Village Litter Pick

Help keep our village clean by joining the Litter Pick on Saturday 2^nd March starting at 9.30am from the Village Hall. All equipment and litter bags provided. Volunteers are usually directed in twos and threes along different routes.

Meet back at the village hall where our County Councillor will collect all together and remove for safe disposal. Be back in time to pop into the Coffee Morning for the Flower Festival.

Toad Patrol

 Toads started moving this year on 14 February, no doubt encouraged by the mild weather. So far the patrol has helped 89 into the Grimmer and only found 9 squashed. About half the number of toads we helped last year and hat was already way down on previous years. The recent colder weather has brought things to a halt but we will keep checking. Thank you to our patrollers and to traffic slowing down as they pass.

New Grant from District Council

The Cosy Homes installation project  includes funding for loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and draft proofing works. For more information visit: https://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk/web/mid-suffolk/w/mid-suffolk-cosy-homes

Update on flood support payments

The District Council is currently contacting all householders who registered a flood onto the County Council  reporting tool. So no further action is needed as long as you reported that your property was flooded. Register here by end December if not done so: https://highwaysreporting.suffolk.gov.uk/

Flood Message from Dr Dan Poulter

The Flood Recovery Framework provides support for immediate flood recovery costs. This funding is passed to councils to distribute to householders. It includes a Community Recovery Grant of up to £500 per household for immediate flood recovery costs;  Council Tax discounts of up to 100% for the time householders remain living outside their flood affected homes and up to £5000 to ‘future-proof’ the home against future flooding. Apply through your local council. See website address on Parish Council page.

Dr Poulter continues that more rain is forecast so to remain vigilant. You can sign up for free flood warnings at https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings  or call Flood Line on 0845 988 1188

Wickham Skeith Oil Syndicate - how it works

Our oil scheme has been running for 13 years now and over that period has saved the village tens of thousands of pounds.  The vast majority of oil users in the village are already members but if you’re not and want to join, just drop me an email with contact details or give me a call if you don’t have email.

There’ll be five opportunities to place orders over the next 12 months.

On or before:

-  30 September

-  30 November

-  31 January

-  31 March

-  30 June

Before each of these dates I’ll place a reminder in the village newsletter and also send you an email reminder.  Then let me know by email (or phone) that you’d like to be included in the next order. I’ll need to know:

- address and telephone number(s) - unless you’ve ordered before

- quantity required (min 500 litres)

- any special instructions - eg concerning delivery

Within a couple of days of the above dates, a bulk order will be placed with the oil company which offers the best deal, which is usually several pence per litre lower than the price available to customers who order individually.  I'll let you know the same day:
- the name of the company

- price

- expected delivery date

- the company's contact details in case you need to speak to them directly

I'll pass your address and phone numbers to the company which will contact you (but normally only if you don't already have an account with them) and they’ll bill you directly.

If you've any questions please ring Jerry on 765908 or email jerrybassett@icloud.com