Marie Strong organised a meeting on Broadband at Binham and I attended with Bob Brandt.  The main speaker was Karen O’Kane - Programme Director, Better Broadband for Norfolk and she gave us an update on the project to improve Broadband reception in Norfolk.

The work has started across Norfolk and is in phases.  Those of interest to us are:

Phase 1, Oct 13 - Mar 14
Letheringsett, Thornage

Phase 4, Jul 14 - Dec 14
Holkham, Wells

Phase 5, Mar 15 - Sep 15
Morston, Wells, Sharrington

Phase 6, Jun 15 - Sep 15
Blakeney

Phase 8, Jul 15 - Sep 15
Wells

Phase 9, 2015


Wells appears 3 times because the town is served by 3 different 'Head Ends' - like main terminal for broadband.  Langham is served by the 'Main Head' at Holt.

No sign of Langham there yet.  There will be a survey in Spring 2014 to include Binham, Langham, Field Dalling.  What we need is there to be ducting carrying existing cables, room in the ducting and for it to be clear of silting.  There is a lot of buried cable around but this cannot be used for fibre.  We need a direct cable to Holt as it is not possible to daisy chain cabinets.

If we are lucky to have ducting available we have passed the first hurdle.  We then need a low voltage pick-up for the new cabinet which has to be within 50m of the existing cabinet (the new cabinet is powered the old ones are not).

If all goes well and we get our superfast broadband then homes within 1.25km of the new cabinet can expect speeds in excess of 24kb/s, those at 2km should get 10-15kb/s and those at more than 2km the speed drops off fairly quickly.  The distance to the cabinet may be longer than you expect as the telephone system has grown up over time and some routing is rather convoluted.

If we get the connection then it will be up to individual customers to contact their providers for the best connection.

We will learn more at a follow-up meeting in October but if we learn anything before that it will be in the minutes of the Parish Council and on the Langham website.

I am grateful to Marie and Karen for their time and effort with this whole project.

Any errors in the information given are mine.

Dave

Blakeney Parish Council have 2 vacancies for seasonal car park attendants.  Full details below.

BLAKENEY PARISH COUNCIL
VACANCY
For the seasonal part time position of 
CAR PARK
ATTENDANT X 2
FOR THE PERIOD
Tuesday 1st
 April 2014 – 
31st
 October 2014
£8.00 per hour, average 7 hours per day
5 days on, 5 days off. 

FOR AN APPLICATION FORM, PLEASE CONTACT:-
Mrs Tracey Bayfield
Clerk to Blakeney Parish Council,
The Parish Office, Langham Road,
Blakeney, Holt,
Norfolk, NR25 7PG.

Tel: 01263 741106 or Email: clerk@blakeneyparishcouncil.co.uk

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS
Friday 28th
 February 2014
INTERVIEWS TO BE HELD
Week Commencing10th
 March 2014

Following a scheduled inspection of the highway, the Highway Community Rangers are due to visit your parish during the week commencing 24 February 2014.

They will be carrying out the maintenance works identified by the Highway Inspector and we would welcome any additional tasks which you feel need attention while they are in the area.


PARISHIONERS CAN REPORT TASKS TO THE CLERK OR ANY MEMBER OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

We should receive these by Thursday 13th February 2014, at the latest, so that we can properly organise the Ranger's workload and minimise on repeat visits

Please Note - After this deadline, work will be carried forward to the next visit in 13 weeks time.

Typical tasks which can be carried out by Rangers are: -       

• Side out a carriageway or footway ( where an encroachment of silt, debris and weeds etc has reduced the width of the carriageway or footway)
• Potholes (mostly identified by inspectors but you may wish to make us aware of the locations which are of concern)
• Clear mud and soil from the carriageway (predominantly in rural areas where farm activity has left  small deposits on the highway)
• Hand sweep carriageway or footway (the routine sweeping service will continue to be provided by the District Council)
• Trim hedge to expose sign etc. (purely to free up sign visibility, more significant encroachments can be dealt with via consultation with the landowner)
• Soil and seed verge (suitable in the spring where localised damage has occurred. Not a long term solution to persistent parking)
• Strim verge grass (does not affect scheduled Grass cutting but in addition to improve visibility on bends and junctions)
• Rod and flush drain (offlets and the like at the side of the road which become blocked with silt and weeds)
• Clean out gully (digging out by hand the slotted iron drain covers predominantly situated in the edge of the carriageway
• Clear grip (cuttings in the verge to clear standing water from the carriageway. Additional cleaning does not affect the cyclic cleaning schedule of these)
• Wash sign, bollard or reflector post ( does not affect the scheduled annual sign cleaning)
• Repair minor kerb defect (loose kerbs can be reset and chipped kerbs can be repaired. Kerb replacement can not be done by Rangers due to our safe digging practice)
• Repair minor footway surface defects (footway potholes or changes in surface height can be cut out and replaced with fresh material)

