There’s been reports of hedgehog casualties on local roads lately.
Please drive carefully and keep an eye out for hedgehogs and other wildlife crossing the road. Also, check for sheltering hedgehogs when clearing up in the garden or having bonfires.
Hedgehogs are now classed as “threatened with extinction” in the UK, and need our help. Also, there are increasing incidents of items such as face masks, wipes and gloves being discarded on paths and roads. This can be hazardous to people as a potential source of infection and to animals who can either become entangled in face masks or eat these items.
Please dispose of these items safely in your waste bins.
After ten years of valued service to the community, Kevin Gotts will be standing down from his role as Parish Councillor at the end of the year. We would like to thank Kevin for all he has done for our community over this time.
This means that there is an opening for a Parish Councillor from January 2021. This is an unpaid role. If you are a resident of Alpington or Yelverton and are interested in serving your local community in this way, please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk.alpington@gmail.com for further information on the role of a parish councillor. There is also some useful information on the Local Government Association’s website, www.local.gov.uk , if you search for the Councillor’s Role. You might also want to have an informal chat with one of the Parish Councillors about the role. Contact the clerk on the same email address above if you would like to be put in touch.
The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday, 4th January 2021. These meetings are open to residents and are currently being held virtually via Zoom due to Coronavirus restrictions. The agenda and login information will be published on the website in advance of the meeting.
The Parish Council is seeking a new Parish Clerk to join the team in the New Year. The role would suit someone who is:
• organised and structured in their approach • confident and professional • experienced at dealing with enquiries and researching for information • numerate and literate • experienced in email, Word, Excel and Zoom
The Clerk’s role requires an average of 4 hours per week including 7 Council meetings per year which are held in the evenings. In recent months the Council meetings have been held using Zoom but at some point, we look forward to holding these in the Village Hall again.
Salary is based on £10 per hour plus allowances including home-working expenses, printing and mileage where travel is required. The Clerk will be required to use their own computer equipment and internet connection.
The Job Profile is available for inspection and a handover is planned with the current Clerk who is retiring from the post. Further training is available once the new Clerk is in post.
Applicants are requested to apply by email to clerk.alpington@gmail.com setting out their experience and stating why they would like to be considered for the role.
The closing date for applications is Monday 7th December 2020 and interviews will take place using Zoom or possibly in person if restrictions allow, during week commencing 14th December.
Please download the following PDF file for the full job description:
If you’re short of any groceries on Monday early evening, Jim’s mobile grocery store could be a convenient option. It makes multiple stops at various villages and locations throughout the week, but is at:
Alpington at 4.45pm Yelverton at 5pm
You can ring on 07967 108986 to request a stop at your doorstep, or ring with an order and they will bring it to you. Or just listen out for the music playing and pop out to meet the van.
For more information see the flyer below, and click through to the Facebook page
These tips were kindly contributed by local resident Cara MacColl:
Autumn is a busy time for gardeners, with all the clearing up of leaves and tidying up of flowerbeds and November will be the month where we start to feel the colder air temperatures and it is likely we will have the first Winter frosts.
Planting
Plant any bare-root trees and herbaceous shrubs throughout this month and plant your tulip bulbs in the ground or in pots. You can also create some colour throughout the Winter months by planting up tubs and baskets with evergreen perennials, ornamental grasses, winter pansies and polyanthus.
Protecting from winds and frost
Young trees over 1m high will need staking for support, especially in exposed locations.
November is a rainy and often windy month so protect larger roses from wind-rock by pruning them down by a third and protect any container plants in non frost proof pots with bubblewrap around them or moving them into a greenhouse or shed.
Garden furniture will also need protecting at this time of year, so cover any wooden tables, chairs or benches or move them undercover.
Lawns
November is the last chance to lay turf. If you are planning to lay a new lawn, try to undertake this task over a few frost-free days or when the soil isn’t waterlogged. If the weather is dry and mild you may be able to cut established lawns for the last time this month.
