Following on from very many successful road safety campaigns in Norfolk (which have almost halved the annual number of road deaths) we have now launched a timely Christmas Greetings reminder………….i.e. please dont drink and drive! You may not kill or damage yourself and all the terrible consequences that will then ensue………but what usually happens is that it is the innocent bystander that is hurt and it is their family that bear the consequences.
Sign up for the Norfolk THINK! Festive Drink Campaign
Categories: Highways · Policing · Transport
Another 1st for Diss…………….we are the first town in Norfolk to have an NCC initiated Community website.
It follows on from the blog initiative that some of the Councillors took up, and being one of those – I got this in Diss first!
Launched last night at Diss Library, which is the host for the site, some of the local community groups were introduced to it.
The community website family is norfolkhomepage.org.uk, so for ours just add Diss at the beginning i.e diss.norfolkhomepage.org.uk
Bit of a long name but eventually icons and favourites etc can be set up.
The aim is to bring feeds from all the other local websites into the one site, so my blog is there – for instance – hiding under the tab of “Politics”, the Diss Express and Diss Mercury are also feeding into it, as it the town council. Pictures can be automatically uploaded too. If you have a nice one of Diss put it on to Flickr and use the word Diss in the title and, again, it will automatically feed to the community site.
Very clever, and will eventually become really VERY useful. It also has a calendar which again is updated by the Library staff. As you probably know they put up posters in the entrance area for local events, they have also always kept a paper diary. Well anything of which they are notified now will also get put on the web diary!!
All community groups are being urged to go along to the Library to have their details included.
Categories: Local issues
If you drive along the A143/A146 near Beccles/Gillingham you will no doubt have noticed the odd little bit of cycleway that has appeared on the corner of Raveningham Road.
No sooner than it appeared it seemed necessary to dig it up and
then dig it up again
and then dig up the corner of the road opposite!
Having wondered myself what on earth is going on (NCC not really having spare cash to lay cycle tracks for 30 feet in the middle of nowhere) I enquired of the workers. Ah they said, not our path but it is a BT hole in the path. A blockage in the pipe running under the road which took 3 goes to clear…………but at least that’s now done.
And the path? well that is an extension of National Route 30, which (if you travel by bike, or foot) takes you along a very picturesque route along the Waveney valley.
Really difficult find the correct link but the Discover Suffolk site is useful.
Finally, on the Sustrans site I found the Regional Route No. 30 - BUT (un)helpfully their page starts off with a statement about their site having received a BAD PRESS…………and not surprising the links go nowhere – just error 440!!!
The route (when/if you find it) actually comes near Diss – it goes through Palgrave. I only know that because some odd signs appeared at Diss railway station a couple of years ago, signing what appeared to be “to the town” signs away from the town, but were directing travellers to Palgrave – not Diss! I was told (eventually) that they were to sign cyclists, arriving by train at Diss, how to reach Route 30.
Diss Town Centre is to the Right!
Would be nice to get some comments on this……..obviously someone has spent hours and £0000’s designing and labeling the route…………is it used?? Does it all make perfect sense if you are on a bike?
Categories: Activities & Entertainment · Highways · Transport
Broadland is a huge swathe of Norfolk across the north of Norwich and off to the East of the county, taking in most of the watery “Broads” area.
With support from the Norfolk County Strategic Partnership, Broadland District Council and the Broadland Community Safety Partnership are hosting:
“Your Voice, Your Decision”
This is what is nowadays called a participatory budgeting event, but what it means is that the local community is being given a say in how some public money is spent in Broadland. On this occasion there is £25,000 available for organisations, groups, agencies and schools operating in the parishes of Sprowston, Spixworth, Old Catton and Beeston St Andrew.
Groups must submit projects which meet one of three headings which have been decided by the young people of SHOUT Youth Council. They are:
Preventing Youth Homelessness
Places to go and things to do for young people
Challenging negative perceptions of young people
Applications must be returned to Broadland District Council by Friday 18th December.
All applications will be assessed and then shortlisted by SHOUT Youth Council. Shortlisted applicants will be required to make a short presentation to members of the public at Sprowston Community High School, Cannerby Lane, Sprowston on Monday 18th January.
If you would like more specific information let me know and I’ll forward further information.
Categories: Activities & Entertainment · Local issues · Policing · Schools
Coming to a council near you soon……….perhaps? – Hope not!!!
We often compare ourselves with Hampshire CC, because they generally deliver services in a sensible way and its good to see how others are working – in the commercial world this is called benchmarking……………
However, so far, we have had a different breed of Lib Dem in Norfolk (fortunately?). I was sent this link to the Hampshire Lib Dem group.
Their Cllr Hicks was quoted as saying “I was near The Works bookshop when I saw this strange woman, a humanoid walking with a penguin-like gait. She had very large prominent eyes and was twirling her hands in a circular motion.”
Categories: Politics
No prize, but I thought visitors to my site might like to guess
where this is ……?
Clue : One of Andrews
Categories: Activities & Entertainment
As part of the Save the World/Normal for Norfolk campaign NCC are promoting the use of reuseable (washable) nappies………….they look good, feel good and babies are much more comfortable.
Not only that, they are cheaper in the long run and definitely sustainable.
Since 2001 the County Council have been raising awareness through a Washable Nappy Incentive Scheme. A £30 discount voucher can be downloaded from their website for the purchase of nappies, because that is where the big financial hit is. They have had 6,400 requests since the scheme started!!
Staff from the Waste Reduction Scheme are very keen to talk to baby & toddler groups, ante natal classes etc. Make contact via their web link, or let me know and I’ll pass on details.
Categories: Environmental
Useful for many but an intrusion of privacy for others……..and another potential for personal information to go astray……
The NHS is soon going to start uploading critical personal medical information (they call it Summary Care Records) on to a website accessible by all out-of-hours services and A&E hospitals.
Passive consent will be used, so if you do not object the information will automatically be made available.
Suggest you check they have the correct information!
Categories: Local issues
The latest book in the NCC “health, heritage and biodiversity walks” series has just been published and it covers walks in the Diss & Harleston area. Diss walkers launced the book on Thursday by going on a walk not featured in the book! but never mind it still ended up with a cup of coffee and a chat………and we were really lucky with lovely warm sunny day.
Getting ready to go...
The walks have been suggested by local people and mapped by the NCC, and made up into a really nice booklet giving local information as well as pretty pictures together with the easy to read maps!
There are about 150 walks so far downloadable from the County website…….
Categories: Activities & Entertainment · Environmental · Local issues
A recent addition to the Trading Standards service in Norfolk is the Trusted Trader site.
I am pleased to find several of the local traders I know listed, and I am sure it will be invaluable to us all over the coming years.
The site also includes details for traders of how to apply to get listed.
Categories: Local issues
