norfolk. This four-year government programme will see over 110,000 premises across the county connected to our gigabit-capable, fibre-to-the-premises network.
We wanted to let you know that work is due to take place in your area shortly. As we move from area to area, we will endeavour to let parish councils know ahead of time. Please feel free to pass this message on to councillors.
The contractor carrying out the work on our behalf is OCU Utility Services. Wherever possible, existing duct and pole infrastructure will be used to reduce the amount of construction required. However, new infrastructure will be needed, and we are working closely with the council’s highways team to coordinate any work that is required.
Why is this work so important? In a rapidly changing world, we rely more and more on digital connectivity and the UK needs to ensure its residents and businesses can cope with future demands. This is not just about being able to better browse the internet or stream television programmes. There are many other factors to consider such as:
Households have an ever-increasing number of internet connected devices like smart speakers, domestic appliances, heating control systems and doorbells. Smart TVs and gaming consoles become more and more sophisticated requiring faster internet speeds. The Covid 19 pandemic has demonstrated how important fast and reliable broadband is. Essential services such as healthcare and education are now increasingly online and regular homeworking has become the norm for many. When buying a house the speed of the internet is now one of the top purchasing factors. If you would like to know more about our build process, please visit cityfibre.com/build. Our latest project information, including an FAQ and a way to register for updates is available at www.cityfibre.com/projectgigabit. When it’s time to order services, residents and businesses will also be able to choose from a range of internet service providers.
If you have any immediate questions then please let us know, preferably via Contact_CityfibreSouth@cityfibre.com or by contacting me on the number below. We will provide further updates as the build progresses.
March is the first month of Spring, longer and brighter days at last! There are likely to be some cold weeks but overall the average daily temperature will be increasing, encouraging our gardens into life again.
Plants to buy or enjoy in March
Herbs: Seek out small herb plants to pot up in containers near your back door
Young bedding plants: Look for good value young bedding plants to grow-on in your greenhouse, until they can be planted out.
Some plants to enjoy: Bergenia, Camellia, Daphne, Hellebores, Primroses.
General garden maintenance
• If dry enough, mow lawns and re-cut the edges with a half-moon edging tool • Dig out a small pond to attract more wildlife • Put slug barrier products around the new shoots of Hostas • Replant pots of flowered bulbs from indoors into borders • Check that tree ties aren’t too tight and that stakes are still firmly in the ground • Prune out any wind-damaged branches on trees and shrubs • Check for new shoots of ground elder, fork these up & remove all roots you see • Place bug boxes in sheltered corners, for insects to lay their eggs • Keep putting out food for garden birds, as the breeding season gets underway • Cut back winter-flowering Jasmine to tidy it up and encourage flowers next year
Flowerbeds & pots
• Deadhead any daffodil seedheads on daffodils leaving the leaves to die back naturally • Finish pruning roses early in the month • Cut Dogwoods, Willows and Cotinus right down to the base to promote vigorous new growth • Start sowing hardy annuals outdoors, including California poppies & Nasturtiums • Tidy up alpines as they start to flower, removing dead foliage, then mulch with grit to keep the foliage off damp soil • Plant lilies and other summer-flowering bulbs in pots • Feed ericaceous shrubs, such as Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias and Pieris, with an ericaceous fertiliser • Tidy up borders, removing established and newly-germinating weeds, then mulch generously with garden compost • Plant new roses and other shrubs and climbers • Sow native wildflower seeds in trays or modules, to produce plants for your own mini-meadow • Scatter general-purpose fertiliser over flowerbeds and around roses, shrubs and hedges
Fruit & Vegetables
• Give blackcurrant bushes a high-nitrogen feed • Sow tomatoes, chillies, sweet peppers and aubergines in pots indoors • Plant onion and shallot sets, spacing them 10-15cm apart, and keep the bed free of weeds • Avoid carrot root fly by sowing an early crop of carrots under cloches or fleece • Make the first outdoor sowings of spinach, covering with cloches or fleece • Plant early potatoes in trenches in the ground or in pots • Sow parsnips as soon as the soil starts to warm up, as they’re slow to germinate and need a long growing season • Plant a fig tree in a large container to restrict its roots, which encourages fruiting and limits its overall size • Start hoeing veg beds as soon as the weather starts to warm up, as weeds will germinate quickly • Plant strawberries in a hanging basket or trough to keep the fruits away from slugs
Greenhouse or Windowsill
• Open greenhouse vents on sunny days to prevent humidity building up • Get celeriac, celery, lettuces and parsley off to a good start sowing indoors, to transplant into the garden later • Sow a selection of vibrant annual climbers, such as Spanish flag (Ipomoea lobata) and black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata) • Sow Coleus on a warm windowsill to enjoy their vibrant foliage indoors or in tropical-style displays outside • Sow dwarf French beans in a large pot for an early indoor crop in June • Pot up overwintering cannas into fresh compost, water in, then place in a warm spot to spur them into growth • Sow sweet peas in deep pots and keep in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill • Protect greenhouse sowings of beans, peas & sweet peas from hungry mice
The next Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council meeting will be held at 7.30pm at the village hall, Mon 3rd Mar 2025. The agenda is downloadable here.
