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Witham Town Council Secures Unanimous Support for 2025-2026 Precept < Back Witham Town Council Precept 2025-2026 14 Jan 2025 Witham Town Council Secures Unanimous Support for 2025-2026 Precept Witham Town Council Secures Unanimous Support for 2025-2026 Precept On Monday, Witham Town Council unanimously approved the town's share of the council tax for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The decision, supported by all parties, will see a modest increase of 15p per week for band D properties, bringing the total cost to £2.14 per week for all services provided by the Town Council. Councillor Phil Barlow, Leader of Witham Town Council, emphasised the value residents receive: "Every penny raised is spent locally, ensuring Witham remains a safe, enjoyable, and healthy place for all our residents. At just over £2 a week, we offer exceptional value for the wide range of services we provide." The precept will fund essential services and community initiatives, including:  Maintenance of the Town Hall, which houses vital services such as the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinic and a Community Banking Hub.  Operation of the Information Centre, providing assistance to residents  Management of allotments  Upkeep of Whetmead Nature Reserve, James Cooke Wood, the Closed Churchyard, and the River Walk  Witham's floral displays and Christmas light decorations  Expanded free community events calendar, including commemorations for the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day  Continued support for community safety initiatives, including CCTV cameras, Witham Special Constabulary and the Street Warden program  Town Park toilets (the rest of the park is owned and managed by Braintree District Council)  Some 60+ streetlights that the Council own and operate  Grants to organisations such as Citizens Advice and The Witham Carnival The Council is particularly focused on supporting vulnerable residents and those less able to afford activities, reflected in the increased number of free events planned for the coming year. Residents are invited to attend the annual public meeting in April, where councillors will provide a detailed overview of the Council's activities and plans for the future. For more information, visit the Town Council website, refer to the Witham Voice, or visit the Town Hall. Previous Next

Which Ward am I in? To find your ward, you can either zoom in on the map below and click on an area to see the ward name, or search for your road on this document: Ward Directory-PDF

< Back Millenium Plaque In 2000, Witham Town Council presented each of the churches in Witham with a commemorative plaque to mark the Millenium. One of the plaques was not taken up and so remains in our archives.

< Back Crittall Windows Stamp Unused office stamp In our collection of items rescued by Janet Gyford from the old Crittall factory on Braintree Road before it was demolished is this document stamp. The stamp is unused and appears to be a stamp that would be applied to each job. The former Crittalls factory stood where Morrisons now stands. It was built in 1919 and closed in 1990. It was demolished in 1992 to make way for the new Safeway store, now Morrisons.

< Back Bramston Sports Centre Plaque Official opening plaque for Bramston Sports Centre Bramston Sports Centre in Bridge Street opened it's doors in 1974. It was officially opened by Sir Henry Cooper OBE. The sports centre was open for 40 years, closing on 14th August 2014 as it's replacement opened in Spinks Lane. The plaque that you can see in these pictures is now kept at the Town Hall. Credit for these photos goes to Gordon Ager.

< Back Witham Constitutional Club Commemorative items from Witham Constitutional Club We have three glasses, engraved to commemorate 100 years of the Witham Constitutional Club 1896-1996. We also have a boxed commemorative medal celebrating 100 years of the Association of Constitutional Clubs 1894-1994. To complete the set, we have a pamphlet dated 1982 telling the history of Witham Constitutional Club from 1896 until 1945 and a newsletter celebrating 100 years of the Witham branch. The pamphlet has a detailed account of the fire that burnt the club to the ground in 1910

< Back Army Issue Standing Orders for Drivers Standing Orders for Drivers of Mechanical Vehicles (Wheeled) and Motor Cyclists In amongst a donation of items once belonging to the Croxall Family we have this small booklet issued by The War Office in 1943. It contains instructions for soldiers on driving military vehicles during the war and includes sections on conduct on the road, preparation of vehicles before taking them out on the road and what to do in the event of an accident or breakdown.

