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[Webmaster Note: This report comes with photos, but software limitations make it impossible to accurately and correctly show them - please refer the Little Waldingfield History Society Blog - click on link below]:
Little Waldingfield Recorder’s Report 2020
January
The year started with a church coffee morning on Friday 3rd which, despite the cold, wet, miserable morning, was attended again by all the regulars. This was followed on Sunday 5th by the first church service of the year, a Holy Communion service led by Revd. Robert Parker McGee, while on Wednesday 8th a joint meeting of the five Parish Church Councils (PCC) was held in the Parish Room.
The Parish Room was also the venue for the Parish Council (LWPC) meeting on Thursday 9th, when the budget for 2020/2021 was approved, setting a precept of £8,668. Councillors advised that a push test had taken place in the old churchyard three days previously, with one headstone being laid down and repairs requested. BDC councillor Margaret Maybury advised that she was still monitoring the situation regarding the restoration of the postbox. Planning applications for Badger Cottage (later withdrawn), land to the rear of Enniskillen and barns at Slough Hall were discussed, with councillors noting that BDC had granted permission for alterations, restoration and repair to the two barns, together with change of use from agricultural to residential use ancillary and incidental to Slough Hall; also noted was the refusal of the Enniskillen planning application.
The annual members only meeting of Little Waldingfield History Society (LWHS) was held in the Parish Room on Wednesday 15th, attended by 33 members who enjoyed a talk by Ann Grimshaw entitled 'Broad stripes and bright stars' followed by wine and nibbles. On Wednesday 29th the Over 60s club were entertained in the Parish Room with a talk by Ashley Cooper.
Keep fit resumed this month, with the group meeting every Tuesday evening in the Parish Room for an exercise class led by Nic Carter.
There was a pop up pub at the playing field pavilion on Friday 31st.
February
The monthly Holy Communion service at St Lawrence was on Sunday 2nd, led by Revd. Rob. The LWHS meeting this month was on Wednesday 5th, when 30 members were entertained in the Parish Room by a talk on the history of Trinity House given by Captain Karl Lumbers. The church coffee morning on Friday 7th was again well attended, with ever growing numbers.
The village experienced a lengthy power cut on Sunday 9th, with the electricity going off shortly after 8.30 in the morning and not resuming until almost 6 o'clock in the evening; there was another power cut lasting almost an hour the following morning. From Tuesday 11th the bottom of Church Road was closed for three days to enable Anglian Water to split the water supply to two cottages with a joint supply.
A wine tasting evening was held in the Parish Room on Saturday 15th, with wines supplied by Baythorne Wines; an enjoyable evening was had by the 27 people attending and the event also raised £85 towards the upkeep of the building.
Snow fell on the morning of Thursday 27th, settling briefly before all melting again before midday.
March
The first two events of the month were in the church, with Holy Communion on Sunday 1st and a coffee morning on Friday 6th - these were the last two events to be held in the church before lockdown started on 23rd; there were no further coffee mornings during the year due to covid restrictions.
Members of the Over 60s went to Newton golf club for a very enjoyable lunch on Wednesday 11th, this also was to be the last meeting of the group during 2020.
At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 12th the draft Neighbourhood Plan was approved but a drop-in event planned for the following month was later cancelled due to lockdown - the annual parish meeting was arranged for April 9th but this also was later postponed. Councillors approved payment of £337.20 to BDC for the emptying of dog and litter bins during 2019, and agreed to take up the replacement of the 'no parking' posts in Church Road with the county council. Planning applications by The Swan pub (refurbishment, including replacement of windows and doors and change of first floor layout), The Grange (erection of cartlodge/store - later withdrawn) and for land adjacent to The Grange (erection of one dwelling following demolition of existing garage/shed) were all supported by the Parish Council.
Keep fit continued in the Parish Room up to Tuesday 17th - the classes then moved online via Zoom.
The LWHS talk due to be held in the Parish Room on Wednesday 18th was cancelled over covid concerns given the age of many of the members, and there were no further meetings for the rest of the year. The annual litter pick scheduled for Saturday 21st was also cancelled.
The oldest resident in the village, Joyce Smith, celebrated her 100th birthday this month; she received her birthday card from the queen but her birthday gathering unfortunately had to be cancelled.
There was a brief burst of snowfall early on Sunday 29th, followed by a hailstorm later that morning and again early in the afternoon - the first day of British Summertime!
April
The church is now closed and services have moved online; regrettably Tim and Sandra Harbord have resigned from LWPCC and St Lawrence is once again without churchwardens. As of Thursday 2nd the twice weekly 112 bus service, which serves the village on Tuesdays and Thursdays and had been under threat of closure for some time, has been taken over by community bus operator GoStart.
