Spooner Row Message Board

Post Info TOPIC: Village ideas
The PP

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Village ideas
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qttr15eyDu9SDYPC6 

https://images.app.goo.gl/qttr15eyDu9SDYPC6

 

Totally baffled as to how I attach an image on here?!😆 Anyway, saw an old red telephone box that had been turned into a library, where you donate and swap books. The link above should take you to something similar 🤞🏻. I thought it was a great idea and lovely to see a red telephone box being used in this way...and such a lovely thing to have within the village. 

 

If only we could re-purpose the signal box too...😏



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Andy

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Is the phone box at crossroads still in action if not could that be used as a book swap. I have used similar phone box / book swop in the village were my daughter lives. 

 



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Anonymous

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At some point, Network Rail will need to do some maintenance on the level crossing and track, and close off the area. When this happens could we not use the opportunity to relocate the signal box to a safer location where it can be put to a community use? So sad to see this historic village asset become neglected. I think many in the village would want to keep it local and have it refurbished. 



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Stephen Ward

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If someone wants to investigate the feasibility and costs of buying one or more old telephone boxes to locate in Spooner Row, Suton or Wattlefield for use as lending libraries, then I am happy to work with you to get it raised on the Community Council Agenda.  As your Council is now getting in to its stride, we are now actively starting to consider what projects we can progress.  So please contact me if you wish to take this good idea forward.  Happy for you to telephone me on 07767 777 488, or for anyone else to make contact if you have another great idea that needs similar assistance to progress.



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Stephen Ward

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Some members of your Council have been trying to investigate ways to preserve our signal box within Spooner Row, although this has not been brought up to a council meeting yet.  The first stumbling block is that it has already been earmarked to be moved to the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Wymondham, but we understand they may now have identified an alternative, so it may now be available.  We have also discussed outside of the council if we could get one of the developers who may build house in the village in the future to build a new base close to the existing location, but outside of Network Rail’s land to allow the box to be moved.  This option would require the purchase or gifting off land and the Council to actively engage with a developers.

It would be great to explore the strength off feeling through this forum if this is an idea that you would wish your council to actively pursue.  Also, to suggest ideas of what it could be used for if saved.  So please engage and let us know what you think.



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Stephen Ward

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The following link is to the company that sells of BT telephone boxes when they are no longer required:

http://www.x2connect.com/Shop/K6/Kiosks/K6%20Red%20Telephone%20Box?ReturnURL=/RedPhonebox/Telephone-Box-Pricing



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Steven

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My suggestion would be to move the signal box to the playing field next to the car park and to use it as a local produce hub. We could have a donation box and those of us with apple trees, blackberry bushes, vegetable plots, eggs etc could donate/exchange/sell. We have a lot of food that otherwise gets wasted. The school could also be involved with pupils checking stock etc. It could be renamed, ‘The Signal Salad Box’!



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Anonymous

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I like the sound of Steven's idea to sell and donate locally grown food in the decommissioned signal box.



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Anonymous

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Stephen Ward wrote:

Some members of your Council have been trying to investigate ways to preserve our signal box within Spooner Row, although this has not been brought up to a council meeting yet.  The first stumbling block is that it has already been earmarked to be moved to the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Wymondham, but we understand they may now have identified an alternative, so it may now be available.  We have also discussed outside of the council if we could get one of the developers who may build house in the village in the future to build a new base close to the existing location, but outside of Network Rail’s land to allow the box to be moved.  This option would require the purchase or gifting off land and the Council to actively engage with a developers.

It would be great to explore the strength off feeling through this forum if this is an idea that you would wish your council to actively pursue.  Also, to suggest ideas of what it could be used for if saved.  So please engage and let us know what you think.


Why has a developer got to be involved? The relocation of the signal box does not have to be a sweetener for any housing development in the village. A local company could simply build a new, smaller base and move the signal box at the same time engineering works are carried out on the railway line, in agreement with Network Rail. This could be used as a village library/meeting hub.



