The next step in our campaign to slow traffic in and around the village is to set up a Community Speed Watch group. Suffolk Constabulary highly recommends this approach and provides guidance for groups..

The purpose would be to:

• provide data to the police on speed in specific sites in the village
• act as a deterrent to drivers who do not observe legal limits and to trigger the issuing of warning letters and action from the police for repeated offences
• trigger the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition devices supervised by the police to help enforce speed limits if the police deem this necessary

We need a rota of volunteers to carry out speed checks on a regular basis. We envisage Speed Watch events taking place fortnightly at different locations and times but this is completely dependent on having a sufficient number of community volunteers. The police recommend a group of at least 6 to make this viable.

As part of a Community Speed Watch programme, trained volunteers verify and record the registration number of vehicles seen breaking the speed limit. Details are forwarded to the Safety Camera Partnership within 48 hours. A ‘warning letter’ is then sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, requesting them to keep their speed down. If the vehicle is seen and recorded again a second and final letter will be sent. Persistent offenders may be targeted further

All training and equipment is supplied free of charge by the police. If you would like to know more or are able to support this important community action we would love to hear from you. Please contact the parish clerk in the first instance: clerk@walshamlewillowsparish.gov.uk 

Find more information here: https://tinyurl.com/suffolk-police-speedwatch

Previously postponed and now reinstated to the expected date, these elections are for the election of County Councillors to Suffolk County Council under the existing District & County structure, and administered by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council for wards within those areas. 

Walsham le Willows is in the Hartismere Ward, which is within the Mid Suffolk District Council area.

The Government has announced that Suffolk’s current two-tier system of local government will be replaced with three unitary authorities which will come into operation in April 2028. Ahead of this, elections scheduled for next year will establish three shadow authorities responsible for guiding, shaping and overseeing the transition within their respective geography.

The new authorities will replace the current six councils, with the three new unitary councils covering:

• Western Suffolk
• Central and eastern Suffolk
• Ipswich and southern Suffolk

This means that there will be no more confusion over which council (County or District) provides which service to your area. There will be one Unitary authority providing and co-ordinating all services for each unitary area.

Links with information about voting

Register to vote here:                   https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote  

Postal Vote application form:   https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

Proxy Vote application form:     https://www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote   

Voter Authority Certificate:       https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

The Electoral Commission:          https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter

Wednesday March 25th from 7:30 in the Memorial Hall

This is our annual meeting of the parish and everyone is welcome to come along to ask questions, voice opinions or share ideas. Your contributions are important in shaping the work of the Parish Council for 2026/27 as we try to work to serve the community.

This year we will focus on:

• traffic calming
• the call for housing sites
• the bus service
• and flood mitigation

There will be a brief update on each area followed by questions and informal discussion.  To round off the session, there will also be opportunities to raise any new concerns. We hope to be joined by Richard Winch, Mid Suffolk District Councillor,  and Jessica Fleming, Suffolk County Councillor.

Light refreshments will be served.

Read the MIdSuffolk Spring 2026 Magazine

Check the MidSuffolk website here for all the details

Getting Ready for Winter – 10 things you should do now to prepare for winter

1. Stay connected – Consider a separate battery charging pack for your mobile phone to keep you connected in the event of a power cut. Store the power cut helplinenumber (105) on your mobile phone.

2. Cold weather – Ensure your heating is serviced before the cold weather arrives.Keep your home heated to at least 18°C. Keep your windows closed at night to avoid heat loss.

3. Adverse weather – Beware the dangers of strong winds or flooding e.g. falling trees,guttering and roof tiles. Secure garden furniture, fences, children’s toys andtrampolines.

4. Insulate pipes – Retains heat, reduces risk of frozen pipes and subsequent bursts.Ensure that your mains water stopcock is working.

5. Travel – Check local news for the condition of both roads and the rail network beforeventuring out.

6. Grab Bag – Keep a ‘grab bag’ ready at home containing bottled water, medicines, atorch, radio and batteries, copies of important documents and a change of clothes.

