Martham Parish Council

Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) has informed the Parish Council that the opening hours of the village public toilets will be reduced and close at 4pm every day due to the large amount of vandalism and anti-social behaviour that has happened over the last few weeks. In a bid to reduce the damage GYBC are adjusting the opening times and the facilities will now close at 4.00pm everyday. They will then monitor and adjust further if necessary.

New gateway signs have been placed on three of the roads into the village, these replace lots of separate signs and also highlight the speed limit by surrounding the 30 sign with yellow.

The signs are on Repps Road, Hemsby Road and Somerton Road. Unfortunately the verges on Rollesby Road aren’t wide enough to take this type of sign.

£200,000 to ease hardship this Christmas

A £200,000 fund to ease Christmas hardship has been announced by the county council.

The council is providing £200,000 to the Norfolk Community Foundation, to support families and vulnerable people facing hardship this Christmas.

County council leader Councillor Andrew Proctor said: “We know this has been a tough year for many people in Norfolk and we’ve been working with partners to support the most vulnerable, especially as winter kicks in and the furlough scheme ends.

“By working with the Norfolk Community Foundation, we’re maximising the impact of every pound, to help the people who need it most.”

Claire Cullens, chief executive of Norfolk Community Foundation, welcomed the announcement and said: “This partnership with Norfolk County Council will give families a helping hand to cope through the crisis of a Covid Christmas. By working together, we will maximise the impact of investment for Norfolk during these challenging times.

“It is widely recognised that many people who have never needed help before now need support, because Covid has pushed them from struggling to make ends meet to being unable to cope.”

The money is coming from the county council’s £1.015 million Government grant to support people in Norfolk. Around half has been spent so far to help people with food, fuel, exceptional household items and other welfare support.

Before the Christmas scheme launches, applications for help can be made to the Norfolk Assistance Scheme on the county council website – https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/care-support-and-health/support-for-living-independently/money-and-benefits/norfolk-assistance-scheme – or, for those who don’t have internet access, by calling 01603 223392 option 5.

Awards that can be made include:

• A three-day award for applicants who have made an application for Universal Credit
• A seven-day award for people who are furloughed, are self-employed or have been made redundant and are awaiting verification of their Universal Credit application
• Awards to applicants with no recourse to public funds

Communities urged to stay safe and be sensible ahead of second lockdown

Police in Norfolk are urging people to stay safe and be sensible as England prepares to enter a second phase on lockdown on Thursday (5 November 2020).It comes as new measures are introduced to help stop the spread of coronavirus which will see people required to stay at home, restrictions on gatherings and non-essential businesses closed, including shops, restaurants and bars.Officers are encouraging people to continue adhering to the existing restrictions, sticking to the rule of six and maintaining social distancing.Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, Julie Wvendth, said: “It’s reasonable to assume people will want to make the most of their freedom before Thursday. However, it’s important to remember the existing rules still apply and we want people to be sensible and stay safe.”Over the weekend, officers issued four fixed penalty notices to people in Norwich in breach of the rule of six. Three related to a Halloween party while the fourth was in connection with a protest. In Cromer, following a joint visit by police and North Norfolk District Council on Saturday night (31 October) a fixed penalty notice was issued to bar/resturant Lily Mais the following day for breaching COVID regulations in failing to take steps to ensure that customers remained seated while consuming food or drink on the premises.T/ACC Wvendth added: “We know these changes can be difficult and uncomfortable for some and we’ve acknowledged this in our approached to enforcing the regulations by engaging, explaining and encouraging people to follow the rules. Enforcement has always been a last resort. “However, people who are knowingly and blatantly breaching regulations leave us with no option but issue a fine. We can’t waste time with endless engagement and the public would expect us to act in these circumstances.” Additional information on the new measures can be found on the Government website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november