< Back Set of Britain's First Decimal Coins Britain's First Decimal Coins This is a commemorative set of the first decimal coins issued for decimalisation on Monday 15th February 1971. Of this set, only the 1p and 2p remain unchanged, with the halfpenny going out of circulation in 1984 and the 5p and 10p being changed for the coins we now use in 1990 and 1992 respectively. 'The change of British coins to the new decimal system was announced in March 1966, with the introduction of the 5p and 10p in 1968. These coins were the same size and value as the coins they were replacing so could be in circulation at the same time. This commemorative set was sold in large numbers from 1968, even though the copper coins were not yet in circulation, to promote familiarity with the coins ahead of 'D-Day' in February 1971, the date of the official change to decimal currency. For more information visit: https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/journal/history/decimalisation/

Witham Town Council is holding a public forum to address the proposed closure of St Peters Hospital < Back St Peter's Hospital Closure 28 Feb 2024 Witham Town Council is holding a public forum to address the proposed closure of St Peters Hospital The 150-year-old hospital building is set to close permanently and its services moved under plans to reallocate community inpatient beds. If St Peters closes there will be changes to the places where community hospital intermediate care and stroke rehabilitation services are provided, resulting in residents having to travel to Brentwood or Billericay to receive stroke services. This will also make permanent the temporary move of the freestanding midwife-led birthing unit from St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon, to the William Julien Courtauld Unit at St Michael’s, Braintree, an already strained facility, so many residents will have to go to Broomfield Hospital. Currently there are no plans as to where outpatient services, such as blood testing will go. If services end up at Broomfield Hospital, Witham residents who do not drive will have to get three buses to get to the Hospital or pay for a taxi service. Therefore, Witham Town Council is looking to let residents voice their concerns by holding a public consultation at New Rickstones Academy on Monday 11th March 2024, starting at 7pm. A representative from the Alliance Director of NHS mid and South EssexDaniel Doherty, will be present to answer any questions. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and participate to ensure Witham has its say regarding the closure and to demonstrate the Town Council’s concerns, regarding the lack of existing medical facilities in the Town and how the closure would further exacerbate this problem. Previous Next

< Back Coal Receipts Coal Receipts Dated 1928 We have two receipts for delivery of coke by Witham Gas Light & Coke Company Ltd to Messrs Barclays Bank. The first is dated Feb 10 1928 for 1/4 ton at a cost of 9 shillings, the second Oct 25 1928 for 1/2 ton at a cost of 17 shillings. At the time of this delivery, Barclays Bank were situated in 61 Newland Street. This building now belongs to Witham Town Council and is the Town Hall. A history of the building can be found on Janet Gyford's website: https://www.janetgyford.com/places/the-town-hall/

Witham Town Council in partnership with The Bee Friendly Trust have created a bee garden < Back New Bee Friendly Planting Area on Witham’s River Walk 28 Feb 2024 Witham Town Council in partnership with The Bee Friendly Trust have created a bee garden Witham Town Council in partnership with The Bee Friendly Trust have created a bee garden on the edge of the River Walk near River View. The haven includes bird boxes, 3 bee hotels for solitary bees, rosemary bushes, olive trees, skimmia, euphorbia, cytisus ivy, verbena, cornflower and sunflower seeds and geraniums together with an information board of bee facts. This beautiful area with its proximity to the river makes it a perfect spot for bees. This exciting project has been funded with developer Section 106 money from Braintree District Council which was specifically allocated for landscaping in this area. It is designed to provide much needed support for nature, in particular bees whose populations have been in decline worldwide as a result of habitat loss, pesticide usage and climate change. Witham Town Council are delighted with the project and a spokesperson said “Witham Town Council and Braintree District Council are both committed to encouraging biodiversity and combatting the effects of Climate Change locally and we will continue to look at ways of supporting our wildlife, promoting nature recovery and ensuring Witham is a beautiful place to live.” Previous Next

< Back Witham Carnival Programmes Witham Carnival Programmes 1985-1988 These Witham Carnival programmes cover 1985-1988 and provide an interesting snapshot of the time. Whilst they mostly contain adverts for local businesses, very few of these are still in operation and so this gives a nostalgic view of the town for those that were here at the time. The programmes also contain details of the carnival court of the year, the supported charities and the programme of events in the arena in Maldon Road Park. If you look, you will see that the route in the 1980's differed from the current route. BBC Radio Essex appear in the programmes, presumably as compere, and the programme for 1987 has been signed by the DJ that hosted that year, whilst the 1988 programme has a signed colour photo tucked inside. Witham carnival has been held regularly since 1951, but the earliest recorded carnival was actually in 1929.