NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2020
After a glorious Summer anyone of a gloomy disposition will not have been helped by the recent briefings of the medical Brothers Grim and the general muddle of the powers that be, perhaps feeling that nothing much has progressed in our struggle to live with the great pandemic. Added to which, as I write, the weather seems to have set in for the duration. But we are very fortunate to live in such a fabulous part of the country and I heartily endorse Billy Connolly’s ‘No such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothes’. So we can still cheer ourselves up with the sea, the Common and the marshes with the wind blowing through our hair.
However, at local level really not much has changed and most issues rumble on without epiphany.
On the positive side, our annual Excellence Awards will be going ahead as usual with the presentations to be made, one way or another, in April 2021. We ask you to consider if you know of any individual or local organisation who might be deserving of such an award, especially in the response to Covid 19. If so, please obtain a nomination form and the accompanying notes either from our website (sandrsoc.org.uk/awards-for-excellence.html) or from Brian Harrild (01502 724298). The closing date for submissions is 31st January 2021.
The Society’s Tardis noticeboards on Electricity Green and outside the Randolph have been a feature of the community since 1992. But they are tired and we have recently had a good look at them which resulted in new legs and a shiny overhaul for the former and condemnation of the latter as completely rotten. We are looking at a replacement but the Electricity Green board is still available for use via the Post Office, notices to be on portrait A4 paper only.
Further to the note about the Southwold Arts Centre in the last newsletter the theatre will have a gala re-opening for audiences on 25 October and is holding twelve very wide ranging performances between now and the New Year plus six days of a Christmas Show. The ticket office is open for booking at https://southwoldartscentre.co.uk/
The revival of the Shuttle Bus was also mentioned in the last newsletter and this will re-start on 19 October with regular stops at Old Hall Café, venturing to Walberswick on Mondays and Thursdays. It will take 6 masked passengers, will be free to start with and full timetables are at the printers. There is still a shortage of volunteer drivers, so if there are any volunteers for 3½ hour shifts out there you would be very welcome – contact the Voluntary Help Centre 01502 72459 or www.southwoldvhc.com. Sponsorship or donations would also be welcome.
There seems to have been a regrettable impression that Solebay Health Centre has shut its doors and pulled up the drawbridge since the onset of the pandemic and we were keen to establish what the situation actually was. In response to our enquiry, we were assured that all our doctors are available at the surgery and appointments can be made in the usual way. What is different is that many more appointments are being taken by telephone or video consultations. Experience has shown that the vast majority of matters are able to be resolved in a timely manner via a call without having to attend the surgery. In addition, the pharmacy continues to run a very effective delivery service.
Following the membership’s response to our question about the Society’s stance on Sizewell, the Chairman has now written a note to supplement our representation to EDF and to make our opposition to Sizewell C stronger.
The public consultation on the proposed Town Trail was held on 10 September and the project received mixed views. It is not certain that we need more signage, random sculpture or the woodpecker to represent us. The Society feels that the money would be better spent on reviving the boating lake.
With regards to the Police Station site, in reply to having reported some of your views and suggestions, the Council has helpfully suggested in the Gazette that if SRS is so interested it should make an offer for the site. With our annual subscription remaining at £2 this would indeed be an ambitious endeavour.
Having thus mentioned membership obliquely I cannot let it pass without a recruitment plea. Normally at this time of year we get a bit of a membership boost with the Annual Lunch but with its cancellation this year I would ask you to encourage friends and neighbours to join.
Who knows where we will go next both on a local and a national level – perhaps the Eagle comics of the 1960s which illustrated the population all wearing glass bubble helmets when outdoors were prescient?
Andrew Wallington-Smith
Membership Secretary
After a glorious Summer anyone of a gloomy disposition will not have been helped by the recent briefings of the medical Brothers Grim and the general muddle of the powers that be, perhaps feeling that nothing much has progressed in our struggle to live with the great pandemic. Added to which, as I write, the weather seems to have set in for the duration. But we are very fortunate to live in such a fabulous part of the country and I heartily endorse Billy Connolly’s ‘No such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothes’. So we can still cheer ourselves up with the sea, the Common and the marshes with the wind blowing through our hair.
