Sunday 1st April 2018 – Overstrand Together Open Meeting and Easter
Thursday evening, we went to the Overstrand Together Open Meeting in The Barn at The White Horse. Despite the group holding a coffee morning early in March, to encourage villagers to find out more about the group and to record suggestions for projects or events in the village, it was still the same group of people who attended the meeting. There were however, a good number of suggestions generated at the coffee morning and these were distributed to those present, along with the steering group’s comments. The suggestions will be discussed at the next open meeting which will be on Saturday May 12th in the Belfry Centre for Music and Arts at 10.30 a.m.
So far this Easter weekend has been a bit of a washout. Apart from a couple of hours this afternoon when the clouds cleared and the sun shone, it has been damp and miserable. We took advantage of the sun and took Barney for a walk on the beach. We were not the only ones keen to make the most of the improved conditions. Walking in the Cromer direction, there was a steady flow of people and dogs in both directions. I took the opportunity to check on the deposits of palm oil at the back of the beach. There are still some chunks visible but good news, most of it has been covered by sand blown in on the winds. Hopefully once the season starts in earnest, it will all be covered. We saw a family coming back off the beach, with ‘dad’ carrying two carrier bags of rubbish they had picked up and the previous day, a lady was walking along the promenade from the east end carrying a large carrier of plastics. Were they spurred on to do this following the recent Blue Planet series on the television or the Government’s intention to make a compulsory deposit on each plastic bottle to encourage more to recycle responsibly or some other reason? Whatever the reason, this is an encouraging sight and although there are four of us who pick the beach when walking our dogs there is something to be said for the saying ‘the more the merrier’. Each tide can deposit more rubbish on the beach, so if it’s cleared it in the morning, there can be more again after the next high tide.
Thursday 5th April 2018 – Easter Monday, Seal and Parish Council Meeting
Easter Monday’s weather was the worst of the four day holiday period. It rained and rained and only stopped late afternoon. We felt sorry for those who were holidaying; you can still get out and about when it is windy and cold but who wants to go out in the rain and get soaked. Needless to say, the weather perked up on Tuesday and in the afternoon we took a walk along the beach where we saw the fishing boat, Jayne Marie had been launched for the first time this year. Maybe we will be able to enjoy the first crabs of the season this weekend. As we walked towards Cromer we were alerted there was a seal on the beach ahead of us. As we are Seal & Shore Watch ‘watchers’, we did our bit by phoning for someone to come and check it over and then advised people to keep a safe distance and to keep their dogs away, so this young harbour seal was not harassed in any way. A family stayed nearby too; the daughter was brilliant, running off to tell owners of approaching dogs that they should put them on leads. It’s a pity they were holidaying and not locals, as she would have made a valuable addition to the Seal & Shore Watch
Seal
‘watchers’. Our village marine medic was out on another call down the coast at Sea Palling, so it was two hours before she eventually reached us. To my uneducated eye the seal looked fine and was bananaing, which is always a good sign. I have been told if the eyes are dry and not very moist to the point of running, then the seal can be dehydrated. This seal had fairly dry eyes but our marine medic Alison informed me this was probably down to it being out of the sea for a time and that a dehydrated seal would have crusty deposits round the black rims of its eyes. Alison decided it had come up on the beach for rest. Assuming it would go out on the incoming tide, she marked it before leaving the seal on the sands. This was not the end of the story; Alison informed us the seal was still on the beach yesterday but further back on an area of flints. We wait to hear today, if it has moved off.
Waiting for Jayne Marie
(declaring enables them to claim the reduction in Council Tax) then they are not included in the 17% figure. Under the scheme land, not set aside for housing e.g. in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Conservation or agricultural land which is normally cheaper, can be purchased through a Community Land Trust and then leased to a housing association which build and manage homes. These homes will only be available to local people and will not be allocated on a ‘needs’ basis. Nicky’s presentation left the Parish Council with plenty to think about, as to the practicalities and availability of suitable land for a Community Led Housing development to go ahead within the boundaries of the village.