The Parish Room quiz scheduled for Saturday 4th was cancelled and there was no further use of the room for the rest of the year.
After the cold end to the previous month early April was warm with temperatures on Saturday 11th reaching the low 20s, although the spell of fine weather came to an end the following day with heavy rain and storms that afternoon.
BDC have now granted full planning permission for the new dwelling adjacent to the Grange.
May
Although major events commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday 8th were not possible, many households around the village held their own individual commemorations on what was a lovely sunny bank holiday. The cold weather was not over however and there were hard frosts overnight in the middle of the following week.
The Parish Council meeting on Thursday 14th was held online via Zoom, as were all subsequent meetings for the rest of the year; councillors approved payment of £243.26 to SCC for maintenance of and energy used by the village streetlights during 2019/2020. Payment of £192 to Sudbury Town Council for 2020/2021 SID six-weekly changes was also authorised. A planning application for Badger Cottage (erection of single storey rear extension) was supported by the council but objections were raised to the application by The Grange (erection of 2 bay garage), as councillors considered there needed to be a detailed heritage statement and clearer plans.
The parish magazine this month carried a notification from the Little Waldingfield Charities that they were able to offer financial assistance to village residents during the pandemic; although they are unable to subsidise loss of income or help in the payment of household bills they can contribute towards unexpected expenses such as transport and parking for hospital visits, repair and service of medical equipment not covered by the NHS, or textbooks for students.
There was very warm weather later in the month, with temperatures reaching mid 20s on Thursday 21st. Brookwood Manor care home has now been bought buy Blue Ocean Care - there are no plans to build the previously approved extension but the existing building will be renovated. Thankfully the home is still currently covid free, unlike many others.
Instructor Nic Carter left the keep fit group at the end of the month to take up another job; the class were sorry to see her leave as she had worked hard building the group. Fit Villages sent Lisa Parkhurst as a replacement instructor and classes moved into the garden of one of the group over the summer, until the weather changed, when the group elected to go back online.
June
On Thursday 4th the overhanging hedge opposite the playing field entrance was cut back, enabling pedestrians to more easily see approaching traffic when crossing the road to go to the field ; the same day there were traffic cones put up in The Street outside Ashleigh while Anglian Water worked to fix a water leak.
The draft Neighbourhood Plan has now been delivered to all properties in the village, together with a consultation response form which is to be returned by Friday July 24th; an online drop in question and answer session on the plan was hosted on Zoom by the steering committee on Thursday June 11th.
The weather was warm, with temperatures on Thursday 25th already at 22.5 in the shade by 8 o'clock in the morning, although it was very windy the following weekend.
On Friday 26th the church was reopened for private prayer only, and was then opened by volunteers on a rota every Friday from 10 until 3.
July
Church services continue online; the benefice has asked for financial support from those who feel able to contribute - St Lawrence alone costs £400 per week to keep it functioning.
The month began with heavy rain, wind and hail on Thursday 2nd. Lockdown was eased on Saturday 5th; the following afternoon the pop up pub was held outdoors on the playing field, with table service and people required to remain within their small groups in order to comply with Covid restrictions.
An outdoor drop in session was held on the playing field on Wednesday 8th for villagers to provide feedback on the draft neighbourhood plan. At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 9th the status of The Swan as a community asset was discussed - this currently is due to expire on 19th August and so the council will make a renewed application. Councillors approved payment of £300 to contribute to the cost of the replacement of the 'no parking' posts in Church Road.
August
The church has reopened for monthly services, with the first being held on Sunday 2nd August; attendees are requested to keep 2m distance, wear a face mask, sanitize their hands and write their name on the front of the service sheet.
The hottest day of the summer was on Wednesday 12th, when the temperature reached 35; the heat caused power cables to sag along the road to Lavenham forcing U.K. Power Networks to turn off the supply as the cables were so low. The village was without power for an hour while work was carried out to reroute the supply.
That day's hot weather was followed in the early hours of Friday 14th by a storm and twenty minutes of torrential rain, followed by more heavy rain later in the morning. The same afternoon houses in Church Road were without fibre broadband for a time due to an error by Openreach while connecting a new customer.
September
On Sunday 4th a service was again held in the church observing the necessary Covid protocols.
At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 10th councillors approved amendments to the draft neighbourhood plan, following responses from villagers, after which the plan was to be submitted to BDC. Jennie Jordan made a presentation to the council on behalf of the playing field committee, advising councillors of the current state of the pavilion and efforts planned for its refurbishment; councillors voted to support its application for S106 funding from BDC. A new application regarding The Swan as a community asset has been submitted, replacement 'no parking' posts for Church Road have been ordered and push tests in the closed churchyard are to be carried out. The village is to be leafleted re recruitment of a new Speedwatch coordinator.
