West Acre Parish Council
Welcome to our website.
Here you will find information about the village, news about local events and links to local attractions. We hope that you find what you want. If not, please contact one of the Parish Councillors listed in the contact page.
Click on a picture to see a larger version. Please note that this site is not responsible for changes to any events listed.
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West Acre Friends Group
The next meeting of this group will be held on Wednesday 6 October 2017. If you would like to meet others for a chat, or to play games, come and join them in the village hall at 2pm (finish at 4pm). Refreshments provided. Cost £1 per session.
For more details contact Louisa on 01760 755082.
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The next Meeting of the Parish Council will take place on Monday 30 October 2017 at 7pm in the Village Hall.
Everyone welcome.
Click on the relevant Meeting below to read the Minutes etc
Draft Minutes for the Parish Council Meeting
7 August 2017Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting -
22 May 2017Budget for 2017-18
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting, May 2017
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting - 6 April 2017Minutes of Parish Council Meeting -9 January 2017
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting - 3 October 2016
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100 Club
The results for May, June and July
July - 1st prize (£71) 76; 2nd 32; 3rd 31
June - 1st prize (£41) 10; 2nd 84; 3rd 5
May - 1st prize (£) 22; 2nd 35; 3rd 36
Please note that the monthly draw has been suspended until the funding requirements for a new village hall become clear. Anyone with an account in credit will be reimbursed.
Thank you for your support.
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Notes from the Annual Parish Meeting, May 2017
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West Acre News - July 2017 issue
The latest edition of the Parish newsletter is available to view. Clicking on one of the pages above will open a larger version in a new window. If you would like to contribute please contact Ralph via email at westacreparish@gmail.com
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Services at All Saints Church, West Acre
Sunday 17 September
at 6pm,
Harvest Evensong
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Interested in improving the environment?
On Sunday 7 May several residents gathered at the village hall to discuss ways of improving the environment around the village. Initially, the idea was to plant spring bulbs which would give a colourful appearance and require little, or no, maintenance. However, the idea quickly developed into consideration of planting native species and wildflowers which would extend the flowering period, but would be outside the scope of the budget allocated for this year. It was agreed that a mixed planting scheme of cultivated and wildflower species should be adopted, with both short and long-term objectives. The focus in the first year should be on bulbs giving the most impact within the budget, while allowing further consideration of suitable native and wildflower species to increase biodiversity. The group looked at suitable sites around the village and identified several places which could be developed in the first phase.
These included;
- the banks outside the village hall
- the areas around 3 entry points to the village, both ends of River Road and the northern end of Greenhill Road
- the bank on Church Green, opposite the bungalows
- the banks adjacent to Westacre Estate office
- the area of scrub on the village green behind the swings
- the small area around the Stag pub sign.
Plants could be sourced from the following sites -
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West Acre artists look for inspiration
On Wednesday 10 May members of West Acre Art Club visited the studio of Norfolk artist Tor Falcon. Tor currently has an exhibition of her work at Glyndebourne, but she has also recently completed projects on the Peddars Way and the River Nar.
The Annual Parish Meeting was held on Monday 22nd May at 7 o’clock in the Village Hall.
Eoghan Sheils (Chair) presented his report for the Parish Council for 2016-17, which includes the details of those serving as councilors, meetings held, matters considered during the year and projects that the Council is encouraging or progressing.
Reports were received from the Church, the Village Hall, the Billiards Club, the Carpet Bowls Club, the Youth Club, Westacre Theatre, the Art Club and the Friends Group.
Parish Council Accounts and Budget
Henry Birkbeck presented the accounts for 2016-17 and the budget for 2017-18.
All the above reports and financial information are presented in full in the Minutes.
There was also further discussion of the proposal to buy a SAM (flashing speed sign) which would be erected primarily to enhance safety on River Road, but which would be moved to other locations at times.