Moving on to the Parish Council meeting yesterday evening; with a full agenda this lasted two hours. There is quite a lot to mention here and with this in mind, I will just cover one item on the agenda and leave the rest for next time:-
Nicky Debbage from NNDC gave a short presentation covering Community Led Housing. This scheme takes into consideration the high price of housing in the area which has resulted in many locals not being able to afford to buy their own homes. The average cost of a home in Overstrand is £368,000 making it virtually impossible for first time buyers to get on the property ladder (local salaries are relatively low, make it very difficult for people and families to get mortgages). The number of second/holiday homes is thought to be the factor driving up house prices, not just in Overstrand but the length of this part of the Norfolk coastline. Nicky advised the meeting, 17% (97 properties) of homes in Overstrand fall into the second/holiday home category. There may well be more. If owners choose not to declare their property is a holiday home,
Monday 9th April 2018 – Parish Council Contd., Three Firsts and Seal Update
Firstly, more about the Parish Council meeting last Wednesday. Councillors expressed concerns over the time constraints imposed by NNDC on planning applications. This is following the change in rules last year which has reduced the period of time allowed for Parish Councils to make comments on individual applications. The date when an application is submitted to the District Council, has an effect as to whether there is sufficient time for it to be discussed at full Parish Council meetings or whether it has to be referred to the Parish Council’s Planning Committee. When referred, not all Parish Councillors are involved therefore those who are not present, don’t have the opportunity to express their views. An example was the planning application for four bungalows accessed from Cromer Road. This has now been passed by the District Council but still leaves some controversy over safety from the access road down the side of the school and onto Cromer Road. Fears were also expressed over the fate of the magnificent holm oak tree which it seems, could end up being felled, or at the very least, it will need some serious cutting back to facilitate access of building supplies to the area being developed.
During his report County Councillor, Ed Maxfield, mentioned the new waste charges. He told the meeting, he does not support them and asked to be informed of any instances of fly tipping, on both public and private land, which could be seen as a direct result of the charges. Another east Anglian County Council has introduced charges, which is going against the Government’s recommendations on this issue. This Council says there has been no increase in fly tipping but they only record rubbish dumped on public areas and not where most of it is dumped; on private land. The cost of clearing dumped rubbish falls on the District Council and private landowners and not to the County Council.
There were a number of other matters covered and reports given during the meeting but I am not going to say any more here. It’s time to move onto other things, starting with ‘three firsts’. Since we finished eating the leeks a few weeks ago there has been nothing coming off Peter’s vegetable plot and into the kitchen but last weekend we had our ‘first’ picking of purple sprouting and since then two more pickings. Our second ‘first’ was a BBQ on Saturday evening which was a relaxing way to round off what had been pleasant day, most of which was spent in the garden and walking Barney. Finally, following a long cold wet winter, is our third ‘first’ – we had crabs for lunch yesterday. I don’t know if this is the latest date in living memory for the boats to start hauling pots but it will certainly reduce the fishermen’s season for earning money; money that has to last them during the winter months. To round off today’s entry, an update on the seal. It finally moved off into the sea and has not been seen since. All that is left of its presence is an area at the foot of the cliffs where I saw the well-defined marks made by its flippers in the sand.
First 2018 Crabs
Friday 13th April 2018 – Overstrand in the Mist, Parish Meeting and Guillemot
For four days, Overstrand has been trapped in a veil of mist. Not just Overstrand but the surrounding area too. Today started misty but by mid-morning it lifted. Let’s hope this is the end of such miserable conditions. As if the mist was not bad enough, it has been cold too. We are still wearing our winter lined trousers and I need a scarf and gloves when we take Barney out. Plants in the greenhouse are just sitting there with little or no growth shown over the past week. Even though the mist has now lifted, the sun is still blanketed out by a layer of grey cloud. It is very depressing and everyone we speak to agrees we have had enough, what with the long winter and now this.
The Parish Meeting had a better attendance on Wednesday evening, than in the previous couple of years. Clubs etc. had an opportunity to set up displays and the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the Clerk of the Parish Council along with our District and County Councillors, all gave reports. Those present were advised, residents will shortly be receiving a copy of a Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire. I took one of the copies available at the meeting and since then have perused the questions, which cover a wide range of topics. The deadline for submitting the returns is 31st May, after which hopefully the villagers will be provided with the results and their interpretation.
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