The funeral of Len Manning was held on Thursday 17th following his recent death at the age of 95. Len had lived in the village since 1982 and gave regular talks on his experiences as a rear gunner in the RAF in WW2 all over the country. He bore his illness with great fortitude, and his upright figure could be seen regularly walking in the village until the last few weeks of his life.
The annual meeting of parishioners of St Lawrence church was held in the church on Wednesday 23rd, having been postponed from earlier in the year.
This month's edition of Bury and West Suffolk magazine had an article on artist Clive Madgwick, who lived in the village at Churchside from 1964 to 1988; the article recalls that some of his earliest pictures sold for 50p each at Little Waldingfield summer fete.
October
The Harvest Festival service was held in the church on Sunday 4th; this year gifts of tinned or packet food were requested, for later donation to a local food bank. An additional Parish Council meeting was held on Tuesday 6th to discuss a planning application for land to the rear of Enniskillen; councillors decided to object to the proposal as it was considered overdevelopment of the site, while the housing planned did not reflect the needs of the village. The 21 parking places planned appeared to be too high for the proposed number of dwellings and increased traffic, loss of a mature orchard and the change in character of the centre of the village were also of concern. A planning application from Bell House (erection of a garden room with balcony above, after demolition of the existing garden room) was also considered and received no objections.
On Thursday 8th notice was given that work was about to commence on The Swan, with groundworkers from UK Power bringing a new three phase electricity supply underground to the pub, along with a new supply to the coach house and power for a new pub signpost. Groundworks by Anglian Water were also to be carried out and villagers were asked not to disrupt access by parking on the pub forecourt.
An article in the East Anglian Daily Times on Monday 26th outlined a bid by a developer to build 14 homes in the village on land opposite Grove Avenue; a previous failed attempt had been made to build in this area in 1988 and the current application was again strongly opposed by the majority of villagers. On Wednesday 28th a traffic accident involving two vehicles occurred in The Street opposite Ashleigh.
A notice in this month's parish magazine from Little Waldingfield Charities reminded retired villagers aged over 65 who had lived in the village for more than a year that they may be entitled to the charity's Christmas gift.
November
The annual remembrance service on Sunday 8th was this year held outside the church, by the war memorial, due to Covid restrictions - there is no public worship inside churches during the lockdown this month, but the church is still open on Fridays for private prayer.
There were traffic lights in The Street outside Bramley and Rose Cottages on Tuesday 17th while Anglian Water carried out repairs.
December
There was snow on the ground on the morning of Friday 4th. At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 10th there were no objections to planning applications received from Garden House (erection of a single storey rear extension) and Butcher's Cottage (application for listed buildings consent for the retention of a replacement kitchen door). The planning application for the building of 14 houses opposite Grove Avenue was also considered, with objections raised due to numerous concerns such as the impact on highway safety, overdevelopment, detriment to the character of the village and the fact that the development was not required to meet the needs of the Joint Local Plan; this application was later withdrawn by the developer. Councillors agreed payments of £347.32 for the emptying of dog and litter bins for 2020/2021 and £1176 for grass cutting and weed spraying for 2020. There is currently a vacancy on the Parish Council.
The Christmas carol service was this year held outside on The Swan forecourt on Monday 21st.
The pavilion on the playing field had been falling into a state of disrepair that required urgent action. The committee have succeeded in obtaining the grants applied for, which has enabled them to have the building reclad on the outside with insulation and new plasterboard on the inside; the cladding boards now run horizontally instead of vertically. The internal space is also to be reconfigured to make better use of the main room and to provide new accessible toilet facilities. There will also be a ramp to the main door. The 100 club continues to be well supported, although there are still some available numbers, and is currently drawn monthly using a computer generated random number program.
Despite the restrictions imposed due to the corona virus, several properties in the village were marketed during the year, with sales completed on The Priory and The Grange. The following properties were also on the market during the year and have since been sold subject to contract:
6 Grove Avenue - price reduced to £290,000 in November 2020
Greengates - marketed for £395,000 in October 2020
3 The Street - marketed for £375,000 in November 2020
Christmas Cottage - price reduced to £325,000 in December 2020
3 Haymarket Cottages - price reduced to £310,000 in January 2021
5 The Street - marketed for £265,000 in September 2020
Bungalow, corner of Grove Avenue and The Street - price reduced to £289,995 in October 2020
Susan Sheppard April 2021