Climate Change Exhibition

Neighbourhood Plan Update

Halesworth's Neighbourhood Plan is getting closer to completion. Creating a Neighbourhood Plan is usually a 3 or 4 year process and we are on track to deliver our Plan. Early in the Autumn, we will be holding some special events to showcase our work on creating your plan.

Members of the Neighbourhood Plan Group have been focusing on the 7 objectives that you identified as the key focus for our Plan. You can find these objectives on the Town Council Website. The group has been working on practical and achievable proposals to enhance and improve Halesworth whilst providing clear evidence that these proposals meet the needs and wishes of Halesworth residents.

The Neighbourhood plan group have also presented individual sections of the draft NP to Halesworth Town Councillors. We are set to present the final 2 sections to Council on the 15th  September.

Earlier this Summer, we also led a consultation on the Town Centre Connectivity project, this is just one part of the Plan, like each of the 7 Plan Objectives This was looking at possible ways to improve different parts of the Town, to connect them more effectively to benefit both tourists, businesses and local residents. The aim is to make it a better connected town which will help it thrive. Just imagine if you were arriving in Halesworth for the first time: how would you know that there was a fantastic Millennium Green? How might you find the lovely Town Park or Thoroughfare from the station? How would you get from the thriving Thoroughfare to the Market Place with its magnificent ancient buildings? This is a large body of work supported by Halesworth Town Council, for the future.

We want to thank everyone who joined us for the Connectivity Project Zoom meeting and Town Walkabout. It was fascinating to hear people's views and ideas, and their passion and concern about the Town's future.

Finally, we want to let you know that on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th November, we will be showcasing the Neighbourhood Plan at our special Neighbourhood Plan Weekender. There will be an exhibition of each of the objective areas and the Connectivity project, a whistle-stop tour of each objective area, the chance to take part in workshops with members of the plan group and a Q & A session which will be live-streamed and available for downloading afterwards. Further details of the Neighbourhood Plan Weekender will appear in September and October.

Creating a Neighbourhood Plan is the best way of ensuring that everyone in Halesworth has a say in how the Town grows and develops, and to secure additional funding from developers through the CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) money to go directly to our town. We look forward to sharing Halesworth's Neighbourhood Plan with you and to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Extraordinary Meeting - Thursday 22nd July - Rifle Hall - 6.30pm

The Town Council are holding an extraordinary meeting on Thursday 22nd July at 6.30pm in the Rifle Hall.  The Zoom link below will allow residents to view the meeting only. If residents would like to participate in the public session, they should attend the meeting or forward their questions via email to the Clerk – clerk@halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk.  If you are attending the meeting in person, the Council respectfully request that masks are worn and social distancing is adhered to in the hall.

The meeting is primarily to discuss the planning application DC/21/3016/FUL – 80 assisted living units on land west of Norwich Rd. There will also be an opportunity for the Council to gauge whether there is interest in forming a community group regarding the sale of the Patrick Stead Hospital building.  The deadline for such a group to register their interest is 6th August.  Any groups registering their interest then have six months to raise the funds in order to purchase the property at market value.   The Council are not yet aware of what price has been set on the building.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82297665441?pwd=bmNGL1RUQzBvZENLQkdOSjlmczdaUT09

Meeting ID: 822 9766 5441

Passcode: 320988

Halesworth Town Council welcomes three new Councillors

Connectivity Zoom follow up and walkabout

Halesworth Connectivity Project.   Bringing our town together

The Neighbourhood Plan group will be holding another Zoom meeting following the ‘Connectivity’ presentation by ‘WeMadeThat’ architects. It will be hosted by the Neighbourhood Plan group and you are invited to ask any follow-up questions you have about the proposals. We will also make a note of your comments and pass them on. Help to improve connections and links between Halesworth’s great places, spaces and destinations.

Join us for a Zoom meeting to discuss the proposals to improve connectivity in Halesworth. Wednesday 2nd June, 7pm.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83488360094?pwd=RGFuRHZsdTZUQm5nRjV6V3ovcnY4UT09

Meeting ID: 834 8836 0094

Passcode: 166599

Let’s go Walkabout

Also, to give people a better visual idea of what is proposed, we are going to do a walk-through. Starting at the station, we will walk to the Cut, then down to the Thoroughfare, through the long-term car park, finishing at the Market Place.

