The village of Earsham is situated in the Waveney Valley, just off the A143 in between the market towns of Harleston in Norfolk and Bungay in Suffolk, and forms part of the Angles Way, a historic path following the county boundaries of Norfolk and Suffolk.
Earsham Parish Council agreed to sign the Civility & Protocol Respect Pledge in November 2022 – please follow the link for more information on this project
Civility and Respect Project (nalc.gov.uk)
We have two Notices of a Casual Vacancy in the office of Councillor for Earsham Parish Council which have arisen due to the resignation of Richard Randlesome and Dave Clark – please see the Councillor section at the top of the page for more information.
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Allotments
There are currently four allotment plots not being used at the moment so if you would like to take on a plot at a very reasonable annual charge, please contact the Parish Clerk by emailing clerk@earsham-pc.gov.uk
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Consultations – The Parish Council recently held two consultations – one for the village hall and the other for the play equipment on the playing field, in an attempt to find out what the residents feel about these amenities. The consultation documents were distributed via the Parish Magazine to every household, two ballot boxes for posting their responses, and Cllr. Leech was happy for responses to be posted through his letterbox. Despite these efforts the return was very poor as you can see from the results below. The Parish Council will look at these in more depth and take on board suggestions that have been made to see if they can incorporate any suggestions into the current idea’s for refurbishment of both village hall and play area. The Parish Council and Village Hall Management Committee are currently working on ways to improve the village hall to make it a welcoming place for users, and are waiting for the results of building surveys which have taken place recently. Thank you to those that took the time to complete the questionnaires.
Village Hall – Total VH responses was 8 completed questionnaires, 6 of which came from residents over 75 years old the other two from residents 55 – 74 years.
In general, there was support for an extension of the village hall, but most responses concentrated on the internal aspects for improvement. All responses mentioned better access internally/externally and changing the entrance to the hall from the car park. A sample of some of the responses are as follows:-
What prevents you from using the hall more often?
Outdated, smells, not clean, not a very comfortable environment, not welcoming, dingy, nothing of interest for me
What services or facilities will the village most need looking ahead?
More modern hall and furniture, kitchen and toilets in desperate need of updating, upgrade to services and infrastructure i.e. wi-fi, more community events
Other suggestions included, dividing sliding doors to make indoor space into two areas and sympathetic furnishings, evening classes and entertainment.
Outside the hall – support for some play equipment on The Green and a seating area for picnics, suggestion of a bike rack in the area and positive comments on the parking area.
Play Equipment – 6 consultation forms received – 4 were completed fully and 2 partially
Residents felt that the play equipment was very important for the health and wellbeing of children, social interaction, use of share space and helps make Earsham a better place to live. One comment was that without it, there would be virtually nothing in the village for kids to do.
Most felt that more equipment was needed especially for the older generation, and a table tennis table was mentioned more than once, along with a ‘wall’ so people could play tennis against it.
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Cost of Living Booklet
Norfolk County Council has produced a Help with living costs leaflet for 2026 and the Norfolk Association for Local Councils are helping them distribute it.
Local parishioners may be struggling with living costs for a range of reasons. This leaflet tells them what support is available and how to get advice.
Click the button below to download the free booklet:
https://www.norfolkalc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Cost-of-Living-Booklet_May_2026.pdf
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Congratulations to resident John Gore and Parish Councillor Dave Clark for completing recent training to become Wellness Champions for the Village. The training was for Mental Health Awareness in the Community and is part of South Norfolk and Broadlands Mindful Towns and Villages Project
What is a Mindful Town or Village?
Mindful towns and villages create safe spaces where people can have open conversations about their mental wellbeing with locally trained individuals who are committed to supporting their communities.
Members of the community, such as small businesses, community groups, sports clubs, and residents who want to help others, will complete basic mental health awareness training. They can then use this knowledge to offer support and signpost people to other services when needed. These individuals are known as Wellbeing Champions.
Each town or village requires a minimum number of two Wellbeing Champions to gain mindful status.
A recent South Norfolk Council online post states ‘In Earsham, there are now three Wellbeing Champions, including members of the parish council and volunteers from Grumpy’s Café – a family run business described as having “the community at its heart.”
The café also hosts Mental Health Wellbeing Check-ins from 10am to 11am on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, offering a supportive space for anyone seeking company or conversation.’
The link to the online post is https://orlo.uk/c6HDV
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Allotments
There are currently four allotment plots not being used at the moment so if you would like to take on a plot at a very reasonable annual charge, please contact the Parish Clerk by emailing clerk@earsham-pc.gov.uk
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New Bus Shelter
Earsham Parish Council have been successful in securing 80% of funding towards a new bus shelter outside The Queen’s Head in the village. Norfolk County Council have scheduled the works into their works programme, and it is hoped that the bus shelter will be installed within the next few months, watch this space for further information.
Speed Activation Machine
Funding to replace a redundant speed activation machine has also been applied for, however, it won’t be known until March whether this has been successful
MARCH UPDATE – Earsham PC have been successful in securing funding towards the cost of a new Speed Activation Machine (SAM3) this funding is for £1722.50. The Parish Council will be match funding that amount of money, as it is important to try and combat speeding in the village. The machine has been ordered from the suppliers and is being built as we speak, so look out for the new machine in the village very soon.
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Defibrillators – UPDATE – NEW DEFIBRILLATOR IS NOW LIVE ON THE CIRCUIT – 30TH APRIL 2025
The Parish Council recently purchased a new defibrillator for residents and it is now live and ready for use at the Village Hall. There is also a bleed control kit inside the cabinet, purchased by Earsham Parish Council for emergency situations for residents or visitors. A bleed control kit is a specialized first aid kit designed to manage life-threatening bleeding from traumatic injuries, often before professional medical help arrives. These kits contain essential equipment like tourniquets, haemostatic dressings, and trauma dressings, enabling individuals to quickly and effectively stop severe blood loss.
The defibrillators in the village are listed below.
- The Village Hall, Milestone Lane/The Street,
- The Football Pavilion, Earsham Playing Field off The Street/Princess Way
Always read the information on the defibrillator box and follow the instructions closely to gain access to the defib.
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Changes to local bus routes from 2nd September 2024
As many of you will be aware, there are forthcoming changes to local bus services in and around Diss, Harleston and Bury St Edmunds from 2nd September 2024.
As part of this, many routes will be enhanced, including new hourly services six days a week from Diss to Bury St Edmunds (via Botesdale, Stanton, Ixworth), Harleston (via Scole) and Norwich (via Long Stratton).
A full summary of all changes can be found online, alongside new timetables:
https://www.simonds.co.uk/latest-news
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What do different Councils do?
County councils – Norfolk County Council
County councils cover the whole of the county and provide the majority of public services
in their particular area.
County councils are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, passenger
transport, social care, libraries, waste disposal and strategic planning
Tel: 0344 800 8020
www.norfolk.gov.uk
District councils – South Norfolk
District Councils are responsible for housing, leisure and
recreation, environmental health, waste collection, planning applications and local
taxation collections.
Tel: 01508 533701 Freephone: 0800 3896 109
www.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/contactus
Town and parish councils – Earsham Parish Council
A third tier of local government in some areas of the UK.
Town and parish councils are responsible for smaller local services such as parks,
allotments, war memorials, play equipment and streetlighting
Tel: 07810208755 for Parish Clerk
Email: clerk@earsham-pc.gov.uk
www.earshampc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk
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