However, at local level really not much has changed and most issues rumble on without epiphany.
On the positive side, our annual Excellence Awards will be going ahead as usual with the presentations to be made, one way or another, in April 2021. We ask you to consider if you know of any individual or local organisation who might be deserving of such an award, especially in the response to Covid 19. If so, please obtain a nomination form and the accompanying notes either from our website (sandrsoc.org.uk/awards-for-excellence.html) or from Brian Harrild (01502 724298). The closing date for submissions is 31st January 2021.
The Society’s Tardis noticeboards on Electricity Green and outside the Randolph have been a feature of the community since 1992. But they are tired and we have recently had a good look at them which resulted in new legs and a shiny overhaul for the former and condemnation of the latter as completely rotten. We are looking at a replacement but the Electricity Green board is still available for use via the Post Office, notices to be on portrait A4 paper only.
Further to the note about the Southwold Arts Centre in the last newsletter the theatre will have a gala re-opening for audiences on 25 October and is holding twelve very wide ranging performances between now and the New Year plus six days of a Christmas Show. The ticket office is open for booking at https://southwoldartscentre.co.uk/
The revival of the Shuttle Bus was also mentioned in the last newsletter and this will re-start on 19 October with regular stops at Old Hall Café, venturing to Walberswick on Mondays and Thursdays. It will take 6 masked passengers, will be free to start with and full timetables are at the printers. There is still a shortage of volunteer drivers, so if there are any volunteers for 3½ hour shifts out there you would be very welcome – contact the Voluntary Help Centre 01502 72459 or www.southwoldvhc.com. Sponsorship or donations would also be welcome.
There seems to have been a regrettable impression that Solebay Health Centre has shut its doors and pulled up the drawbridge since the onset of the pandemic and we were keen to establish what the situation actually was. In response to our enquiry, we were assured that all our doctors are available at the surgery and appointments can be made in the usual way. What is different is that many more appointments are being taken by telephone or video consultations. Experience has shown that the vast majority of matters are able to be resolved in a timely manner via a call without having to attend the surgery. In addition, the pharmacy continues to run a very effective delivery service.
Following the membership’s response to our question about the Society’s stance on Sizewell, the Chairman has now written a note to supplement our representation to EDF and to make our opposition to Sizewell C stronger.
The public consultation on the proposed Town Trail was held on 10 September and the project received mixed views. It is not certain that we need more signage, random sculpture or the woodpecker to represent us. The Society feels that the money would be better spent on reviving the boating lake.
With regards to the Police Station site, in reply to having reported some of your views and suggestions, the Council has helpfully suggested in the Gazette that if SRS is so interested it should make an offer for the site. With our annual subscription remaining at £2 this would indeed be an ambitious endeavour.
Having thus mentioned membership obliquely I cannot let it pass without a recruitment plea. Normally at this time of year we get a bit of a membership boost with the Annual Lunch but with its cancellation this year I would ask you to encourage friends and neighbours to join.
Who knows where we will go next both on a local and a national level – perhaps the Eagle comics of the 1960s which illustrated the population all wearing glass bubble helmets when outdoors were prescient?
Andrew Wallington-Smith
Membership Secretary
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
Despite our gradual (temporary?) emergence from the covid cocoon we zoomed again for our monthly meeting in the first week of September. It was suggested at one point that this was much more efficient than meeting face to face - zoom meetings tend to be shorter and when those assembled all speak at once (I am not a very rigid chairman) they simply cancel each other out. However, whilst zooming for a meeting is one thing, a virtual annual lunch for about 90 plus people is quite another kettle of fish so I'm afraid that our main social occasion for the year will, regrettably, have to wait for a while.
