Can anyone enlighten me as why we have a large pile of soil and other debris which now sits on the concrete pad where the football portakabins used to be?
As access to the field is restricted via a locked gate, I can only assume this has been sanctioned and has not been flytipped ?
Does this piece of land remain in the ownership of the Football club ?
From past experience this 'piles' are seen as open book for the dumping of all sorts of matter, mostly illegal and then a very expensive bill can be the unfortunate result.
I note that a sign has appeared from South Norfolk talking about Fly tipping on the car park and offences under the Environmental Protection Act , but I assume this is coincidence , but then, may be not.
This activity may be entirely innocent but Wymondham Town need to be aware either way please.
Sorry but can I add to the above. Having spoken to the School it would appear that this is the soil and cuttings which were scraped out of the ditches on the School field side.
Of course the School were not informed ( would that not have been nice Mr Gurney ?), and we are making an assumption here, but let us be kind and assume that this is the case and that it will all be removed fairly soon when the field is less of a quagmire than it is at present, and that nothing too unsavoury was scraped out for the children and dogs to scrabble around in.
If everyone is okay with this I will keep a watch on this, unless someone from the PTA or Governors wants to take over, if which case I will happily take a back seat.
If you really wanted an answer to your query surely all you have too do is phone the Town Clerk as he may well be able to deal with this matter. I can only conclude that this is nothing more than an election an stunt. ...edited....
(Please do not use this message board for political and personal point scoring for the forthcoming parish election. If you wish to air your views and concerns with a particular candidate, then I suggest you contact that candidate directly. Thanking you for your cooperation). Webstation
-- Edited by webstation on Monday 3rd of March 2014 06:59:39 PM
If you were to phone or email the Town Clerk I think you would find out the following. Apparently there was an issue with drainage and the school contacted NPS, who 'manage' school property for the County Council. Then in response to this contacted the Town Clerk, who did meet on site NPS and then arranged for a contractor to clear the ditch. This obviously has been done, and the detritus left at one end. The Town Council work men will clear this when the ground has dried as currently it is far to soft with the all the rain we have had of late. I hope this has cleared any confusion of the matter.
Thank you for informing us of this Mr Ward - I presume you are Cllr Neil Ward. As a community Spooner Row seems very remote from Wymondham Town Council, perhaps the town council can provide us with a council notice board to enlighten us as to what is happening around here. The notice board could be placed at the entrance to the recreation ground and provide similar information to the one displayed outside the town council building.
Surely you don't need a notice board to find out what the pile of soil is all about. In any case I think there is a notice board outside the Village Hall. Are you saying you want to separate from the parish for just a notice board.
Isn't Spooner Row considered separate from the parish anyway - look at the Wymondham AREA Action Plan for instance - no Spooner Row on there! And Wymondham Town Council were obviously quite content with this.
I doubt if Wymondham Town Council would even consider us worthy enough for providing us with a parish notice board to keep us informed of parish matters. And the village hall is nothing to do with any parish - its a charity used for local leisure pursuits.
I understand that SR is classed as a Service Village. Normal Development in a Service Village is between 20 - 30 houses during the life of a plan. If SR came under the Wymondham Area Urban Plan then you would have too take a share of their 2,200 houses. This could have meant that SR could have ended up with far more houses than is allocated under a Village Status. Planning boundaries do not relate to Parish boundaries and in so far as Spooner Row is concerned that policy has helped to keep the number of houses allocated to the Village well down on what it could have been.
Who's talking about new housing allocation?? But as you mention it, Spooner Row as a service village was supposed to have only 10-20 houses. Already this village has planning permission granted for about 40 houses with some more identified allocations in the imminent Local Plan. So that does rather defeat your argument about only having a few houses as a separate service village. Wymondham Town Council has a responsibility to all residents in the parish and not just to the special ones within the Wymondham Area Action Plan. Calling it an "Area" Action Plan is a bit of a misnomer for those in Spooner Row.
Also, when the planners of the Local Plan deleted Spooner Row from the Wymondham Area Action Plan, why didn't Wymondham Town Council fight our corner or even have the courtesy to inform us and ask us what we wanted? No wonder there's a growing and exasperated attitude around here to start up as a separate parish.
Going back to the pile of soil and a parish notice board, it would be nice on occasion to be kept informed on matters that affect us.
Thanks for this reply. The fact remains that if SR came under the Wymondham urban action plan you would have to take in the region of a 100 - 150 houses. So it is best overall for SR to be treated as a Services Village for planning purposes as you get less development in the Village. Also have a community council would not necessary stop all future development.
Having a community council would at least give us a parish council that cares.
