REPORTS TO

TITTLESHALL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

23rd APRIL 2019

CONTENTS

TITTLESHALL ALLOTMENTS 2 TITTLESHALL BOWLS CLUB 3 TITTLESHALL METHODIST CHAPEL COFFEE MORNINGS 3 COUNTY COUNCILLOR FOR AND LAUNDITCH 4 TITTLESHALL METHODIST CHURCH 6 St. MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCH 7 PILATES AND NIA IN TITTLESHALL VILLAGE HALL 8 ROYAL BRITISH LEGION 8 TITTLESHALL POOR’S LAND TRUST 9 TITTLESHALL ARTS 9 ‘TITTLESHALL WALKERS’ 9 TITTLESHALL VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 10 YOGA 11

REPORTS TO TITTLESHALL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 23rd APRIL 2019

TITTLESHALL ALLOTMENTS REPORT TO THE AGM 23rd APRIL 2019 The village allotments are situated at the bottom end of the village adjacent to the green, surrounded on two sides by lush, high hedges which provide both privacy and protection and are full of blossom at this time of year. There are the equivalent of eleven single plots, though three people hold doubles, making a total of eight allotment-holders..

In the Autumn we erected the new gate which the Parish Council kindly provided. This involved a working- party over two weekends and we are delighted by the outcome in terms of both practicability and smartness. There was also a working day in which the conifer hedge, which is both large and long on the boundary with Holly Tree House, was trimmed back, hopefully before the birds started to nest-build, and on this occasion it was done using our own labour and tools.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Grenville Daglas who regularly cuts the paths and grass car park for us, and mark Robinson, whose time, equipment and materials are often called on when there are projects in hand.

The rent for this year will remain at £17-50 for a single plot, and £35-00 for a double. This generates £192- 50, of which £145-00 is needed by the Parish Council to pay rent to the diocese, the remainder being available for maintenance of the allotment field. At a meeting of the allotment-holders held on the 16th March a change in the way this kitty is managed was suggested. This will be for consideration by the Parish Council at the meeting on 7th May.

There is currently a waiting list of one ( if one name can be considered a list ) as well as one serious expression of interest from a resident who retires in a couple of years. if anyone else is interested do get in touch with me or any of the allotment-holders.

Finally it is very pleasing to report that all the plots are in good order and in a very pleasing state of cultivation. The facility is a very valuable asset for the village. It is a delightful, peaceful, and rather beautiful place to work amongst a group of friendly and like-minded gardeners.

Paul Hands April 2019

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TITTLESHALL BOWLS CLUB REPORT FOR ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 23rd APRIL 2019 During the past year we sadly lost 3 members: Jan Goodey, Gerry Warner and Sandy Wheal. All of them played for many years and worked hard for the Club. Prior to the 2018 Season improvements were made to the Pavilion which included practical alterations to the access to the toilet — it now has its own external door. More recently amendments have been made to storage areas including a new shed for match equipment. The Green continues to be maintained to a very high standard by Arthur Drinkwater and Chris Millward. Membership dropped to 24 players in 2018 and this possibly reflected our performances: 7“‘ in the League (and relegated), 6"‘ in the Elmham League and 3"‘ in the Horsford Afternoon League. We did however win the Afternoon League Cup and were runners—up in the Dereham Hospital Cup. The future is bright. Thanks to generous sponsorship by Peelings Coaches we have attractive new shirts in the club colours of blue, green and white. A Thursday Club Night is being introduced from 25th April, offering potential new members a chance to learn the game. Free equipment and tutoring will be provided. And more social events have been introduced, with a charitable element.

The details of all these, plus our fixture list, can be accessed on our new website and via printed information sheets available from members.

Finally, Arthur Drinkwater has replaced Gerry Warner as a Trustee, joining John Garner, Mike Colman and Paul Bothamley.

Dennis King (Chair/Secretary)

TITTLESHALL METHODIST CHAPEL COFFEE MORNINGS The coffee mornings at the Tittleshall Methodist Chapel continue weekly on a Wednesday morning from 10.30 am to 12.00 noon. At present we number approximately 8-10 regular supporters who come from Tittleshall, , and .