We discussed a number of topics, among them the re -opening of the Arts Centre, the announcement that the shuttle-bus is to be revived, members’ responses to our paper on Sizewell C, suggestions for the Police Station site, the formation of the Station Yard Project Board and the usual run of planning applications. Quite enough to be going on with.
The Arts Centre is an important part of our com munity as a venue for a range of functions and performances (which currently include a streamed Summer Theatre programme) and its future will depend upon local support, a variety of funding sources and an ability to operate within current restrictions. The Trustees have done an immense amount to ensure that the latter is a reality. For information on future events go to https://southwoldartscentre.co.uk/
Another project worthy of support is the planned return of the Shuttle Bus, funded by the Sole Bay Care Fund and operated by Halesworth Community Transport. The service has been a vital link for a number of residents. The new routes and timetable are not yet fixed and in the meantime more financial support and volunteer drivers are needed. The latter will be recruited and administered by the Voluntary Help Centre. If you can spare some time for this useful service, please contact the VHC 01502 72459 or www.southwoldvhc.com
The Committee considered the response, so far, from members to our discussion paper on Sizewell C. I appreciate that if you ask for opinions you will hear from those who have them but, while it's risky to assume the views of the silent majority, the general drift is against t he project. The principal doubts concern Chinese involvement (if it's still the case), disruption to residents and the environment, the emergence of other forms of generation, disappointing news on costs, schedules and technical difficulties at Hinkley an d elsewhere and the problems of long-term storage of nuclear waste.
Whilst we speak of energy: the plans for the wind farms East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two are now with the Planning Inspectorate and preliminary meetings begin on 16th September a nd 7th October. These are still, essentially, discussions on procedure and may be followed live but the announcement sensibly adds "For guidance, to avoid virtual event fatigue, sessional breaks will be provided...." I suppose "V E F" will soon become another acronym for our times.
There is always plenty of stuff swirling round Station Yard where some tenants are under notice to quit during early October. A Project Board is assembled, a Project Manager (which can be a firm or an individual) is being appointed, a survey of the ground beneath is starting, there is talk of reviewed plans, new architects and the rest. And there have been further suggestions for the use of the adjacent Police Station site - not all of them fanciful: alternative accommodation for the Library or a crèche in the immediate or long term; a new Town Hall. Southwold Town Council have funded (and will have about four months to complete) a scoping exercise and feasibility study for the site. We have just sent Southwold Town Council a proposal for a housing-led, mixed use development to encompass Station yard and the police and fire station sites and to include a garage.
By the time this Newsletter appears we will be facing more stringent restrictions on visiting, socialising and non-essential outings. Thanks to some early and energetic planning we have a strong network of local organisations in place to help the isolated or confined and those most at risk. If you are in need of help the primary points of contact are: Voluntary Help Ce ntre 01502 724509, Southwold Town Hall 01502 722576 and Sole Bay Virus Help Group 01502 724904.
Despite our gradual (temporary?) emergence from the covid cocoon we zoomed again for our monthly meeting in the first week of September. It was suggested at one point that this was much more efficient than meeting face to face - zoom meetings tend to be shorter and when those assembled all speak at once (I am not a very rigid chairman) they simply cancel each other out. However, whilst zooming for a meeting is one thing, a virtual annual lunch for about 90 plus people is quite another kettle of fish so I'm afraid that our main social occasion for the year will, regrettably, have to wait for a while.
We discussed a number of topics, among them the re -opening of the Arts Centre, the announcement that the shuttle-bus is to be revived, members’ responses to our paper on Sizewell C, suggestions for the Police Station site, the formation of the Station Yard Project Board and the usual run of planning applications. Quite enough to be going on with.