I note that you have called it an "urban" Action Plan, I think you will find that it is an "Area" Action Plan - check out the District Council's website - its conveniently not on the parish website.
Being a service village for Norwich will in the long run possibly put Spooner Row at risk of much more development, which usually means we will not know about it until the deal is done - the planning process will just be a routine job. I think your alternative argument of 100-150 houses for Spooner Row is weak, as Wymondham Town Council under its Area Action Plan, could have allocated fewer houses for here if it had chosen to.
And what is the parish council doing about Spooner Row's appallingly low internet speed now that the rest of Wymondham have their super fast connections?
Town Councils and Community Councils can of course comment on housing allocations. However, their comments must be made in the context of the overall Joint Core Strategy. They cannot change the overall figures. I think some limited development is good for small Villages. With the extra children that limited development bring helps to keep small Villages alive and exciting. I assume that you live in a house the Village so why do you want to prevent other people from having the opportunity to do the same as you. It appears to me to be a case of don't do as I do do as I tell you.
Isn't, "don't do as I do, do as I tell you" the motto of some councils? And with Wymondham Town Council, they don't even tell you what's going on! I am so glad that in your great wisdom you think that some limited development is good for small villages. Is this despite, as in Spooner Row's case, that many local issues were ignored? Its a pity the parish council didn't engage with Spooner Row's views as part of Wymondham Area Action Plan. Didn't see anything included from Spooner Row on Wymondham's Plan nor a response from the parish council on our behalf, so might as well not be part of Wymondham. When the District council deleted Spooner Row from Wymondham's Area Action Plan, Wymondham Town Council should have disputed this.
A parish notice board kept up to date weekly would be good for starters, its the very least the Town Council can do to keep Spooner Row informed. And if you think Spooner Row is alone in thinking like this, need I mention the hot topic of ASDA and Kings Head Meadow - lots of important information kept from Wymondham people here who were rightly very upset and angry. It was quite embarrasing to see our parish council reported far and wide in the press for doing this and I believe the situation has not improved.
It appears that you have a closed mind on everything and a big grudge against all the good things that all councils are doing in the area . You are not prepared to listen to the facts about various issues. It also appears that you only want to believe what you want to believe. In a nutshell, you come across as a person who finds the truth about various issues hurtful and that you are only prepared to listen to your own propaganda.
As I said it appears to me that you only hear what you want to hear. Start listening to the facts and not your own propaganda. You might then start to gain a good understanding of the various points raised here. You are letting your own falsehoods get in the way of the facts and that is a very grave concern to a lots of us.
How on earth did we get from a large pile of soil on the playing field to the town council allowing development in the village?
Is this how every thread on the notice board will end up?
Fluffy kittens --blah blah--- service village----blah blah --- new houses
village hall -- blah blah -- town council -- blah blah --- new houses
(although i did note that an obvious person to respond to the bookkeeping/payroll/accounts thread probably would live in one of the as yet un-built new houses)
At some point you are going to have to accept, THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO BUILD NEW HOUSES EVERYWHERE. AND THAT INCLUDES SPOONER ROW. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, MOVE TO THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD, (but make sure it is in a old mud hut, not a house which was built during your lifetime, as it would be a shame to compromise your principles). We all know you like it just as it always has been, but surely some new people moving in, and contributing to the local area could be good too? you never know, we might get someone who is from somewhere exotic like Suffolk (but not Essex, I'm not sure we can cope with that level of exotica)
Short of buying all the surrounding land, you are not going to be able to stop progress, so embrace change. Just think, if they build loads of houses we might get a shop, or a train which actually stops, or even a Weatherspoons
As I said it appears to me that you only hear what you want to hear. Start listening to the facts and not your own propaganda. You might then start to gain a good understanding of the various points raised here. You are letting your own falsehoods get in the way of the facts and that is a very grave concern to a lots of us.
What are you talking about, telling me not to listen to my own propaganda and its a very grave concern to a lot of you? - I am not running for election! All I have suggested is that it would be nice to have a parish notice board in Spooner Row to be kept informed on matters that affect us and have used the deletion of Spooner Row from the Wymondham Area Action Plan as an example of how the parish council don't give a damn. I pay my council taxes and don't get the services.
It is clear from your hostile and insulting dialogue that you represent the unpleasant side of the parish council where scoring petty political points is all that matters. Thank goodness there is a new, more intelligent type of councillor arriving on Wymondham Town Council possessing integrity and that can only be good for Wymondham.
Thank you for this conversation, you have demonstrated perfectly what the unpleasant attitude and behaviour is like from an element of the Town Council.