To discuss the plan in more detail, join us for a walk

Walkabout - Saturday 5 June 3.0 - 4.30pm.  Meeting at:

No need to book, look forward to seeing you there.

And don’t forget to fill in the survey

Visit https://halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk/neighbourhood-plan-steering-group/

 

Neighbourhood Plan news

It is good to see that the Town Centre Connectivity Project has raised such interest in the town. The Neighbourhood Plan is an integral part of the Town Council's plan of being able to have more say in planning decisions in the Town over the next 15 years. Too often decisions have been made about the Town by District and County Councils which have not reflected the view of those who actually live in the Town.  The Neighbourhood Plan has to be approved by the Town Council, East Suffolk Council and by resident referendum before it is formally adopted by the town and it forms the guidelines for future developments.  The Neighbourhood Plan process is funded in the majority through grants from Central Government. The Town Council provides a small annual budget (up to £1k) from the precept and last year provided financial support for the connectivity study up to £10k which can be funded from the Community Infrastructure Levy (a tax on developers); this represents a relatively small investment compared to the potential returns once the Plan is delivered. A successful Neighbourhood Plan would mean that the Community Infrastructure Levy money that is provided through developments would increase from 15% to 25% which would make a considerable contribution towards the town’s infrastructure in future years.

The Neighbourhood Plan group looked at what residents told them about the town and what they thought was needed in the next decade. They realised they needed some expert help in taking people’s ideas and turning them into potential projects. The Neighbourhood Plan group wanted somebody with fresh eyes to look at the Town, which is why the group selected the We Made That architects who were highly rated for their work in this field. The recent survey by We Made That on connectivity in the Town is only part of this process.  The group have already engaged with local organisations and residents’ focus groups on other aspects of the plan.  A successful Neighbourhood Plan needs this kind of input. There are lots of steps including more consultations before any of the ideas mentioned in the survey could become a reality.

The Neighbourhood Plan group has arranged for a feedback survey to be available until the 9 June and a link to a printable version of We Made That's presentation link on the Town Council website and if needed we can print some off for those not able to do so, please contact clerk@halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk or phone 01986 874517. There will also be another opportunity to see the presentation on zoom and arrangements are being made for a public walkabout to take people through the ideas on the ground. We will advise on these dates via the noticeboard, website and Facebook shortly.

Halesworth and District Museum News

To all our Friends and Supporters

We are delighted to announce that the Museum will be opening again on Tuesday May 18th.

We will be looking for a number of additional volunteers this season.

Stewards.

The stewards are the face of the Museum. They are our main contact with the visitors. They provide information about the Museum and feedback about the visitors. We have a number of ‘shifts’. From Tuesday to Saturday there is a morning shift from 10 to 12:30 and on Wednesdays we have an afternoon shift of 12:30 to 4pm. Stewards will arrive a few minutes before opening times and will leave a few minutes after. The Museum is hoping to extend its opening hours by having afternoon openings on Fridays and Saturdays. We will need additional stewards for these opening.

Qualifications required? None. All we need are people who are happy to talk to visitors and make them feel welcome. As to historical knowledge, you will pick that up as you go along. If you are asked a question to which you do not have an answer, it is OK to say that you don’t know. We have a form that can be filled in and someone will then get back to the visitor with an answer.

If you’re interested or would like to know more, just call Brian on 07715 679711 or e-mail the Museum at office@halesworthmuseum.org.uk and arrange a visit to the Museum for a chat and a look around.

Museum Extension.

We are expanding! The Museum has taken up the area formally used by MENCAP and will be re-opening a door connecting this space to the main display area. At the same time, we are moving large items from a store in Holton to a better storage facility in Upper Holton

We need a number of volunteers to help in this project some helping to move items, some helping to update the catalogue (we have to know where every item in our collection is), some to help with cleaning after the building work has been done and with luck someone who is willing to co-ordinate the project.

PROJECT 2021

This is the name we have given to the developments we are planning this year (and perhaps into 2022). These include the additional opening hours and the Museum extension as well as the display of the Cookley Roman silver coins and the Blythburgh Iron Age coins. In addition, we want to photograph significant items in our collection, adding the images to our computer catalogue. We would also like to extend our audio-visual offering to visitors by way of a touch-screen display. We would really welcome help in doing this.