In March again this year Ailsa Warburton organised an extremely successful Soup Lunch / Coffee Morning at the Chapel which wasvery well supported. Between 35-40 people coming from Tittleshall, Litcham, Mileham Fakenham and .

We continue to run separate coffee mornings every other month, on a Thursday, through the months March to November specifically for the Kings Lynn Cycle Club. For this we provide refreshments e.g. savouries, scones, cakes, teas and coffees for anything between twenty five to forty cyclists. This again is very well supported.

I am therefore pleased to say that the coffee mornings continue to survive.

Barbara McGoun, 16th April 2019

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COUNTY COUNCILLOR FOR NECTON AND LAUNDITCH Annual Report 2018-2019. County Council agreed a net budget of £409.293m on the 11th February. It was agreed that Council tax would rise by 2.99% adding £39.51 per year to a band D property and that an adult social care charge of a further 3% rise was not to be made. The financial climate in which local government operates continues to be challenging with significant and ongoing reductions in core funding at the same time as substantial service cost pressures. The agreed council tax increase of 2.99% will enable the Council to protect vital services and will help to ensure a robust and sustainable financial position in future years.

The Council has absorbed significant and ongoing cuts in government funding, a total of £204m between 2010-11 and 2018-19. There are significant cost pressures such as inflation, demographic changes, unfunded burdens such as the National Living Wage and the need of vulnerable social care users becoming increasingly complex. Despite those pressures the Council is continuing to deliver savings and has plans in place to deliver £79m of savings by 2021-22. This includes £32m of saving in this financial year.

The Council has also agreed a £549m, 3 year, capital programme which will pay for investment in infrastructure, property and equipment. £120m will be spent on new special schools and resource bases for children with special educational needs, £120m on the third river crossing at Yarmouth, £9m for extra care housing to help older people live independently as part of a total investment of £29m. Most of the expenditure for capital projects is borrowed from the Public Works Loan Board, a department of HM Treasury, and repaid from revenue over a long period.

Adult social care costs continue to escalate, and the Council has made provision in the budget to invest £6m to address growing demand. Although the 3% adult social care precept was not raised this year all council tax rises from 2016-17 to 2018-19 are expected, by government, to be spent on adult social care. Thus, this year’s council tax bill shows an adult social care precept of £96.05 for a band D property with no increase for this year. Additionally, government has awarded the Council a grant of £4.2m to help alleviate winter pressure on the Counties health and social care services. The money will go towards measures to avoid unnecessary delays in hospitals for people with mental health difficulties; bolster the short term capacity in the care market and to provide reablement support to enable people to regain their ability to live independently.

There are also substantial financial pressures on Children’s Services. The Council has around 200 statutory responsibilities for children and the government has increased the top of the age range from 18 to 25. There are 1200 children in the care of the Council (the numbers have stabilised), 3000 children in special and complex needs schools, 2,900 children in need (590 with CP plans) and 20,000 children with special educational needs. The under 225 population of Norfolk is 243,00. As an example, home to school transport costs £27.7m pa, placements and support for looked after children costs £57m pa and education and care for children with SEN £56.4m pa out of a total budget of £186m.

The government awarded the Council £12.7m to fund pot hole repairs and highway improvement schemes. The highway team have been doing a good job over the summer and have largely caught up with the backlog of work. The extra cash must all be spent by the end of the financial year so some improvement schemes which have been shelved though lack of funding have been resurrected. In my area much needed resurfacing of 2 miles the B1145 was completed in February. Resurfacing work at 3 busy junctions will be carried out before the end of March.