7. Check your car – Regularly check your tyres and screen wash and take your Grab Bagwith you.

8. Think about others – Help your neighbours, friends, or relatives , or they may be ableto help you.

9. Health matters – Consider annual vaccinations for flu and maintain a good supply ofregular medication.

10. Community – Help your community, particularly if severe weather hits. Ask a ParishCouncillor about getting involved.

Walsham le Willows Parish Council

Where in Walsham should we put an additional 190 houses?

In December 2024 the Government announced ambitious plans for the building of houses in the UK during the lifespan of the current government.  This was reflected in major changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and increases in the housing requirements for virtually every Local Authority (LA) in the country.  The Indicative Requirement for Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC) had increased by 37% and meant that the LA needed to identify a supply of land to accommodate 15,414 residential units to be built between 2024 and 2044.

MSDC’s immediate response was to take this total figure and distribute it amongst all the parishes  –  if your parish contained 1% of MSDC’s total population then your parish was expected to accommodate 1% of the proposed growth.  On this basis Walsham is expected to provide space for an additional 190 houses over the twenty year period up to 2044.  This, of course, is a very crude approach to the problem, and does not take into account the location of parishes, their existing facilities, their accessibility or any of the many other factors, such as the reorganisation of Local Government, that are likely to be relevant.  “These are only indicative figures and are subject to many caveats”.  The figures will almost certainly be refined in the future, but at the moment we are advised to “be prepared for the worst and hope for the best”.

Having an up-to-date Neighbourhood Plan (NP) in place is now a major advantage, and hopefully makes all the time and effort put into producing it worthwhile.   The principal use of NPs was always to influence and guide development – this is the task we are now facing.  In our NP we have a clearly stated Vision for the village and an established and agreed set of Policies.  The NP also contains a large amount of information and data which will be extremely useful in responding to this challenge.  Our immediate task is therefore to update our Neighbourhood Plan.

In order to get this process underway the Parish Council is calling an open meeting to discuss the whole issue of updating the NP and the additional housing in the parish.  The meeting is to be held on Wednesday 19^th November in the Memorial Village Hall starting at 7.00.  The PArish Council hopes that as many parishioners as possible will take advantage of this opportunity, but are particularly keen that landowners and those involved with the production of the Neighbourhood Plan will be able to attend.

Richard Belson

Chair of Parish Council

Community Emergency Plan – updates

For many years Richard Martineau had envisaged a Summer Road footpath down from the Sports Club to the Six Bells at the village crossroads but with insufficient support from all parties involved, had never been able to make it happen. The proposed path now has tentative approval subject to agreement on all the details and his son , John, has drafted, for your perusal a plan on the village and sports club websites, this is the  proposal that will be put in front of all those who have an interest for their final approval before the project can start.

A long time ago in the early 70s , a young man lost his life in that stretch of the road, and it has been a very present fear of it being repeated that has stimulated both the Parish Council’s and Sports Club ‘s desire to make life safer for all pedestrians. Walsham is well served by public and permissive footpath but the one link missing in the circuit is the link down the Summer Road; this was made clear in the Neighbourhood Plan. 

The level of activity at the Sports Club has grown massively over the years and with playing fields on either side means children particularly, often cross this busy road. Discussions with Suffolk Highways will lead to an improved crossing point and greater safety aspects after they have completed road traffic surveys along this stretch.  

Take a look at the proposed SUMMER WAY on the Sports Club website 

There are to be public meetings to discuss the proposal for three new unitary councils for Suffolk.

This will be an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the proposals.

This proposal is being submitted to Government by the District Councils.

Suffolk County Council are proposing a single unitary Council for Suffolk.

As you are aware this is process started by the government and endorsed by Suffolk County Council.

The District Councils in Suffolk are responding with their preferred solution for the next few decades which is for three unitary councils to try to ensure services are more responsive to local needs.

