Litcham Parish Council Homepage

The Youth Project is run entirely by volunteers, if you could spare a couple of hours a month to help and are aged over 21, then please contact Judith Bentley.

The Litcham Allotment and Leisure Gardeners' Association (LALGA)
has a petition in the village shop. It calls for the Parish Council to object to the proposal to turn over the allotment site to development. All those who are opposed to the proposal are invited to sign this petition. This proposal will be discussed at the next Parish Council meeting in September.

WOULD YOU LIKE AN ALLOTMENT?
The Trustees of Litcham Relief in Need Charity are currently updating their list of people who may be interested in renting an allotment plot. Some of the plots are being tidied up, drained and resized by a team of volunteers from the Litcham Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Association, so you would be taking over a small, manageable plot. If you're interested and would like to add your name to the list (or confirm that we already have your name), please phone Liz Christie on 01328-701765.

Mileham W. I.
We meet on Tuesday: 16th. September at 7.15 pm in the Village Hall.
Our speaker is Karen Stuart and her talk "Who do you think you are?"
Visitors are welcome and we make a small charge of £1.50.
Gooderstone trip
The weather was perfect for our evening visit to the beautiful Gooderstone Water Gardens on July the 15th. It was an unforgettable experience and especially so for those members who saw three Kingfishers. We had a warm welcome from the owner, Coral Hoyos, who gave us a brief history of the gardens.
Judy Ryder 701309.
(This article was inadvertantly ommitted from the last issue of Church and Village)

LITCHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Next meeting of the Litcham Parish Council will be held on
Monday 1st september 2008 at
7.00 p.m. in the Jubilee Hall, Church Street

For the purpose of transacting the business set out on the published Agenda (click here to view...).
The public and press are cordially invited to attend. The first part of the meeting is opened to the public to bring to the attention of the council any matters not covered in the agenda and to make representations on matters on the agenda.

The first part of this meeting is to discuss the proposed sites for development within litcham when your opinions would assist the partish council in finalising its response to Breckland Council

Litcham Parish Council - The Local Development Framework Explained

Breckland Council are presently in a public consultation process concerning the future development (or otherwise) of Litcham. This process arises from a Central Government initiative called a 'Local Development Framework' (LDF). This will replace the existing 'Village Guidelines' as areas within the village where new buildings might be considered for approval. Opting out of the LDF process is not an option.
In June your Councillors received a presentation from Breckland District Council about their site specific proposals and village guidelines within the Local Development Framework (LDF). Breckland are at the stage with their LDF where they are conducting a public consultation with you, the public, about the impact their plans will have on Litcham over the next 20 years. This public consultation runs from the 30th June 2008 to the 26th September 2008.
Firstly to explain a bit about the process, Breckland have targets to build new homes and to do that they need land to build on. They have received a range of suggestions from landowners across the district about possible sites for housing and industrial development. The planners have assessed each of these suggestions and classified them into three groups: Conforming, non-conforming, and unreasonable. Conforming sites meet requirements to have houses at open market built on them, subject to planning. Unreasonable sites are sites that Breckland consider unsuitable for development as the site, for example, may be too large for Litcham or be unsuitable because of location. Finally, non conforming sites are those where houses or industrial development could be built if there is a policy change or the guidelines are moved. There may be other sites of course which have not yet come forward, and they would be similarly classified.
The sites for Litcham are shown on the map above, which also shows the current guidelines. To explain what guidelines are-if there are no guidelines within a village this means that no development would be allowed unless there are exceptional circumstances which would be considered when a planning application is submitted. If guidelines exist then development may take place within them subject to planning approval.
You can make your views known on line at www.breckland.gov.uk, and you will see a map of Litcham showing the sites. You can write to Breckland Council in Dereham or the Parish Clerk at the address below. You can send a fax to 01362 656297, or an e mail to planningpolicyteam@breckland.gov.uk.
Your final option would be to attend our open meeting on the 1st September 2008 at 7.00 pm at the Jubilee Hall when the Parish Council will put forward its proposals for discussion and after the meeting will forward its decision to Breckland. You can of course do all the above, because the more response the Council get the clearer we/they will be about how the village feels on this very important issue.
Clerk: Bryan Leigh
Riverside Cottage River Lane East Bilney Dereham NR20 4HS
Tel: 01362 861112 or mobile: 07746550201 : e-mail: clerk@litcham.org

POUND LANE FOOTWAY
Work will begin at the end of week commencing 18/08/2008 to reconstruct the footway. This work will take approx two weeks to complete (weather permitting).
Traffic Lights will be in place for the duration of the works. The work extends from outside the School to the junction of Weasenham Road .
Access to properties will be maintained at all times, although it is likely that there will be some disruption. The County Council apologises for any inconvenience this may cause. The work which will cost £13,000.00 will be carried out by Norfolk County Council P&T Partnership.
For Further Information call Steve Williams , Highway Agent, 0844 8008009.
The County Council works in partnership with May Gurney (Construction Services Company) and Mott MacDonald (Engineering and Management Consultants) to deliver highways, transport, planning and environmental services in Norfolk. Up-to-date information about roadworks in Norfolk is available on the County Council website at www.roadworks.norfolk.gov.uk.

HOMEWATCH ALERT! Litcham along with others local villages is being hit at the moment with shed and outbuilding breaks. Be extra vigilant. You can buy a very simple shed alarm from around £5, also mark valuable tools and other items with a u.v. pen.

Litcham Common Conservation Group - The conservation group will not be meeting in September as the normal task date clashes with the Norfolk Churches Trust sponsored bike ride. The next task will take place on Saturday 11th October.

TREASURE HUNT
On Sunday September 7th at 2pm in aid of Litcham Methodist chapel flower fund. Starting from Paul and Glenda Archer’s at Springview Druids Lane, Litcham. Approx walking time 1 to 1½ hours finishing at Springview for a well earned cup of tea. And later to announce the winner of the prize.
Entry fee @2.00 per person, under 12s free, for more information please ring Paul and Glenda on 01328 701388

PONIES ON LITCHAM COMMON

Lucky Boy (bay) and George (dark grey)

A fourth Dartmoor pony, "Freedom" has joined the three that arrived on Litcham Common on 17th June. Freedom sustained a leg injury shortly after arriving at Roydon Common recuperating at North Elmham since then.
The other three of our ponies, Lucky, Simon and George, seem to have settled onto the Common well.
Many people and organisations have contributed to help make this grazing project possible. Staff from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust have spent a great deal of time providing training and advice, helping out on site and arranging care for Freedom while he has been injured. We are also grateful to Richard Eagle and his team for doing such an excellent job putting up the new fencing, and to Norfolk County Council which has provided the funding.
A team of local volunteers check the ponies on a daily basis to ensure they are where they are supposed to be (rather than on Mr Foster’s field, which we hope doesn’t happen too often!) and are in good condition. However, in the case of an emergency please either ‘phone me (Tim Angell) on 01328 700045 or Sarah Cureton on 07770 668013.
We are pleased that so many people have been to have a look at the ponies on the Common. However, please note that they are not tame animals or pets, and the following simple but important rules should be followed:

• Do not attempt to touch or feed the animals •

• Keep dogs under close control at all times •

In particular, these are hardy animals used to eating low nutrient grasses and other vegetation, so giving them different food will be detrimental to their health. It could also encourage them to be over-friendly and follow people around, thereby causing a nuisance. Even if the ponies come towards you please resist the temptation to pet them or “make friends” with them!
More information about the ponies, including photos, can be found on the internet at www.litcham.org by clicking on the Common tab.
Tim Angell on behalf of Litcham Common Management Committee

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