The Council continues to lobby government and the Highways Agency, through the A47 Alliance, to fund the dualling of the A47 from Peterborough to Yarmouth. The stretch of road between Tuddenham and Easton has been approved and work will start in 2021/22, this will provide a continuous dual carriageway Pg. 4 REPORTS TO TITTLESHALL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 23rd APRIL 2019 link between Dereham and . Other schemes in Norfolk to 2020 include junction improvements at Thickthorn and at Yarmouth and dualling between Blofield and North Burlingham. Another top priority for the Council is the so called western link, the construction of a road between the A1067 and the A47. This would link the newly completed Northway (the NDR) with the A47. The final account for the construction of the Broadland Northway has been settled in the sum of £205m.

An additional £11m contract has been let to increase the superfast (>10mbps) broadband coverage from 92% to 95% in Norfolk. This will typically give coverage to properties and businesses that cannot be connected by Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) solutions and will use other technologies including Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). The small improvement in coverage for a fairly sizeable investment reflect the difficulty in reaching premises remote from the FTTC solution.

Last May the Council took the decision to revert to the Cabinet system of governance from May 2019 (an earlier transition was not possible legally). The recent departure of the Managing Director has given rise to an opportunity to move to an Executive Leader model. This would mean that the Council would be run on a day to day basis through weekly meetings between Cabinet members and the Senior Management Team (the paid Directors) with the Leader as Chair with all decisions being put through Cabinet or promulgated for consideration by Members. 4 Scrutiny Committees will monitor outcomes and will run a call-in system where decisions taken by the Executive Members and Cabinet can be called in by Members for discussion.

Mark Kiddle-Morris, March 2019

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TITTLESHALL METHODIST CHURCH REPORT TO THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING - APRIL 2019

We are a small congregation, supported by one or two non-residents. We do not restrict our endeavours solely to religious services but try to carry our Christian convictions into the community. We are not ‘an hour on a Sunday’ group.

Our members serve on the Parish Council, Village Hall Management Committee, are active in the village Bowls Club. Also, one of our members is a published composer and has issued several CD’s.

We attach a great deal of importance to our connection with the Trussell Trust Foodbank branch at Fakenham where one of our members helps in distribution and friends help with distribution and also transport of goods to the warehouse in Dereham. We operate a collection point on Sunday 9-11am and Wednesdays 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon. We have very good support from villagers with donations of food.

Our Wednesday coffee mornings continue, 10.30am to 12 noon with our regular band of supporters. There is real coffee, tea, hot chocolate, biscuits and often super cake and there is no charge, it’s ‘donations invited’. lt’s a great chat-shop, not religious. if you do see Andrew the Minister he is there for conversation not preaching. We are a disabled access and dementia friendly Church with toilet facilities - everyone always welcome. Why not try it out one Wednesday?

We have a close connection with the West Norfolk & King's Lynn Cycling Club and five or six times a year we provide a refreshment stop for them, with the help of friends outside the Chapel which gives us much—needed funds.

In the autumn we join in the national MacMillan Coffee Morning and last year raised £444.24. Also we have someone at the Chapel during the Norfolk Churches Trust Cycle Ride to sign participants in and raised £105 sponsorship shared by the Trust and the Chapel.

On 15‘ March this year Tittleshall Chapel was one of the venues chosen locally for the annual world-wide Day of Prayer which was attended by some 25 people. We have received very good reports and we are very grateful for the help we received in providing refreshments.

Also last month we had our second Soup Lunch fund-raiser with a menu of four soups and several desserts plus coffee and tea. We didn't make a charge but received £400.50 in donations together with, I would say, praise and thanks from all participants.

We are part of the Central Norfolk Methodist Circuit which comprises 29 churches from in the South to Blakeney in the north. Our annual contribution towards the cost of running the Circuit is approximately £3400. On top of this we have to meet our utility cost, light, heat, water and insurance and we make contributions to several Methodist Charities. The majority of these costs are met by the direct giving of the members.

In the spirit of extending our mission outside the Chapel building we give our Harvest Thanksgiving collection to Send a Cow (agriculture and horticulture missionary work in Central and East Africa) and our Christmas services collections go to Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice and East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Ailsa Warburton, Senior Steward

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St. MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCH P.C.C. Secretary’s Report for the Annual Parish Meeting 2019

2018/19 has been a time of consolidation and forward planning. During the year, the P.C.C. has held five meetings, with an average attendance of 7 committee members per meeting. The committee is focussed, supportive and dedicated to the future of the _ church and it’s place in the community. There has been one resignation since the last meeting.1 new member in 2018, The P.C.C. approached villagers who either hold other community roles or who have shown an interest in the church, to set up an informal “Friends” group.