The Parish Council then held its usual Annual Meeting. Eoghan Sheils was re-elected as Chair, and Mark Wrigley was co-opted as our seventh Parish Councillor. The other five are Jeremy Cameron, Ralph Sliwa, Antonia Hanbury, Fiona Wrigley and Terry Howlett.
A discussion was held following the Village Walk which took place
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Ancient monument endangered by welly-wangers!
On Saturday 22 July a large crowd of fun-loving adults and children visited Abbey House garden to take part in the annual West Acre village fete. Attracted by the ability to show their skill and technique in events like welly-wanging, bowl-a-pig, etc., large quanities of beverages were quaffed and a good time was enjoyed by all - until it rained at the end! (More to follow).
Fortunately, the ancient monument survived the most destructive attempts on it by West Acre's finest welly-wangers.
This year's event raised a whopping (and record-breaking!) £3,364. BIG thank-yous to the organisers, volunteers and visitors.
on 7th May to consider various planting ideas for enhancing the appearance of the village. Louisa Sliwa has proposed arranging a Craft Market to raise funds for this, and Louisa, Fiona Wrigley and Sally Bridle have offered to form a committee to jointly take the lead on the project. Terry
Howlett has offered to assist with any required preparation or maintenance. They were all thanked for their offers of support.Terry has also offered to do some work on keeping the War Memorial in order.Jeremy Cameron highlighted the fact that the Village Sign was in need of some
maintenance/restoration, and any necessary work will be discussed at the next meeting.
An application for outline consent has been submitted by the Westacre Estate for three small bungalows designed for older, retired people, and one larger bungalow situated at the top of Greenhill Road. Henry Birkbeck explained that he had not been involved in all the discussions around the proposal, but understood the houses were primarily intended for Estate tenants who were living in unsuitable two storey houses. It was generally felt that the principle was acceptable but that the detail should be considered carefully, and a response from the Parish Council at this stage could be appropriate.
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Nigel and Cheryl celebrate with family and friendsOn Saturday 8th July Nigel Wright and Cheryl Adams were married at All Saints Church. We wish them every happiness in their new life together.
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Repairs to ancient monument continue
In October 2016 we ran an article on the repairs to the priory gatehouse adjacent to All Saints Church. The Augustinian priory was one of the largest in Norfolk. The Augustinians made a major contribution to many aspects of medieval life. From the 12th century onwards, the ‘black canons’ undertook much valuable work in the parishes, running almshouses, schools and hospitals as well as maintaining and preaching in parish churches. It was from the churches that they derived much of their revenue. The gatehouse, and other ancient remnants of the large priory, are situated on land belonging to Westacre Estate and they are responsible for their upkeep. The Estate first became aware of problems with the gatehouse in 2015 and following negotiations with Historic England a programme of repairs started last year, the latest being shown in this photograph. It is hoped thatfunding will become available to allow repairs to the priory ruins south of the river Nar.
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Historic barn to house micro-brewery?Duration Brewing Company is planning to convert the derelict barn at Abbey Farm into a 'farmhouse' brewery with a target of opening next year. Plans for the grade 2* listed barn include removing the gable end which has become detached from the main structure, and replacing it with a glazed wall as shown in the illustration, right.
Duration Brewing is a new venture run by husband and wife team Bates and Miranda. Bates says of their plans "The Norfolk landscape is as close to South Carolina as it gets over here with the long skies, coastline and marshlands, but the people are what truly make it for me. Like back home, they're strong people who are bound to their land, they can be hard-headed as well, but hold an innate appreciation of time-learned traditions that only come when you have history there."
Duration aims to produce 1 million litres of beer by their fifth year, while creating twenty jobs. Producing 1 litre of beer requires about 8 litres of water and the company aims to use a reed bed system and pond to manage the effluent before exporting it to the River Nar.
Duration's plans for their new business can be seen on the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk website. The planning application reference is 17/01213/LB. You have until 9th August to comment on the plans.
