Swaffham Newsletter

In Touch With Your Town
'In Touch with your Town' is put
together by the Town Clerk Richard
Bishop or occasionally by the Deputy
Town Clerk Claire Smith. It deals with
some of the most topical items of the
day and the odd item where the Council want to share
information with the Town.
Classic Car Show & Fun Day
After missing out in 2020 because of the pandemic,
our Classic Car Show & Fun Day returned and just like
a comfy pair of slippers it felt so right… The organisers
were like everyone else a little nervous of what to
expect, but it was great to see a record number of 130+
cars turn out on the day. The weather held up too, as
it wasn’t too warm or too cold, so no complaints on
that score. The final accounts are still being prepared,
but a healthy figure of just over £1,800 is confidently
predicted at the time of writing, the proceeds with
go towards open spaces amenities for the town. The
organising team were more than pleased with this
result and would like to thank all the event sponsors, all
the classic car owners, all the stall holders and everyone
who attended or helped in any way make this event a
success in 2021.
Sacred Heart Barn Theatre & Swimming Pool
The Town Council are now at an advanced stage in their
acquisition of the Barn Theatre and Swimming Pool
for an agreed price of £325,000, as the exchange of
contracts and competition will take place before 30th
September 2021. The Steering Group members have
been appointed as follows: -
Cllrs: Stewart Bell, Paul Darby, Colin Houghton, Kurt
Oliver and Jill Skinner
Non-Cllrs: Chloe Brown, Graham Eves, Meg Heale, Jan
Haynes-Griffiths and Philip Wagner
The Steering Group will look at how to bring the facility
into community use and bridge the gap between Town
Council ownership and a new management structure,
working alongside our commissioned consultants
Ingham Pinnock.
There are two areas which are likely to be managed
separately:
1. the Barn building. The town council’s ambitions for
the Barn are predominately for a Creative Arts and
Culture Centre, and to offer facilities that currently
doesn’t exist within the town.
2. the Swimming Pool. The outdoor pool at the Barn
needs major investment but is an opportunity for a new
facility subject to securing funding for renovation.
Christmas Market Weekend
Arrangements for the ‘Swaffham Christmas Market
Weekend’ are taking shape, as we will have a full
programme starting with Market Day on the Saturday
4th December, as we have a road closure for the two
days. In addition to the Traditional Saturday Market, we
hope to have a Street Market and we have an Ice Rink
in situ for both days. As the Market clears away in the
afternoon, it makes way for Santa’s Lantern Parade and
a Food Market, to go alongside LIVE MUSIC, with Little
Mix tribute band LMX topping the bill.
On the Sunday 5th December if you missed your chance
on the Ice Rink, it is still in place as we have our Christmas
Market Stalls, Santa’ Grotto, Funfair, Entertainment
under the Buttercross, lots of fund characters walking
around from Arnie’s Attic, a Live Nativity in Plowright
Place, a Christmas Raffle and culminating with the
Christmas Light Switch-On at 5pm. The format on the
Sunday is similar to past years but with the Ice Rink as
an added attraction. If you are interested in booking a
stall for the Saturday 8am – 3pm or 5pm – 10pm slots
or for the Sunday 12noon – 6pm then please contact
the Town Hall reception@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
as we only have limited space, so avoid disappointment
and get booked in. Telephone 01760 722922 and we
will send you a form or call in and collect one from us at
the Town Hall.
Skatepark Graffiti Art
Local Artist Jamie Wade was given permission to
work with other volunteers on a project at Swaffham
Skatepark before heading off to University The aim
was to get hand stencils from students and other local
people. These was then used to spray around and the
children and parents could came along to watch the
work happening live, with the hands being spray painted
onto the surface of the skate park. As well as hand
stencils from the schools some interest was from those
that use the skatepark and other local people, making
the artwork a real community effort. Congratulations to
Jamie on a fantastic finished result.
Vandalism at the Rec
Not for the first time we have experienced vandalism at
the Recreation Ground Public Toilets, as only recently
Councillors agreed to open up the toilets for the
summer holiday period. Only minor damage took place
in the early weeks, which was repaired, but then the
week before the Car Rally we had to close the toilets
to allow enough time to repair the toilets and ensure
that they would be available during the Car Rally itself.
A great shame that the minority continue to spoil things
for the majority.
Unfortunately, we are sad to report that some of
Jamie Wade’s good work on the Skatepark has been
spoilt by ad-hoc graffiti of a different kind, unplanned,
unauthorised and has caused a lot of unnecessary
expense. To date in 28 different areas around the
Skatepark, the work is tagged and looks awful. There
could be more to come…
Swaffham Town Council
Tel: 01760 722 922
www.swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
Town Hall opening times:
Town Hall opening times:
Monday to Thursday: 9.30am - 1pm (lunch) 1.30 - 4pm.
Friday: 9.30am - 1pm
reception@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
Town Council Committee
meeting dates - OCTOBER 2021
• Mon 4th – HR & Governance – 12noon Town Hall
• Mon 11th – Full Council – 6.30pm. Town Hall
• Mon 18th – Market Management Committee –
6.30pm. Town Hall
• Mon 25th – Finance Full Council – 6.30pm.
Town Hall
• Tue 26th - Planning & Built Environment – 4pm.
Town Hall
The Town Council
Mayor - Cllr Judy Anscombe
CllrAnscombe.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Deputy Mayor - Cllr Stewart Bell
CllrBell.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Lindsay Beech
CllrBeech.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Nayna Bass
CllrBass.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Wendy Bensley
CllrBensley.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Paul Darby
CllrDarby.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Graham Edwards
CllrEdwards.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Colin Houghton
CllrHoughton.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Shirley Matthews
CllrMatthews.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Kurt Oliver
CllrOliver.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Ian Pilcher
CllrPilcher.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Les Scott
CllrScott.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Cllr. Jill Skinner
CllrSkinner.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com
Officers:
Richard Bishop – Town Clerk
townclerk@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
Claire Smith – Deputy Town Clerk
deputyclerk@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
Breckland District Council
www.breckland.gov.uk
01362 656 870. For all enquiries regarding: Planning,
Refuse Bins, Housing, Recycling, Licensing & Benefits
Your Breckland District Councillors:
Cllr. David Wickerson
01760 725 741
david.wickerson@
breckland.gov.uk
Cllr. Ian Sherwood
07795 236 878
ian.sherwood@
breckland.gov.uk
Cllr Ed Colman - also your Norfolk County Councillor
07940 406 356
ed.colman@breckland.gov.uk / ed.colman.cllr@norfolk.gov.uk
Highway issues
Norfolk County Council – www.norfolk.gov.uk
– 0344 800 8020
For Highway issues & faulty street lights:
- Highways - please give the location of the issue and
a telephone number where further information can
be obtained.
- Faulty streetlights – please give the precise location
of the light and the number on the column.
Alternatively visit the website and search for Highways
or Street Lights to report your concerns.
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