The Rector had disseminated a brief memo. to every household in the village explaining that the church was under threat due to lack of support at worship and church events: other members for the “friends” group were taken from the responses to this communication.

In 2018, it was found that a direct, individual and personal approach by the P.C.C. whether for worship, fundraising or community events , has achieved the best results and we will consolidate on this approach in the coming year.

The informal communication and critical “friends” group of 17 villagers has been asked to respond and comment on the future of the church, fundraising activities and alterations to the fabric of the church. The new fabric plan was created following information finding meetings with the Diocesan DAC and Fundraising Officers. A plan to make significant alterations and internal renovations to the church has been put to the P.C.C. and will be discussed with the “friends” group. It is estimated, that to achieve our ambitions, we will need to grant find in excess of £350,000.

Other planned site changes are to fell the diseased and dangerous Horse Chestnut trees at the main entrance to the church and to rebuild and repair the main gates and supporting pillars (the latter item will be funded separately from focussed individual donations)

There are some ambitious fundraising events planned for 2019 and it is hoped that these will not only serve to raise much needed funds but also to develop community ties and friendships. To enable two internationally recognised music acts to perform in our church, we have taken a new approach to raise sponsorship to cover event costs, rather than take this from the net profits. This is an interesting and innovative idea that we hope will reap rewards.

In summary, the P.C.C. has developed links in the community and within the village of Tittleshall particularly, and has a short , medium and long-range plan to secure the future of the church, although the amount of effort to achieve these ambitions, with the available resources is extremely daunting.

We are pleased to say our worshiping community has grown slightly. We are very grateful that the Parish Council agreed to maintain payments to the upkeep of the Churchyardwhich we believe benefits the whole village.

Mary Osborne, P.C.C. Secretary

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PILATES AND NIA IN TITTLESHALL VILLAGE HALL

I started teaching Pilates in Tittleshall Village Hall last year and the class numbers have steadily grown. It’s a lovely welcoming hall to teach in and a good size for group classes. It is also heats up quickly in winter which is a big plus! I am currently teaching 3 group classes (and looking at adding a 4th one) about 4 to 5 private and duet classes and a Nia dance class. The classes vary in size…8 in one class, 7 in another and 4 in another. Pilates is highly adaptable and can be used for rehabilitation, back care ( I have done courses in Pilates for chronic back pain) as well as general fitness and advanced level training. Most of the classes in Tittleshall are beginner/improver classes. One private client has Parkinsons. I class is an intermediate class. NAI is dance fitness, using functional movement, easy (ish!) choreography and great music. It’s a lot of fun. People of different fitness levels can attend the same class. The hall is a little small but perfect for the 5 or 6 people who attend. It could probably take 8 people maximum. The system of paying per session rather than per hour works very well for me; it makes it affordable and allows me to have 2 or 3 classes in a session. It means if I have 1 busy class, I can maintain a small class in the same session. What might be worth considering is having a key box, as Village Hall does. That way people don’t have to come and unlock the hall. Just a thought. Christine Morling

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION LITCHAM, TITTLESHALL & DISTRICT BRANCH Annual Statement dated 1st March 2019 Presented to Tittleshall Parish Annual Meeting on Tuesday 23rd April 2019

The membership of the branch is now down to 4 local members. The branch is still in existence but not having a chairman we haven't had a formal meeting for the last three years. Again a number of RBL members from other branches have joined the branch so as to keep the branch in being, with the County Chairman acting as the branch chairman. We have had a member from the Dereham Branch making use of the branch standard at various functions in the local area but unfortunately she has since returned the Standard to Litcham and is now kept in All Saint's Church and put to use at the Remembrance Sunday Service, and only likely will be used at Remembrances services at All Saints Church or the Methodist Chapel in the future. The collections for the Poppy Appeal sent to the Norfolk Poppy Appeal for 2018 amounted to £708.96 from the following sources: Beeston & Bittering Parish Council £40.00 Litcham Parish Council £60.00 Beeston Parochial Church Council £224.90 Litcham All Saint's Church £184.00 Churches £180.00 Cash Donation £20.00 John E Jones (Branch Secretary