There are a number of other areas where additional expertise would enhance the Museum’s offering to the town and surrounding villages. For example, some of the skill we could use: web site editors, graphic artists and transcribers amongst others.

They’re coming home!

People of the Halesworth area have responded magnificently to the Halesworth and District Museum’s plea for help to secure the return to the area of a hoard of Iron Age gold coins recently unearthed near Blythburgh. They are among the earliest coins produced in Britain and carry intriguing images in the shape of animals, hidden faces, swirling patterns and strange symbols. One at least is the first of its kind ever to be discovered. How they came to be left or buried over 2,000 years ago is, for the time being, a matter of speculation.

£16,150 was needed to purchase the nineteen rare pieces once they were declared Treasure Trove. The hope was to raise at least £2000 of this locally. In the event donations from local people have amounted to well over £5,000 and the Museum has successfully applied to national grant-making bodies for the balance.

Pauline Wilcock, Chair of the Museum’s Trustees is full of praise for the local response. “Thanks to the magnificent generosity of local people, we have reached our target well within the three-month period we were given. It says a lot about people’s understanding and appreciation of the importance and interest of our local history. We shall do all we can to make sure that everyone gets a chance as soon as possible to see and wonder at these incredible survivals from two thousand years ago.”

The coins should shortly be released by the British Museum where they are currently stored. Halesworth Museum is set to reopen after the next stage of lockdown is lifted, hopefully in mid-May. “For now, the next task is to acquire a secure display cabinet which will show the coins off to advantage and allow us to explain their importance”, explains Museum Curator, Brian Howard. “As a museum run by local people for local people, we owe that much to everyone who has been so generous”.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Halesworth and District Museum is at the Halesworth Railway Station Building

www.halesworthmuseum.org.uk            office@ halesworthmuseum.org.uk

 

County Council election results

Congratulations to Town Councillor Annette Dunning on being voted in as the next County Councillor for Halesworth.
 
Thank you to Tony Goldson (who is still our District Councillor along with Alison Cackett) for your representation of Halesworth at County level.

Three vacancies for Town Councillors

If you are community minded, willing to help shape this town’s future and are a team player, then you might be interested in volunteering as a Town Councillor.
There are no qualifications needed, you have probably developed relevant skills through your job, career or life in general.
You'll need to represent Halesworth residents and be willing to listen in order to make decisions faced by Town Councillors.
We need someone who can commit to helping the Town Council deal with it's increasing responsibilities.
If you are willing to give up some of your spare time then this could be one of the most rewarding challenges you’ll face.
You need to be over 18 and living within 3 miles of Halesworth (if you live in a village but see Halesworth as your town – you may still qualify!)
Contact the Clerk’s Office for details on how to apply or speak to any one of the current Councillors to get an understanding of the role. Training will be proved free of charge.

An update from Halesworth Community Sport & Leisure

The new trustees feel that it is very important to keep the community up to date on the development of the charity. Firstly, we would like to thank the public for their support over the past weeks and hope that it will continue.
Five Halesworth Town councillors have stepped up and have been working hard over the past week to take the reins at HCSL and look to move things forward for the charity, and in turn, the clubs and the community.
The Five Halesworth Town Councillors have now been appointed as Trustees on the HCSL and are dedicated to resolving past issues and more importantly to moving forward.
At their second meeting, the Councillor Trustees, unanimously accepted the nominated representatives from the sports clubs at Dairy Hill as Trustees of HCSL. All of the amendments have been made to The Charity Commission and will be shown as soon as they have updated their website.
The HCSL constitution allows for five Trustees nominated by the Town Council and five nominated by the clubs, four of which have now been appointed. The constitution also allows for three independent Trustees who would play an important role in bringing experience and expertise to the committee. If you have an interest in the community, charity work, team work or sports and leisure in general and have skills that you think might make you an asset to the charity, then please send your details to
adunning.htc@gmail.com or
c/o Halesworth Town Council, Waveney Local Office, London Road, Halesworth, Suffolk. IP19 8LW
We would like to remind the community that we are all new trustees and have volunteered to join the HCSL to help move it forward. There is a lot to do in the short term and your support, help and patience will be greatly appreciated. We are all looking forward to working together as a team to oversee the smooth running of the sport and leisure facilities for the community of Halesworth and surrounding villages.
Many Thanks
HCSL

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