Notice

Over the next few months, this website will be moving to a new .gov.uk domain. There will be some unavoidable disruption. Most content will be moved across before the walsham-le-willows.org domain name is retired. Other content will follow shortly afterwards.

The new site will look very different, maybe not quite so eye catching but familiar to anyone who has used the .gov.uk website. The new site will be updated over time to include more visual content that will be presented in a different way.

This change is being made to ensure compliance with accessibility requirements and comes with technical support that will ensure future resilience for the Parish Council in fulfilling the requirement to maintain a fully functioning and compliant website.

Thank you for your understanding whilst this transition takes place.

Parish Council

Walsham le Willows is a thriving Suffolk village with clubs, groups, annual events, a vibrant sports club and a rich documented history chronicled in the quarterly reviews written and published by the Walsham le Willows History group.

Subscribe to selected parish council email communications. Unsubscribe at any time.

The Parish Council is a tier of local government entirely separate from, and not to be confused with, the Parochial Church Council which is the governing body of St Mary’s Church.

The Parish Council meets on every second Wednesday of the month at 7pm in The Memorial Hall (unless otherwise advised)

Minutes & Records
Councillor Contacts
Register of Interests

Community Emergency Plan – updates

Planning
About the Parish Council
Role of Clerk
About Meetings
Annual Meeting – Parish Council
Annual Meeting – Parish
Policies & Procedures
Community Directory
LATEST EMERGENCY PLAN NEWS

The Parish Council’s facebook page for important notices and other information relevant to the Parish Council’s role.
Nothing else will be posted there and posts will be removed when no longer relevant.

See all the village has to offer. Click on ‘More’ in the main menu.

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Potential 190 New Houses for Walsham

The Parish Council called an open meeting for 19th November to discuss the whole issue of updating the Neighbourhood Plan and the anticipated additional housing requirement for the village (as mandated by central government and required by Mid-Suffolk District Council).

The meeting was very well attended and the Parish Council was asked to circulate a map and form so that residents can make their views known on suitable sites for future development.

Presentation used at the meeting

First read the letter from Chair of Parish Council

Consultation Form – Notes for completion

Cross-hatch or shade one (or two) sites on the map which you think would be suitable for housing in the future
Briefly explain the reasons for your choice in space given or on reverse.
Return completed paper form to either Rolfes or the Thursday morning Coffee Shop, or by email to the parish clerk, by Tuesday 9th December.
Please copy or download additional copies of this form if there are additional members of your household who would like to submit a response.
Please don’t be tempted to use the map to indicate areas where you feel development should not take place, as it won’t really help us.
For more information you can access the full version of our Neighbourhood Plan here.

Download consultation form for printing and marking

Traffic Proposals & Updates

The Parish Council’s aim is to improve road safety by advocating for lower speed limits where people and traffic mix and to make rural roads safer. Lower speeds reduce collisions and casualties.

Twenty is Plenty for the Core of the Village

Traffic Group Report June 2026

In a survey, 96% of respondents said that traffic was a concern and 87% would favour 20mph in certain areas of the village.

Data from speed surveys in and around the village has helped support the case for lowering the speed limit in the core of the village. Overwhelming community support has strengthened the case further.

After extensive discussions with SCC Highways relating to national and local speed limit policies and criteria, we have been able to arrive at a proposal which meets many of the needs of the village but is also likely to gain approval and be deliverable. The completed application has been with SCC Highways for several months and a decision is imminent.

In the meantime, the Parish Council are funding enhanced road markings on Summer Road by the Sports Club and two new Speed Indicator Devices on entrances to the village and approaching the Sports Club from the village travelling northwards.

Our next step is to try and gain enough volunteers to launch a Community Speed Watch scheme in conjunction with the police. Please contact us if you are able to help or would like to know more about making this happen.

Agreed Speed Reduction Application

Retention of 30mph entry point on Finningham Road
Lowering the speed limit to 20mph on Wattisfield Road from Postmill Gardens towards the village centre
Limiting the 20mph on The Street from Miller’s Bridge up to the church crossroads approach thus excluding the church crossroads itself
Extending the 20mph to include residential areas of Palmer Street and Grove Road
Extending the 30mph to Betty’s Bridge only
Creating a 40mph limit from Betty’s Bridge out beyond West Street with enhanced signage

In the meantime, the Parish Council are funding enhanced road markings on Summer Road by the Sports Club and two new Speed Indicator Devices on entrances to the village and approaching the Sports Club from the village travelling northwards.