Slade Lane in Yelverton will be closed from 18th to 19th February 2025 to facilitate drainage works.
From the official notice:
…affecting the C374 Slade Lane from its junction with the A146 Loddon Road to its junction with the U76327 Back Lane (the “Road”) in the parish of Yelverton to facilitate Norfolk County Council drainage works, the Road will be temporarily closed (except for pedestrian access) for the duration of the works/period the closure is necessary which is anticipated to be from 18th to 19th February 2025…
An organ recital titled “Inspired by Bells” by Richard Bower will be held at St. Mary’s Church, Yelverton on Saturday, 8th March at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are priced at £10
From the FRIENDS OF ST. MARY’S CHURCH
Saturday, 8th March
‘INSPIRED BY BELLS’
An Organ Recital by Richard Bower
in St. Mary’s Church, Yelverton
at 7.30 p.m. Tickets £10 available from Mary Fewster 01508 492059 or Brian Bugg 01508 492131
Norfolk County Council plans to temporarily close a section of Cherrywood Road in Alpington from February 4th to 6th, 2025, to facilitate Anglian Water works for a new water connection.
From the official notice:
…proposes to make a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (the “Order”) (STRO11884) affecting the U7624/18 Cherrywood from 35m west of its junction with U76524/12 Cherrywood for 35m westwards (the “Road”) in the Parish of Alpington to facilitate Anglian Water works for a new water connection, the Road will be temporarily closed (except for pedestrian access) for the duration of the works/period the closure is necessary which is anticipated to be from 4th to 6th February 2025,
February is the month which should signal the end of Winter, when we can all start preparing for Spring and enjoy being out in our gardens more often, as the weather permits.
Plants to buy or enjoy this month
Shrubs: Early flowering Camelias, Jasminum nudiflorum (winter flowering Jasmine), Garrya elliptica (also known as the Silk Tassel tree)
Perennials & Bulbs: Hellebores, native Primroses, Pulmonaria. Also early Daffodils, Crocuses and Aconites.
General Garden maintenance
• If snow falls, knock it off evergreen shrubs & conifers to prevent branches snapping or bowing under the weight • Firm back down any plants that have been lifted by frost • Put garden compost or well-rotted manure on beds and fork it in • Clear away old plant debris from pond margins and scoop out any leaves that have fallen into the water • Spread a layer of well-rotted manure around roses and shrubs • Install a nest box with a camera, so you can watch birds raising their young in Spring
Flowerbeds & Pots
• Cut down deciduous ornamental grasses left standing over winter, before fresh shoots appear • Divide large clumps of snowdrops and Winter aconites after flowering and replant to start new colonies • Divide congested clumps of herbaceous perennials and grasses to make vigorous new plants for free • Move dormant deciduous shrubs growing in the wrong place • Pot up containers with hardy spring bedding, such as primroses, wallflowers and forget-me-nots • Sprinkle slow-release fertiliser around the base of roses and other flowering shrubs
Pruning
• Prune hybrid tea and floribunda roses, before growth restarts • Prune late-summer flowering clematis, cutting stems back to healthy buds about 30cm from the base • Trim back ivy, Virginia creeper and other climbers if they have outgrown their space, before birds start nesting • Prune winter-blooming shrubs such as mahonia & winter jasmine after they’ve flowered • Cut back wisteria side shoots to three buds, to encourage abundant flowers in spring • Give winter heathers a light trim after flowering, removing shoot tips but not cutting back into old wood • Prune buddleia and elder down to 1m or to the base to keep these vigorous shrubs to a reasonable size • Cut away all the old foliage from epimediums with shears, before the spring flowers start to develop • Finish winter-pruning fruit trees and soft fruits, including apples, autumn raspberries and blackcurrants
Greenhouse
• Remove any faded or yellowing leaves from overwintering plants • Wash greenhouse glazing inside and out to let in more light • Sow sweet peas in deep pots and keep them frost-free in a greenhouse and pinch out Autumn-sown sweet peas to encourage side shoots • Sow summer bedding and tender annuals, including cosmos, lobelia, dahlias, nasturtiums and snapdragons • Sow tender crops such as tomatoes and chillies in a heated propagator • Plant dahlia tubers in trays to encourage shoots to develop • Start planting summer bulbs in pots indoors, including begonias, gloxinias, lilies and agapanthus • Cut back overwintered fuchsias and start watering them sparingly to encourage new growth
Alpington and Yelverton 