The Arts Centre is an important part of our com munity as a venue for a range of functions and performances (which currently include a streamed Summer Theatre programme) and its future will depend upon local support, a variety of funding sources and an ability to operate within current restrictions. The Trustees have done an immense amount to ensure that the latter is a reality. For information on future events go to https://southwoldartscentre.co.uk/
Another project worthy of support is the planned return of the Shuttle Bus, funded by the Sole Bay Care Fund and operated by Halesworth Community Transport. The service has been a vital link for a number of residents. The new routes and timetable are not yet fixed and in the meantime more financial support and volunteer drivers are needed. The latter will be recruited and administered by the Voluntary Help Centre. If you can spare some time for this useful service, please contact the VHC 01502 72459 or www.southwoldvhc.com
The Committee considered the response, so far, from members to our discussion paper on Sizewell C. I appreciate that if you ask for opinions you will hear from those who have them but, while it's risky to assume the views of the silent majority, the general drift is against t he project. The principal doubts concern Chinese involvement (if it's still the case), disruption to residents and the environment, the emergence of other forms of generation, disappointing news on costs, schedules and technical difficulties at Hinkley an d elsewhere and the problems of long-term storage of nuclear waste.
Whilst we speak of energy: the plans for the wind farms East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two are now with the Planning Inspectorate and preliminary meetings begin on 16th September a nd 7th October. These are still, essentially, discussions on procedure and may be followed live but the announcement sensibly adds "For guidance, to avoid virtual event fatigue, sessional breaks will be provided...." I suppose "V E F" will soon become another acronym for our times.
There is always plenty of stuff swirling round Station Yard where some tenants are under notice to quit during early October. A Project Board is assembled, a Project Manager (which can be a firm or an individual) is being appointed, a survey of the ground beneath is starting, there is talk of reviewed plans, new architects and the rest. And there have been further suggestions for the use of the adjacent Police Station site - not all of them fanciful: alternative accommodation for the Library or a crèche in the immediate or long term; a new Town Hall. Southwold Town Council have funded (and will have about four months to complete) a scoping exercise and feasibility study for the site. We have just sent Southwold Town Council a proposal for a housing-led, mixed use development to encompass Station yard and the police and fire station sites and to include a garage.
By the time this Newsletter appears we will be facing more stringent restrictions on visiting, socialising and non-essential outings. Thanks to some early and energetic planning we have a strong network of local organisations in place to help the isolated or confined and those most at risk. If you are in need of help the primary points of contact are: Voluntary Help Ce ntre 01502 724509, Southwold Town Hall 01502 722576 and Sole Bay Virus Help Group 01502 724904.
AUGUST NEWSLETTER
Quite a few sparks have been flying over recent weeks (always risky during a hot dry spell) - rubbish-mountains, mask-wearing, ill-disciplined pedestrians, smouldering exchanges on social media - you name it - and all intensified by the heat and post lock-down volatility.
Meanwhile, in an uncomfortably warm and zoomy backwater, we held a Committee meeting. In common with many other organisations we don't usually meet in August (relatives, beach-huts, inertia) but this year a few items stubbornly refused to take a break.
The Police Station site was recently declared a community asset. This means that if a group or organisation comes up with a community use for the site there will be a 6-month moratorium on open sale or development. The problematic bit is that any such group has to find the money to purchase the site within that time. Suggestions to date include a swimming pool, affordable housing, a field study centre and...wait for it...a garage.
The latter segues, almost seamlessly, into the continuing story of Station Yard. Southwold Town Council is in discussions with East Suffolk Council. The proposal is to appoint a project manager to review/amend the business plan and to oversee construction thereafter. We think it will be very difficult for one person to straddle all the skills required. We also think that the manager should be recruited after the formation of the proposed project board and we feel that the board should include local lay representatives who are not members of STC or ESC and that it should have an independent chair. The board will have to consider the future shape of the project in a financially cautious post-covid world.
We also looked at some planning applications. We rarely disagree with our local councils on this and we support Reydon Parish Council's reservations on development in Teal Close and we also support Southwold Town Council's objections to the proposals in Cautley Road and Ferry Road. Such objections could be more difficult to justify or enforce in future if the proposed changes in Planning Law are enacted. 'Zoning' may add to protection in, say, the AONB but reduce it elsewhere.