At long last someone has posted a sensible comment. If people don't like limited development in SR they really should think about living in a field. The poster makes a good point that limited development is good for small villages like SR. It will help to keep the Three Boars open and make sure that the train service stays in operation. remember if you live in a house don't try and stop other people from doing so.
I would not expect you to admit to being associated with the Council after the hostile tone of your dialogue, but the planning terminology you have used and the information you have provided clearly demonstrates that you are very much part of the Town Council as your comments are not the sort of thing average Joe Bloggs goes around saying - its council babble.
A well run parish council is supposed to provide a duty of care to ALL parts of the parish, including up to date accurate information such as parish notice boards (where is Spooner Row's?), fairness, transparency, integrity and accountability and I look forward to when Wymondham Town Council achieves this and becomes a council we can be proud of, or alternatively Spooner Row becomes its own parish. In the meantime I will let the evidence and facts speak for themselves against your denial of any association with the Town Council. I have copied & pasted a selection of your comments without including your personal insults, and if you think your drivel does not give your game away as being associated with the Town Council by supporting and promoting flawed Planning Policies, then you are deluded. Lets look at some of your "knowledgeable" Planning comments which you decided to bring into the conversation:
"I understand that SR is classed as a Service Village. Normal Development in a Service Village is between 20 - 30 houses during the life of a plan. If SR came under the Wymondham Area Urban Plan then you would have too take a share of their 2,200 houses."
"Town Councils and Community Councils can of course comment on housing allocations. However, their comments must be made in the context of the overall Joint Core Strategy. They cannot change the overall figures."
"Planning boundaries do not relate to Parish boundaries and in so far as Spooner Row is concerned that policy has helped to keep the number of houses allocated to the Village well down on what it could have been."
"The fact remains that if SR came under the Wymondham urban action plan you would have to take in the region of a 100 - 150 houses. So it is best overall for SR to be treated as a Services Village for planning purposes as you get less development in the Village. Also have a community council would not necessary stop all future development."
Why don't you do the gracious thing and find yourself a hobby and leave the running of Wymondham Town Council to those who actually care about what is beneficial to the whole of the parish.
It is you who will not admit the facts and your denials are laughable.
It is strange that you brought into the conversation the exact housing allocations for Wymondham and Spooner Row - what's that got to do with anything? Is it because of your current by-election out here? It is also strange that you said my falsehoods and propaganda are of grave concern to a lot of you - using your own words here - weird, but thanks for holding what I say with such high esteem and awe.
The fact remains that the Town Council needs to stop running the parish with a two-tier system and provide a parish notice board for Spooner Row so the next time the Town Council decides to dump a large pile of soil/muck on the playing field, we in the village can know what is going on. The Town Council would not be allowed to get away with this anywhere else in Wymondham.
Just for clarity, can i ask that if you were on the council 'angry resident 1', what would you do with the housing allocation WTC/SNDC is required to distribute? (the use of terminology should not be used to detect my occupation). I would suggest that you would look to either
a) not build them at all ( not allowed)
b) build all 2200 of them in SR ( HA! not a chance)
c) build some in SR (again, HA!! not a chance) or
d) build none / just a couple of posh houses which in reality normal outsiders cannot afford in SR, keep it exactly as it has been since god knows when (most likely).
So in essence, you would abuse your elected position to unfairly protect something you have a vested interest in (I am also not a lawyer, but i suspect that is basically corruption)
I have to say that 'may or may not work for the council but does it matter? resident 2' makes some valid points. Just because you ('angry resident 1') don't like them, makes them no less valid, or insulting.
We currently live in a democracy ( unless you take over and make it the Soviet Republic of Spooner Row, or the Norfolk museum of 70's bungalows). If you don't like it, do something about it, but consider that it is not as easy as you might think
I think you need to take your waffle about housing allocations off to those who want to listen - I don't care and don't suppose there are many others out there who care either - what is the point? Wymondham Town Council had the opportunity to engage and speak with the people of Spooner Row as their parish council about their housing allocations but decided not to and that's a fact and this could be considered a lack of duty and care. I have spent enough time talking with you.
I have been advised by the Town Clerk that the soil will be screened to clear it of extraneous debris and then spread and seeded on the field during the school holidays as the least expensive way of disposal.
I have not been advised as to which holiday in question we are talking about and have raised concerns re the Health and safety of this pile in the first instance.
The use of the village notice board , there are in fact two, to tell us all what is going on is work in progress as I need to seek permission of the Village Hall for this, but I am trying to improve communication and address the obvious concerns expressed above , amongst other matters.
Despite some seeing this as a valuable opportunity to have a go at me personally, I do in fact welcome constructive comments on the board, so as long as they are constructive please, keep them coming.