Stowmarket
Wednesday 10 September, from 6 to 8pm in the Food Museum marquee

Eye
Monday 15 September, from 6-8pm in the ground floor meeting room of Eye Town Council

You can read more about this on the Mid Suffolk website:

https://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk/w/devolution-and-local-government-reorganisation

Once a month children led by volunteers from the Steering Group take part in a range of activities, spending time exploring and learning about the Woods and the natural environment. Who better to involve than the next generation of custodians!

The group is called Walsham Wild Things and the project is led by Tracey Gorzelak who is currently working towards becoming a fully qualified Forest School Leader. Around a dozen children can be accommodated to take part and for the youngest children, parent/ guardian helpers join in too. 

In June the children explored the variety of trees and shrubs using leaf ID cards, found the Wild Wood boundaries and made their club badges from discs of hazel wood. The July session will focus on butterfly spotting and links with the Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count. Keep up to date with the programme and book spaces for forthcoming sessions online.

Both the Wild Wood and the Jubilee Wood are registered Wild Spaces with the Butterfly Conservation Organisation and already there look to be more butterflies on the wing than last year which was the worst year on record. If you would like to help update the picture of the state of wildlife in our locality either visit the woods with the app on your phone or relax in your own patch for 15 minutes and count the species you spot:

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org

Our wonderful Wild Things adventure has been made possible by Lottery funding, a Garden’s Weekend grant, Suzi Martineau and supporters of our last Pop Up Curry Night. We are very grateful for everyone’s contribution which will in turn support the Primary School and Pre- School in making the most of these amazing green diverse spaces on our doorstep.

The 2024/25 Annual Report of the Suffolk Police and Crime Panel is published on the County Council’s website at the following link: Suffolk-PCP-Annual-Report-2024-2025. 

The report gives an overview of the work of the Panel over the previous year.

Suffolk County Council & Mid Suddolk District Councils have offered you the opportunity to shape the future of councils and public services in Suffolk, part of the Government’s plan to reshape and streamline councils in Suffolk to save money, reduce confusion and improve public services for residents.

Suffolk County Council

1 – Online here: Complete Survey
2 – By emailing devolution@suffolk.gov.uk
3 – Call 0345 603 1842 where a member of Suffolk County Council’s customer services team can help residents to complete the survey.
4 – Or at any of Suffolk’s 45 libraries to complete the survey online.

Mid Suffolk Distrcict Council

The county’s five district and borough councils believe this is a fantastic opportunity to transform public services, so they work for all citizens and communities.

Help to design how any future unitary councils work most effectively with all our towns and parishes. 

They are offering workshops to specifically design the best future relationship between parish, town and unitary councils.

If you would like to be involved in these workshops, please register using this link. If you have any other questions about the survey or workshops, email: engagement@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk.

Complete the survey

Given issues with bus services in Walsham this year, do you have time to fill in a short survey for Suffolk County Council on how you travel?

They are interested in your travel options, what makes you choose how you get around, and if you’d try different ways of travelling. Please share this survey with everyone you know, including younger people who don’t yet drive cars.

The results will help SCC understand current travel needs and preferences and help them to develop better transport solutions for rural communities.

Complete the survey here

Revd Catriona Brinkley | 07525 920307

How was it spent…?

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge on development which is used to support community infrastructure. In this instance, the charge was levied on The Acorns develepment.  A proportion of the collected CIL (Neighbourhood CIL) is provided to the Parish Council in tranches, each to be spent within 5 years of receipt on projects that support the community as it grows.  The report shows when these monies were received and when they were spent and what they were spent on.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT THE SINGERS WILL ALSO SING AT THE EPIPHANY CHORAL EUCHARIST ON SUNDAY 5^TH JANUARY AT 11.00AM

Read more about the Epiphany Singers and how the concerts started in Walsham le Willows

Read report here: Suffolk-PCP-Annual-Report-2023-2024

Simon Barnet at SCC has sent out the following communication to councillors this morning 30/08/2024, including the route maps. Not the best of news for the interim service but SCC are still trying to mitigate.