We also discussed the future of energy supply - particularly Sizewell C and the proposed wind farms, East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two. Both projects, irrespective of their potential benefits, will disrupt local life and the environment for some years and the completed facilities will be highly visible features of our coastal landscape for the foreseeable future. We endorse the submissions of local councils, joining their pleas for mitigation. In the case of Sizewell there is also concern over finance because of the Chinese component and the reliability of the technology which has been problematic in similar plants in Europe.
We looked at business rates on holiday lets. Did you know that there are hundreds of local properties classified as holiday businesses in East Suffolk and that a high proportion of them qualify for full rates relief? In fairness, the same rules apply to all small businesses. Whilst holiday lets are, in a way, the golden-egg layers of our local economy - and visitors help to fund shops, pubs, builders and the rest - the number of non-payers (and I don't mean "should- pay- by- law-but- don't") inevitably increases the burden on others. It's a tricky problem in a world already reeling from unforeseen consequences.
By the time this appears in print anything could have happened.
Ridley Burnett, Chairman.
Quite a few sparks have been flying over recent weeks (always risky during a hot dry spell) - rubbish-mountains, mask-wearing, ill-disciplined pedestrians, smouldering exchanges on social media - you name it - and all intensified by the heat and post lock-down volatility.
Meanwhile, in an uncomfortably warm and zoomy backwater, we held a Committee meeting. In common with many other organisations we don't usually meet in August (relatives, beach-huts, inertia) but this year a few items stubbornly refused to take a break.
The Police Station site was recently declared a community asset. This means that if a group or organisation comes up with a community use for the site there will be a 6-month moratorium on open sale or development. The problematic bit is that any such group has to find the money to purchase the site within that time. Suggestions to date include a swimming pool, affordable housing, a field study centre and...wait for it...a garage.
The latter segues, almost seamlessly, into the continuing story of Station Yard. Southwold Town Council is in discussions with East Suffolk Council. The proposal is to appoint a project manager to review/amend the business plan and to oversee construction thereafter. We think it will be very difficult for one person to straddle all the skills required. We also think that the manager should be recruited after the formation of the proposed project board and we feel that the board should include local lay representatives who are not members of STC or ESC and that it should have an independent chair. The board will have to consider the future shape of the project in a financially cautious post-covid world.
We also looked at some planning applications. We rarely disagree with our local councils on this and we support Reydon Parish Council's reservations on development in Teal Close and we also support Southwold Town Council's objections to the proposals in Cautley Road and Ferry Road. Such objections could be more difficult to justify or enforce in future if the proposed changes in Planning Law are enacted. 'Zoning' may add to protection in, say, the AONB but reduce it elsewhere.
We also discussed the future of energy supply - particularly Sizewell C and the proposed wind farms, East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two. Both projects, irrespective of their potential benefits, will disrupt local life and the environment for some years and the completed facilities will be highly visible features of our coastal landscape for the foreseeable future. We endorse the submissions of local councils, joining their pleas for mitigation. In the case of Sizewell there is also concern over finance because of the Chinese component and the reliability of the technology which has been problematic in similar plants in Europe.
We looked at business rates on holiday lets. Did you know that there are hundreds of local properties classified as holiday businesses in East Suffolk and that a high proportion of them qualify for full rates relief? In fairness, the same rules apply to all small businesses. Whilst holiday lets are, in a way, the golden-egg layers of our local economy - and visitors help to fund shops, pubs, builders and the rest - the number of non-payers (and I don't mean "should- pay- by- law-but- don't") inevitably increases the burden on others. It's a tricky problem in a world already reeling from unforeseen consequences.
By the time this appears in print anything could have happened.
Ridley Burnett, Chairman.
NEWSLETTER JULY/AUGUST 2020
In July, our Committee met, once again, on-line. A sign of some returning normality is that this newsletter will be included in print versions of the local magazines. Times, however, continue to be strange and somewhat worrying in many different ways. We hope all our members and other readers are safe and well. We are glad to see that sensible schemes such as the pedestrian one-way system in Southwold High Street and in some shops are largely working and accepted with good humour by residents and visitors alike.