Our next step is to try and gain enough volunteers to launch a Community Speed Watch scheme in conjunction with the police. Please contact us if you are able to help or would like to know more about making this happen.

Planning Application Notifications

Mid-Suffolk District Council are giving consideration to discontinuing the practice of both writing to neighbouring properties to advise of registered planning applications as well as posting a notice nearby. A local authority has never been required by law to do both.

See the Parish Council page for more information on planning as it relates to the Parish Council.

Have you missed a planning application that you would have been interested in commenting on?

For some time you have been able to register a search on the MSDC planning portal to get email notifications to your inbox based on the criteria entered.

Watch this video which shows how to set this up once you have registered. Register searches for as many types of application as you need. The main ones are:

Full Planning Application
Listed Building Consent
Householder Planning Application
Outline Planning Application

Storm Babet

SCC has published the S19 flood investigation report which classifies Storm Babet as an extreme event and…

confirms the probable causes of the flood event (much as identified by the PC)
identifies options to reduce future flood risk and increase property resilience
makes recommendations for actions by relevant responsible organisations, landowners or homeowners.

The Parish Council continues to work with liocal stakeholders on this objective to assist with implementing the flood plan in the report.

Above average rainfall in Suffolk in 2023 leading up to and during Storm Babet – the joint wettest year on record in East of England since 1871

MidSuffolk District Council – Greening Initiatives

Call for Land

Aimed at private landowners and offering help, advice and materials to create habitat on land that isn’t generally open to the public and which could be planted on or improved for nature.

Are you a landowner, farmer, business or individual wanting to do something with your land to benefit the natural environment.

Advice, support and often the materials and resources needed to make this happen are available.

All that is needed to get started is an interest in doing something. MSDC will work with you to form a plan if needed, or help turn an existing plan into reality.

Help and support mostly comes from other organisations such as the Woodland Trust and Forestry Commission.

If you are interested in either scheme, please get in touch with Richard Parmee

Biodiversity Project Manager
01449 724 762 | 07927 589 614

Trees & Wildflowers Scheme

Since 2021, MSDC has provided free trees, hedging and wildflower seed to applicants with projects that benefit both biodiversity and the public to landowners with publically accessible land, to date this includes:

Nearly 800 trees
Over 16,000 small trees and hedgerow plants
Enough wildflower seed to cover over 16,000m2

The scheme remains open to applications, for landowners such as town and parish councils, community groups and charities.

Details on the scheme, including the application form and guidance notes, can be found here: https://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk/w/trees-and-wildflowers-scheme

Applications are welcome at any time. However, the main planting season for trees and hedging is between November and March, and the ideal times for sowing wildflower seed are in the autumn and spring, so if you have possible projects in mind, now is a good time to think about an application.

Possible schemes could include:

Woodland creation
Trees in open spaces
Hedge planting
Wildflower meadow creation and enrichment
Orchard planting

Contact MSDC to discuss your ideas. They are happy to work with you to help make your application successful.

If for any reason they are unable to support your scheme, they may be able to find other sources of trees and hedging for which you may be eligible. They can also provide advice on managing your new planting to help ensure it establishes.

Community Council

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Walsham has had an enthusiastic and prolific history group since 1980 and it is still going strong. The group still meets regularly, and have produced a Brief History of Walsham, and comprehensive Reviews on particular aspects of Walsham’s historical record which have been published at the rate of three or four a year since 1997, and a selection of books and compact discs.

Cover of the book The Black Death: An intimate History by John Hatcher

Walsham le Willows has a rich history that is based on the survival of exceptionally good 14th-century manorial records which led to Walsham being chosen as the setting for the fictionalised history The Black Death: An Intimate History, by John Hatcher set in the years following the summer of 1348 as the Black Death ravaged European society. John Hatcher used the excellent manorial records to ‘fill in the gaps’ for his story.

Events

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Walsham le Willows

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