Dear all,

I appreciate that this is probably too late for most of you to share with residents before Monday, but we have finally received the detailed route map for service 73 to go with the timetables Simonds have already published.

It is not fully following the route I intended, and we will be addressing this with Simonds as soon as possible, but for those intending to use the service next week please note the following:

Bardwell – the only stops will be at and opposite the Tithe Barn.

Shepherd’s Grove – they are still showing the route to the south of the site, rather than the stops by the café.

Walsham-le-Willows – they running down the Causeway rather than doing the entire village circuit.

I will endeavour to get some temporary bus stops put out at these locations over the weekend or first thing on Monday and we can look at a more permanent solution in the coming weeks if it proves impossible to revert to the existing stops.

Simon

Simon Barnett
Integrated Transport &Enhanced Partnership Manager
Passenger Transport
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House
8 Russell Road
Ipswich
IP1 2BX
01473 265045

Councillor Chris Chambers, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for transport strategy, planning and waste, said:

Following on from the information circulated on 14^th August, we have reviewed the feedback received from various parishes which will be impacted by the changes to bus services operated by Simonds from the 2^nd of September.  The main areas of concern are detailed below:

1 Timing of services for students.  We believe that the enhanced 73 timetable will provide the best fit for students based on what we can achieve with one bus during the day.  The arrival times in Bury St Edmunds for both West Suffolk College and Abbeygate Sixth Form are slightly earlier than other routes serving those sites.  The return bus which leaves the Bus Station at 1615 will reach the school stops slightly later than the old 304/337/338 timetables (and also later than other school services) so again should give adequate time for students to get to the bus stop.  We appreciate that this will mean students on route 73 for Thurston will arrive earlier and depart later than would be preferred, but with only one bus available meeting Thurston session times would mean it arrives too late in Bury and would have to leave before the end of the college day.

2 Timing of services for workers.  Because the 73 service will be operated with one bus only, it is not possible to provide a later journey to accommodate workers.  Simonds state: it is not possible to provide a return journey in the evening from Bury St Edmunds to suit commuters, because the bus, having operated the journey from Bury St Edmunds that caters for all of the different school finish times, will be at the wrong end of the route (i.e. at Garboldisham), so cannot operate an extra journey from Bury St Edmunds. 

As per the previous statement about this service, we are using the last of our Bus Recovery Grant funding to support this route on a temporary basis until Christmas to give the parishes time to decide what the most effective long-term solution would be.  We do not have any additional budget to cover the costs of a later bus.  We are working with other operators and Community Transport providers to see if they can offer a late journey.  We will distribute information about this should one be agreed.

3 Lack of a Saturday service.  This also is not achievable within the funding we have for the short-term route.  Usage on Saturdays has traditionally been much lower than weekdays, so we have concentrated our funding on the times and days known to have the most use.

4 Diverting the 70/70A to Bardwell.  Simonds have considered this option for their commercial service (i.e. running without council subsidy), but state Unfortunately, following an assessment of the feasibility, it will not be possible to divert any buses on routes 70 / 70A through Bardwell. These routes are planned to operate with high capacity double deck vehicles on many journeys, and the roads into and out of Bardwell are very much not ideal for vehicles of this size. In addition, the time penalty of 10 minutes on the end to end journey time is considered too much for the number of additional passengers who would likely use the service.

We appreciate that this interim solution will not suit everybody, so would again urge parishes to find out what residents really need transport for and use that to submit a proposal to meet such needs through our BSIP funding portal.  Full details can be found at Bus Service Improvement Plan – service funding – Suffolkonboard

NOTE We are still waiting for the final registration paperwork from Simonds and the timetable details on suffolkonboard.com will be updated as soon as we have them.