Important Changes to the Society’s website and email
The company that hosted our website gave our webmaster (Jon Hadgraft to whom we are really grateful) a month's notice to say that they were no longer going to support its format. We have therefore had to create a new one. It is still under construction and we need to revisit some of the wording. If there are any ideas about what you would like to see on the new site, please let us know, via the new email.
The new website is: www.sandrsoc.org.uk
The new email address is: admin@sandrsoc.org.uk
Sizewell C
The Planning Inquiry is now under way. As with the windfarm proposals, we are in support of green energy but remain concerned at the impact of the new infrastructure and, in the case of Sizewell, of the building process itself. The use of road transport of both workers and materials during construction will be massive and we continue to believe that the proposed mitigation measures are inadequate. More provision for rail transport and a proper four village by-pass are essential as Suffolk County and East Suffolk Councils continue to argue. They are needed not only to protect the residents and environment near Sizewell but also to lessen traffic congestion on the A12 which will have a negative impact on our tourist economy in Southwold and Reydon. With regard to the infrastructure around Sizewell, we are also supporting many others in arguing for the protection of key habitats and woodlands.
St Felix
Another topic of concern is the planning application for two replacement playing fields at St Felix. This is a legal (S106) requirement of the permission given previously for the building of 69 houses on their playing field alongside the Halesworth Road, east of St George’s Square. What is proposed is neither a real replacement as one of the “new” playing fields will be on a field currently used for athletics nor is it acceptable since the other proposed playing field will encroach significantly onto the County Wildlife Site. We regard the proposed compensatory works to the wildlife site as inadequate and are also concerned that the quality of the new playing fields will be poor compared to what will be lost to housing. We wish St Felix well but cannot accept these plans.
Philip O’Hear, Committee Member.
In July, our Committee met, once again, on-line. A sign of some returning normality is that this newsletter will be included in print versions of the local magazines. Times, however, continue to be strange and somewhat worrying in many different ways. We hope all our members and other readers are safe and well. We are glad to see that sensible schemes such as the pedestrian one-way system in Southwold High Street and in some shops are largely working and accepted with good humour by residents and visitors alike.
Important Changes to the Society’s website and email
The company that hosted our website gave our webmaster (Jon Hadgraft to whom we are really grateful) a month's notice to say that they were no longer going to support its format. We have therefore had to create a new one. It is still under construction and we need to revisit some of the wording. If there are any ideas about what you would like to see on the new site, please let us know, via the new email.
The new website is: www.sandrsoc.org.uk
The new email address is: admin@sandrsoc.org.uk
Sizewell C
The Planning Inquiry is now under way. As with the windfarm proposals, we are in support of green energy but remain concerned at the impact of the new infrastructure and, in the case of Sizewell, of the building process itself. The use of road transport of both workers and materials during construction will be massive and we continue to believe that the proposed mitigation measures are inadequate. More provision for rail transport and a proper four village by-pass are essential as Suffolk County and East Suffolk Councils continue to argue. They are needed not only to protect the residents and environment near Sizewell but also to lessen traffic congestion on the A12 which will have a negative impact on our tourist economy in Southwold and Reydon. With regard to the infrastructure around Sizewell, we are also supporting many others in arguing for the protection of key habitats and woodlands.
St Felix
Another topic of concern is the planning application for two replacement playing fields at St Felix. This is a legal (S106) requirement of the permission given previously for the building of 69 houses on their playing field alongside the Halesworth Road, east of St George’s Square. What is proposed is neither a real replacement as one of the “new” playing fields will be on a field currently used for athletics nor is it acceptable since the other proposed playing field will encroach significantly onto the County Wildlife Site. We regard the proposed compensatory works to the wildlife site as inadequate and are also concerned that the quality of the new playing fields will be poor compared to what will be lost to housing. We wish St Felix well but cannot accept these plans.
Philip O’Hear, Committee Member.