Should you wish to add any work for completion by the Rangers please email these to highways@norfolk.gov.uk including RANGER and YOUR PARISH NAME in the subject titleNR58EA. Please provide as much information as possible including the exact location and specific concerns. We aim to provide feedback on the work which has been carried out during the visit this will follow within a few weeks. At any time please feel free to contact us to discuss the Rangers scheme.

Thank you for your assistance 
Quentin Barker 
Highway Technician 
Environment, Transport and Development 
Norfolk County Council

Norfolk Police report an increase in the theft of diesel from cars and farm machines and also the theft of catalytic converters, which are mainly from people carriers (Ford Galaxy/ Seat Alhambra). See the Police Direct page.

The scene of a helicopter crash yesterday evening (Tuesday 7 January 2013) remains cordoned off as investigations into the cause of the incident continues.
 
Police continue to lead on the enquiry on behalf of Her Majesty’s Coroner Jacqueline Lake and are being assisted by other agencies including the Ministry of Defence and US Air Force.
 
Today these agencies have examined the scene of the crash which has also been visited by the Coroner, to establish the safest and most respectful way of removing the deceased and the wreckage. There will be some tasks taking place during the hours of darkness however, the aircraft and those who have died will remain in situ overnight as their removal could disrupt evidence at the present time.
 
The undamaged aircraft will also not be moved in order to preserve the scene and tomorrow items will start to be recovered from the crashed aircraft. Once the scene is handed over for the accident investigation element to begin, the cordon will still remain in place for a number of days. 
 
We appreciate this is likely to cause some disruption to the local community and will require the A149 to be closed from Salthouse to Old Woman’s Lane until possibly Monday.
 
We urge the public and members of the media to understand the situation and to have sympathy with the needs of the families of the deceased.  This includes respecting the cordons and no fly zones that are in place.
 
Speaking from the scene, Chief Superintendent Bob Scully said: "There are a significant number of specialists involved in the investigation including, the RAF, USAF and senior investigators and crime scene investigators from Norfolk Constabulary. We are all working together to secure all the evidence necessary for us to find out what happened to the aircraft.”

Four confirmed to have died in Cley helicopter crash
 
Emergency services and military personnel remain at the scene of a helicopter crash on the North Norfolk coast in which four people have died.
 
A USAF Pave Hawk HH60 helicopter from RAF Lakenheath crashed at the north end of East Bank on the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley Marshes Nature Reserve at around 7pm yesterday evening, Tuesday 7 January 2014.
 
Police can now confirm that the four occupants in the helicopter sadly died in the crash, details of the deceased will not be released until next of kin have been informed. It is not believed that anyone in the surrounding area has been injured.
 
A 400m cordon remains around the crash site which lies to the west of East Bank in marshland between the A149 and the coastline. A second helicopter from RAF Lakenheath was also in the area at the time of the crash and set down on the marshes to try to assist, this was within the cordon and so this aircraft remains at the scene whilst inquiries are ongoing. The A149 remains closed through Cley; access to Beach Road and East Bank is also restricted and there is no coastline access to the crash site.
 
Investigators from the police and other partners have visited the crash site to assess the scene. Due to the geography and the munitions from the crashed helicopter, inquiries into the cause of the collision, the recovery of the wreckage and second aircraft and an environmental assessment are expected to take a number of days to complete. To ensure the safety of people in the area and those involved in the ongoing inquiries, members of the public are asked to respect the cordons that are in place.
 
Norfolk Constabulary's Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Hamlin said: "I would like to pass on my condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of those US Air Force personnel who have sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident. Emergency services, the military, partner agencies and volunteers have been working through the night to deal with this difficult situation on our coastline and I would also like to thank them for their professionalism and resilience.
 
"As our inquiry moves on today and the recovery of the aircraft begins, I would urge the public to stay away from the area – the cordon and road closures are in place to allow our experts to carry out these processes safely and there is no risk to members of the public if this section of marshland is avoided.”