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Stephen Ward

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The land adjacent to the signal box is owned by a local farmer (Developer) who has applied for planning permission on the land.  Therefore it is currently not possible for us to build a new base unless we could secure the land. The other reason for talking to the developer is to try and reduce the costs of relocating the signal box, as one option could be for the developer to build the base and then gift the land and base to the community.  The cost of relocating the signal box is also not just the cost of a brick base.  To make the building useful, it may also require electricity, water and maybe drainage, which would come at significant cost if this was the only building on that site.  In addition, if we wish to use it as a village hub/meeting place, community store or anything else, we also need to consider parking.  Finally, another substantial cost maybe the hire of a crane to move the actual box from one place to another; if this is even possible.  The point about talking to the developers was to ascertain the art of the possible as there are lot of things to consider, to cost and to plan.

This is my perspective and not the Councils as this is yet to be discussed in committee.



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Robert Foster

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When I first heard of the box being demolished under the 2013 Network Rail De-cluttering Project I managed to get hold of a Project Engineer in Network Rail Infrastructure Planning (Stratford) who told me that the estimated demolition cost was £120k for Spooner Row. The contractor who won the project to remove Spooner Row and 3 other boxes on our line was subsequently removed following a significant safety breach on another project in 2016.  De-cluttering seems to have taken a back seat as much bigger infrastructure projects run behind and over budget.

The ideal place for the signal box is 10 meters to the left of where it is now.  Anywhere else and you end up having to have brickwork ready on a suitable pad to accept the wooden section aka the solution prepared by the Mid Norfolk Preservation Trust.  And don't forget the haulage needs of such a load; travelling any distance would require specialised HGV help and this comes with its own special cost.  Also, Mid Norfolk started their project several years back when the structural condition of the box was sound.  The box will have deteriorated in recent years and even a modest trip on a HGV may now be out of the question.  This might be the reason why MNPT started looking elsewhere for a different solution.

I would dearly love to see the signal box saved for the village, so now might be the very time to come together and fight for it. 



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Anonymous

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The landowner could gift a small piece of the land or sell it. No need to profit massively at the expense of the vast majority of us in the parish who I am confident don't want the housing development. Relocation to land owned by the parish would not be an issue. If the developer insists on wanting to build loads of unattractive houses on top of each other with no gardens in this location let them pay for pavements or other infrastructure we would like, not just pay for a cheap signal box relocation.  I think it's high time that now we are our own parish that people are consulted about plans for their community.



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Stephen Ward

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I agree with your points over consultation on both planning applications and village projects.  Therefore, please support the council by coming to our monthly meetings in the village Hall and engaging with us, or outside of meetings through what ever medium you prefer, personally I prefer a face to face discussion.  Future dates for council meetings have been published in this forum and we have recently distributed a leaflet to everyone, which also included ways to contact us and make your views known.

The planning application for this site came up at our last Council meeting, but we only had one member of the public attend. If there is a strong feeling on planning applications then you all need to make them known when the planning applications come up for discussion.  You will note from our last minutes that your council recommend the planning application was refused, but we based this on a number of factors, including what we perceived residents may have said.  We actually had a long discussion on this site in particular over density of housing, layout and safety concerns.  I hope this helps, but please engage with us as we  have volunteered our item to do  bets for the villages.

Clr Stephen Ward



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Stephen Ward

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Sorry I rushed the last sentence in my previous message to answer the phone.  It should have said:  

I hope this helps, but please engage with us as we have volunteered our time to do our best for the villages.

 



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Anonymous

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This has been mentioned before, but I would welcome a village sign for the village. There could be a competition or two for the best designs and involve the school, village hall clubs, the church, the pub, and residents. Perhaps a sign for each of the three villages with the same theme? 

The suggestion to locate the signal box close to the car park on council land would be the most straight forward option, I guess.



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Andy

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I did post several months ago about the removal of the “ upended pallet style “ entrance to our village and replace them with the “ white gated style “ entrance the you find in other villages . I think these look a lot more welcoming . I would be happy to help in the installation or construction of the ” gates “



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