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Report for TPC AGM on Tuesday 23 April 2019 TITTLESHALL POOR’S LAND TRUST The Tittleshall Poor’s Land Trust is a registered charity and subject to regulations and scrutiny according to the Charitable Trusts Act of 1853 to 1869. Annual income is from the rent of land and interest on invested money. Also a modest sum for Wayleave (this amounts to an annual sum of circa 55 pounds). In total the income for 2018 to 2019 was £ 4,068 (and 12 pence). There were no donations to the charity. Expenditure is, according to the 1878 description of the charity for those in the parish who are needy, vulnerable or in unexpected distress. Generally today this covers fuel grants, chiropody subsidy and bereavement. The amount of fuel grant may vary according to the number of applicants. Chiropody is currently limited to 14 parishioners and stands at £11 per parishioner Expenditure for 2018 to 2019 was £3,812 The statement of the current account as of 31.03.2019 is £1,179 The business saver account stands at £8,821

REPORT FOR TITTLESHALL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2019 TITTLESHALL ARTS Tittleshall Arts or ‘Tarts’ for short is a friendly bunch of up to 10 crafters who meet on most Monday mornings at the village hall between 10.00 and 12.00. The crafts we currently enjoy are knitting, embroidery, quilting, crochet, jewellery making and sometimes drawing. A modest charge of £2 per person for each session covers the cost of hall hire and tea or coffee. Sometimes there is cake or biscuits as well! We are keen to recruit new crafters of any skill level; female, male, young and old so we can keep the group viable for the future. So, feel free to pop along one Monday to see what we are all about. Or, if you want to know more just ring Lana Goulding on 07837 784576.

Report for Tittleshall PC on the activities of ‘TITTLESHALL WALKERS’ The Tittleshall walking group is a voluntary organisation of those interested in walking the footpaths of Tittleshall and surrounding areas. An idea of the Footpath Wardens that parishioners may enjoy participating in some of the activities of the wardens when inspecting the footpaths of the parish. It started 3 years ago and on the last Saturday of each month parishioners were invited to join the walks. Being only once a month there were often clashes with dates of other activities in and around the parish and the group , although numbering about 15, was usually 5 or 6. In the winter months the enthusiasm waned a little . The walks were interesting from a social and environmental aspect but also a chance to see the value of footpaths in an age where they are no longer used as transport routes but more for recreation. Unfortunately, since January the walks have not taken place due to my personal work commitments. It is a good opportunity here to invite anyone who is interested in connecting to the network of footpaths – to participate. A good opportunity to hear about the work that goes into the maintenance of British footpaths is an event being held by the Norfolk Local Access Forum in North Walsham High School on Wednesday 29th May from 2pm to 4pm. The purpose of the seminar is to explore practical ways in which Norfolk County Council , parishes and town councils, can work with local volunteers for the benefit of public paths (primarily Public Rights of Way and promoted routes. The seminar is open to anyone who is interested but a booking needs to be made before 20 May because of numbers. Please contact me if interested. Pat Janning