Digging
It’s a perfect time for digging over the vegetable patch or allotment, provided the ground isn’t waterlogged. If you leave the soil in large clumps, the Winter frosts will break the soil down into a crumbly finish for you.
Tidying up
Continue clearing fallen leaves off your lawn, paths and driveways and putting them into black bin liners to rot down into leaf mulch to use next year.
To mark Remembrance Sunday, we wanted to share a few photos from around the village, taken by parish council member and local photographer Kevin Gotts.
At the church
Mick, a local ex-serviceman who helps a lot in the churchyard
Photos by Kevin Gotts
Church meadow
Before the larger figure was put in place
Photos by Kevin Gotts
If you have any similar photos you’d like to share with us, please contact us and we’ll be very happy to add them to this post.
Remembrance Sunday and the upcoming Armistice Day will of course be a bit different this year, but however you choose to remember, you won’t be alone in doing so.
Due to the government imposing a further lock-down, the Parish Council has made the decision to re-launch the villages Community Emergency Plan, as from Thursday 5 November.
The volunteers in Alpington and Yelverton, who helped and supported local residents earlier this year, are ready to offer help and support again.
If you would like help with shopping, collecting medicines or just someone to chat to please contact your local volunteer.
If you have misplaced your introductory card which was sent out in March introducing them and giving their contact details, please ring either:
Louise 01508 492599 – Emergency Plan Coordinator
Sue 01508 491185 – Deputy Emergency Plan Coordinator
and we will forward your request to your local volunteer.
Hopefully this lock-down will not be as difficult as the first one and has the desired effect.
Thank you to our team of volunteers who work hard for our residents.
We would like to publicise the help available from South Norfolk Council and Norfolk County Council regarding the ongoing Free School Meals situation, and details of how families in South Norfolk can seek support during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Please share this post if you can, in case others in your network might need to access the support.
The South Norfolk Help Hub
Cabinet at South Norfolk Council has put together the following statement regarding the ongoing Free School Meals situation, and details of how families in South Norfolk can seek support from the Early Help Hub:
We recognise that sometimes people needed a little extra assistance and we have worked hard over many years to set up community projects such as Community Fridges and our Connectors service. Through this service, ‘Community Connectors’ from South Norfolk Council’s early Help Hub are posted to GP surgeries across the district to offer support to people before they are in crisis.
But we don’t just restrict ourselves to helping those with children. Your local council has a well-established support network in place and during this pandemic, we have distributed thousands of food parcels and hardship payments to families in all situations.
We are already working to provide additional help to residents who receive council tax support and housing benefit, but our job is to be there for all families, regardless of circumstances,
remembering especially that it is often those with the quietest voices that may need the most help.
Some only need us to solve a small temporary problem, some need longer term assistance. If you need help or know someone who does, it’s easy to get in touch.
Here’s how:
visit our website for information about our Help Hub and Community Connectors
use the online request form
phone us on 01508 533933
text ADVICE to 07860 017323
visit your GP who will put you in contact
ask your District Councillor who can signpost you to someone
There are various ways to access the fund on that website, but residents can also access this fund is either by simply calling the Help Hub on 01508 533933 or by contacting the community connector. My understanding is that these are found here for South Norfolk: https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/residents/communities/community-connectors
We are pleased to announce that we have another round of funding available for distribution, received from the CBF (annual monies received from the Solar Farm) and CIL (contributions from new housing).
As in previous years, we would like to invite applications from groups or individuals who seek funding to make a positive impact within our community.
Please download the file below for details of the exact criteria.
If you have an idea, project or need for funding that meets the criteria then please contact the Clerk for an application form at clerk.alpington@gmail.com
Please have your completed applications returned to the Clerk by 13th November 2020.
The results will be announced on 30th November.
Please help us make the best use of these funds and together we’ll make a difference to our community. Thank you.
Alpington and Yelverton 