Maybe the Town Clerk should provide a parish noticeboard so that all the community (councillors and residents) can be kept up to date on local issues such at this. Is not this type of work part of a town clerk's job?
Spooner Row really does need to be kept better informed.
In a previous Town Council's magazine, for their Annual Report 2012-13, it reported that 60% of the Town Council's Income is from Precept (council tax payers contribution). On the Expenditure side, 35% was Salaries and 27% Administration - the two biggest chunks on the pie chart. It is about time that some of that Administration and Salaries was spent over here in Spooner Row as part of the service to the parish. The very least the Clerk can do is provide us with information on a designated parish notice board as going into the Town, trying to park a car etc is not the best option for trying to find local information. The Town Clerk should bring this information out to us.
If the Village Hall Committee allow their notice board to be used for political propaganda than they must allow all political parties such as Labour, Lib Dems, Conservatives and the greens to display their material.
If the Village Hall Committee allow their notice board to be used for political propaganda than they must allow all political parties such as Labour, Lib Dems, Conservatives and the greens to display their material.
Eh... Why would "grass roots" activities in the village involve political propaganda and national political parties? That's the trouble with Wymondham, for far too long, it's all been about political point scoring rather than what's best for local people.
Anything the Town Council is involved in that affects local people in Spooner Row e.g planning applications, soil on recreation ground, should be backed up by providing adequate information, and a Parish Council-run noticeboard would provided this. Thanking about this, didn't the Town Clerk provide a parish noticeboard some years ago, then remove it?
The Town did provide a notice board but did not ask permission of the Village Hall to do so as it was on their land. It was removed.
I take the point that notices which are of a political nature should not appear and completely agree that this should be the case
Unfortunately there are those who see my name and automatically assume that I am trying to make some political point or other. I am not. I would argue that notices which relate to matters concerning the village and surrounding area should appear and I also take the point that we, as the outlying section of the Wymondham parish do seem at times to be a forgotten quarter. To that end I have posted some information about local crimes on there and some infromation about the on going saga of the Pile of soil on the playing field.
Unfortunately to some this is always going to be a 'political' message. It is not. It is about better communication and there are some in the village who do not have a computer and do not want one. We have to respect this and in my humble view, try and accomodate this position.
Planning matters are always going to be contentious and attract political views but they should appear, as anyone can comment.
As in the past it is only the large ones which will appear and comments will be taken on board from whatever perspective they arise, and the full details can always be accessed at South Norfolk, if you can get your head around their system but that is another issue altogether.
I would add going back to the original thread, that I have made a number of concerns regarding the 'final solution' offered up by the contractor , which was screening and seeding with the Town Clerk.
This has been done in my view , and the view of others far brighter than I within the village, in a shambolic fashion.
For anyone who wants a full copy of the e mail sent , please let me know and I will send a copy
How on earth did we get from a large pile of soil on the playing field to the town council allowing development in the village?
--blah blah---
(although i did note that an obvious person to respond to the bookkeeping/payroll/accounts thread probably would live in one of the as yet un-built new houses)
At some point you are going to have to accept, THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO BUILD NEW HOUSES EVERYWHERE. AND THAT INCLUDES SPOONER ROW. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, MOVE TO THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD, (but make sure it is in a old mud hut, not a house which was built during your lifetime, as it would be a shame to compromise your principles). We all know you like it just as it always has been, but surely some new people moving in, and contributing to the local area could be good too? you never know, we might get someone who is from somewhere exotic like Suffolk (but not Essex, I'm not sure we can cope with that level of exotica)
Short of buying all the surrounding land, you are not going to be able to stop progress, so embrace change. Just think, if they build loads of houses we might get a shop, or a train which actually stops, or even a Weatherspoons
What a patronising attitude you have at posting 13th March. There are many local people in the village who already have bookkeeping, payroll, skills and a lot more.
What exotica are you referring to exactly? Have you considered that some people have moved to this area (from further away than Suffolk and Essex) to get away from lots of development and loads of urban house building for health reasons.
anyone can see that Mr Halls is not trying to score political points as he was doing beneficial things for the village long before he became a parish councillor e.g. speedwatch. "some" might not like this, but he is doing a good job and Spooner Row need more people like him.
I met with the contractor and the Town clerk on site last tuesday to discuss this.
Cllr Turner was also in attendance and Cllr Ward was also invited
The groundsman accepted that it could have been screened more effectively and agreed to periodically revisit the site to remove large items ( tree roots cutting etc) that do not rot down. The grass has been seeded so is appearing and apparently the soil for cost reasons was never going to be removed from site. In the groundman's view the site will settle down okay and only time will tell.
Respectfully suggest to the webstation that this matter now be closed
