In March the developer made a planning application for the demolition of the existing dwelling & replacement of 6 private & 2 affordable dwellings.  Breckland refused the application and the developer has appealed against this decision.  Written objections can still be made in respect of this.

Notwithstanding this appeal, a further application has now been made for the erection of one 3 bed detached bungalow, one 4 bed detached house & two 4 bed semi detached houses.  Comments are invited by Breckland with a closing date of 17th July.

Two cattle were recovered on Thursday 19th June, 2008. 14 are still missing although there has been positive sightings of nine.

Do still take care when travelling on the A1075 in the vicinity of Wayland Wood and also along the Carbrooke Road, Caston travelling towards Watton. Temporary signs have been displayed but the cattle could stray from anywhere.

Sixteen cattle are still missing - six have been located in the vicinity of Wayland Wood. You are asked to take care when approaching the Wayland Wood on the A1075.

Every possible effort is being made to capture the animals but at present it is understood to be a very difficult situation

Should you see the cattle straying in the barley field between the Thatched Cottage and Wayland Wood (A1075) please dial 999 immediately.

The utmost priority is the safety of the general public. If you have any information relating to the realease of the cattle from the yards on Saturday 7th June 2007 please call Norfolk Police on 0845 456 4567.

Caston Parish Council wish to thank all the people who gave us information on flooding in their area. The results are currently being collated.

There were also quite a few suggestions and ideas on how we could enhance the village scene after the sewerage scheme upheaval.
As we wish to apply for an Awards for All grant to cover the costs, this grant could be for a reasonable sum of money.
Any further ideas or offers of physical help, design ideas for planting schemes, or other technical help would be welcomed.

If you think the village lacks appeal and you can think of a good idea to spruce it up and add interest, please let the clerk know on caston.clerk@virgin.net

I came back from Tesco today to find a flyer in our gate for ‘Third World Clothing Collection’. As far as I am aware or can ascertain, they are not a charity but a business who sell clothes to the Third World – see this link:

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080416034813AAzpJMd

People would be better off to donate their clothes to charity shops if they wish charities alone to benefit. Would it be possible to make people aware via the Caston website that they do not appear to be a registered charity (which is in the fine print of the flyer), but a business? They also tried this in my mum and dad’s village, which is why I was alerted to it. It is particularly distasteful given the desperate need for funds in Burma.

posted by Becky.

The Breckland Planning Committee this morning declined outline planning permission for the current proposal for development of the site at The White House.

Going totally against the recommendation of the planning officers, the decision of the planning committee was a very clear, unanimous, 15 to nil for refusal.

It was stated that this kind of estate development was not in accord with the nature of the village of Caston. Positioning an estate such as this, where it is the first housing to be seen when entering the village, could change the whole perception of the village and was therefore felt to be undesirable. Consideration in rural villages to the habitat of wildlife and the rural nature of any area should be considered and it was also undesirable to promote additional commuting from outlying villages by developing high density housing in them. There was also concern expressed that such development at the White House could increase flooding risks.

It further became clear that the developer's petition in favour of the development included names from as far afield as Ipswich. This petition was therefore devalued on that basis.

A burst water main caused most of this problem yesterday (thanks to Tony Ash for the photo) but the area has been awash for quite some days/weeks now due to a mystery eruption of water that appears to be just oozing out of the ground.  Whether it's something to do with the new sewage system or caused by recent house building works in the immediate locality seems to be uncertain at present - let's hope it gets resolved before too long.