Bunwell Parish Council

06/09/2026

Please take care when using footpaths as we have had a report of motorcycles using Greenways Lane at speed. - MC

28/08/2026

Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service have attended wildfires in Norfolk in the past week and have also been assisting colleagues in Cambridgeshire with a wildfire at Holme Fen, near Peterborough. Their message is "We may have had rain in recent days, but please don’t think the risk of wildfire in Norfolk has gone."

28/08/2026

21/08/2026

I may have been hasty in removing the 'Red X's Poster' from social media! See comments! - MC

It’s a week since the Government’s emergency alert message went out, warning of the high risk of wildfires and telling residents not to undertake any activity that could start a fire.

It’s fair to say that we’ve had a cooler week than last, but the ground is still very dry out there and the threat of wildfires remains very real, so please continue to act responsibly, whether you’re at home or out using our beautiful open spaces.

That means:

❌ No use of disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators, chimeneas or fireworks – even a small flame can quickly get out of control.
🌳 If you’re having a barbecue at home, keep it well away from trees, fences, sheds and other combustible materials, and don’t leave it unattended.
🚭 If you’re visiting the countryside, don’t light campfires, take all your litter home and dispose of smoking materials responsibly.

Please be aware that our teams can only respond where there is an emergency that threatens life or property. We understand people’s concerns about neighbours having barbecues and outdoor fires at this time, but our Control Room continues to be busy, so please consider whether your call is a genuine emergency before calling 999.

We appreciate all you’re doing to help us keep Norfolk safe, thank you.

20/08/2026

Thank you Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service!

A week on from the declaration of a major incident, we wanted to say thank you to all involved in what has been an extremely busy time for everyone in our service 🙏

Thanks to our operational wholetime and on-call crews, and our control room team, who have ensured that emergencies were resolved quickly and with no loss of life.

Thanks to behind-the-scenes teams across the county who have stepped up to ensure we have the best resources, information and equipment needed to deal with this busy time.

And thanks to our emergency partners for keeping the public safe during these incidents, the local farming community for their practical support at incidents and the communities who adhered to advice to stay clear of ongoing fires.

Last week we attended 347 incidents in Norfolk, and so far this month we have already attended over 1,000 incidents. See what we attended, get updates on the fire investigations and find out more about our work by reading the update in the comments ⤵️

Thanks for your support Norfolk, we appreciate all your kind words over the last week ❤️

20/08/2026

We currently only have five volunteers for a Bunwell Community Speed Watch scheme. We need **at least six** if we are to get a scheme off the ground. Volunteers must:
- Be willing to commit themselves on a regular, long-term basis to the Scheme.
- Be over 18 years old.
- Sign an agreement and be vetted by Norfolk Constabulary.

- Training will be provided on using the equipment and on Health and Safety issues.
- Volunteers will be covered by the Constabulary’s insurance.
- Locations chosen will be assessed by the Constabulary.

If you are interested please put a note in the comments, email Bunwell's Parish Clerk on [email protected] , or email the Police directly on communityspeedwatch@norfolk@norfolk.police.uk (if you haven't done any of those already). Thank you to those that have, and thank you in anticipation! 🙂

20/08/2026

We currently only have five volunteers for a Bunwell Community Speed Watch scheme. We need **at least six** if we are to get a scheme off the ground. Volunteers must:
- Be willing to commit themselves on a regular, long-term basis to the Scheme.
- Be over 18 years old.
- Sign an agreement and be vetted by Norfolk Constabulary.

- Training will be provided on using the equipment and on Health and Safety issues.
- Volunteers will be covered by the Constabulary’s insurance.
- Locations chosen will be assessed by the Constabulary.

If you are interested please put a note in the comments, email Bunwell's Parish Clerk on [email protected] , or email the Police directly on [email protected] (if you haven't done any of those already). Thank you to those that have, and thank you in anticipation! 🙂

19/08/2026

Just to inform you of a change to the date of the Phase Two rollout of South Norfolk Council's Food Waste Collection service. This "has been rescheduled from 28 September to the week commencing 9 November 2026."

The reasons: "Phase 1 of the rollout has been successful and has provided valuable operational learning to support the next stage of implementation. The rescheduled date will provide additional time to recruit and develop sufficient collection drivers, rebalance rounds and ensure the service can be delivered reliably. Resident communications and caddy deliveries will be adjusted accordingly. Further information will be provided nearer the launch date."

Apologies for some initial incorrect information from me. Only part of the village is in the Phase One area!

Michael Crouch
Vice-Chair, Bunwell Parish Council

You’ll be able to recycle your food waste with our new weekly collection service. We’ll be rolling out the service in stages, with all households being included by the end of September 2026.

18/08/2026

REOPEN. NOTICE CANCELLED. Road closure - The Old Turnpike, Bunwell
Monday 24 August to Wednesday 26 August 2026 inclusive, 7am to 4pm each day

"To undertake this work effectively and safely we will require the full width of the carriageway, therefore the road will need to be closed while work is in progress... Access to properties within the closure will be maintained all times, however the direction of approach may shift as works progress. Gatemen operatives on site will assist access to properties within the works areas. A signed diversion route will be in place."

"The County Council thanks people for their patience while this maintenance work is carried out. The work which will cost £12,750 will be carried out by Norfolk County Council’s Infrastructure Department and their contractors."

"For Further Information [contact] Adam Mayo, Highway Engineer, 0344 800 8020 Up-to-date information about roadworks in Norfolk is available on the County Council website at www.norfolk.gov.uk/roadworks ".

Map of scheduled roadworks (emergency works not included) and traffic congestion to help you plan your journey

16/08/2026

A reminder how to switch on (and how to switch off) Emergency Alerts.

On an iPhone - Go to settings and select the ‘notifications’ menu, scroll to the bottom, turn on ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.

On Android phones - Search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn on ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.
Other mobile phones and tablets - Depending on the manufacturer and software version of your phone, emergency alerts settings may be called different names, such as ‘wireless emergency alerts’ or ‘emergency broadcasts’. The settings can usually be found in one of the following ways. Go to:

‘message’, then ‘message settings, then ‘wireless emergency alerts’, then ‘alert’
‘settings’, then ‘sounds’, then ‘advanced’, then ‘emergency broadcasts’
‘settings’, then ‘general settings’, then ‘emergency alerts’
Then turn on ‘severe alerts’, ‘extreme alerts’ and ‘test alerts’.

These stages can also be worked in reverse to switch off emergency alerts on concealed phones used by victims of domestic abuse, etc. I advise keeping emergency alerts switched on unless the phone is a concealed phone.

Thank you.

Cllr Michael Crouch

Vice-Chair, Bunwell PC and Joint Coordinator of the Bunwell Community Resilience Plan

Please watch this brief video explaining the UK's new Emergency Ale...