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TITTLESHALL VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Chairperson’s report for the year 2018-2019 Presented to the annual parish meeting Tuesday 23"‘ April 2019 Thank you chairperson and members of the parish council for inviting me to speak about the Village Hall activity over the past 12 months. I’d like to thank Wendy Seale for her hard work and commitment as Chair over the past 9 years. I hope to continue with the same dedication and passion Wendy has shown, which is very necessary to keep our village hall in good working order and busy with social gatherings and weekly bookings. Regular weekly bookings are up from 4 groups in 2017/2018 to 6 groups, the new additions being Pilates and NIA. Flix-in-the-Stix is as popular as ever and supported by dedicated movie goers from Tittleshall and surrounding villages. Our bank balance is looking extremely healthy (annual accounts will be available at our AGM next month] and is a result of record-breaking fundraising events over the past year. This is only possible by incredible generosity from attendees and much hard work from our committee members throughout the year, for which I am eternally grateful. Just to give you and idea of the amounts of money we are talking about, the Winter Warmer in December generated £751, the Garden Tea Party £560 and the Cyclists Pit stop £227. Thanks goes to Phillippa Harrison for the connection to the cycling club and for arranging the event. The book and plant sale over the May bank holiday held a slightly different format, which was deemed a success, raising £415. The Committee decided against a second book sale in August and will only hold one book and plant sale this year, again over the Whitsun bank holiday. This may well be the last event of its kind as the books are now not being replenished. The committee will discuss and decide the way forward, hopefully creating a new event for this time of year. September saw the return of the Harvest Celebration. Although this is not officially a fundraising event, with over 50 people spending the evening eating, drinking and catching up with friends old and new, we made a profit of £360. This is purely and simply down to the generosity of the cooks and bakers of the village and very welcome donations of key ingredients from secret sources! l was impressed that the hall was still fairly full at 10.20 pm!! Planning will commence in the summer for this year's Harvest Celebration so keep an eye out in the Bugle and Church and Village Magazine for further details. Providing the staple of our fundraising is the ever popular 100 club along with Easyfundraising. The Easyfundraising total as of today stands at £272.19 and we actually have for the first time 100 active numbers in the 100 club — my thanks goes to Arthur Drinkwater for maintaining the system, collecting the monies and organising the draw each month. The quiz night this year had a wobbly start, having to be postponed until January due to lack of teams. However, the dark dank evenings of January and changing the event to a Friday meant that we had a successful evening with 7 teams in attendance and new champions in the form of “Simple Minds"...... Captained by Dick Thompson were Arthur, Mary and Barbara — well done to the four of you ...... and make sure you keep the salver polishedll We now have the long awaited hearing loop fitted in the hall, with easy instructions on the wall, notice board and window sill. The solar panels continue to serve us well and the Bugle seems to be hitting the spot with readers and will continue this year with welcomed sponsorship by BB Garden Services. This means the newsletter is created, printed and delivered with no cost to the village hall bank account. Talking of bank accounts, Alisa Warburton will be resigning as Treasurer at the Village Hall AGM next month — I would like to thank Ailsa for keeping us on the straight and narrow for many years and am glad to say that Ailsa will remain as a member of the committee. We have again started the process of applying for funding for a new roof for the hall. After receiving quotes back in 2017 ranging from £10,000 to £18,000, it was obvious financially, we were not in a position to move forward. The application to Norfolk Community Foundation has been completed along with a letter of support from Councillor Trevor Carter and updated quotes. l will keep the Village Hall Committee informed of progress. Finally, I would like to thank the committee: Arthur, Ailsa, Barbara, Wendy, Phillippa, Dick, Mike, Peter and Jenny for their continued support and loyalty — I assure you the events I've spoken about would not happen unless these people gave up much of their precious spare time and provided the delicious goodies we have come to expect at events held in our fantastic village hall. So thank you all of you.

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YOGA

Friday’s yoga class continues to be a great success. The class is fully booked, with twelve students attending weekly. Yoga is suitable for all ages and abilities. It is recommended by the NHS in helping to manage a number of conditions such as back pain, sciatica, stress, anxiety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and osteoporosis to name a few. Yoga is estimated to be at least four thousand years old, and according to the U.N. it is practised by over two billion people worldwide. It strengthens muscles and bones, increases flexibility and improves balance. The last class of the year is always a charity candlelight yoga session. In 2018 Tittleshall class, along with Jayne’s other classes, raised a wonderful £250 for Nelson’s Journey. This is a local charity which helps children across Norfolk cope with the loss of a loved one. Jane Winterbone

END Of REPORTS

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