On this week: August 25-31, 2012 in Downham Market, King’s Lynn and Swaffham
In our weekly feature, we look back through the pages of the Lynn News from August 25-31, 2012…
The Lynn incinerator project is set to go to a full public inquiry after government ministers decided to call-in the scheme. The move is the latest twist in the bitter two-year fight over the Saddlebow plant. When news of the decision was announced it was hailed by residents and politicians in West Norfolk who have fought against the scheme. As previously reported, members of Norfolk County Council’s planning committee voted to grant permission for the plant at their meeting in June, subject to the scheme not being called-in by ministers; the plant has already received an environmental permit to operate, but needs planning consent. It is believed that around 6,000 letters were sent to the Department for Communities and Local Government by people opposed to the proposal.
Police could be winning the war against lead thieves after latest figures reveal the number of crimes has halved. A Freedom of Information request lodged by the Lynn News has revealed police had reports of just five metal thefts in West Norfolk between January and July this year, compared to ten in the same period in 2011. Officers say a closer relationship with scrap metal dealers, security measures and the threat of car seizures could be deterring thieves. Of the five lead thefts reported this year, two churches, a pub, a school and a home were raided.
Expansion plans on the northern edges of Fakenham have been put on hold following concerns voiced by the public at two consultation gatherings in the town. North Norfolk District Council has allocated land between Rudham Stile Lane and the A148 northern by-pass for between 800 and 900 houses along with a primary school and associated amenities including shops and a small business park. Particular criticism was raised over traffic management linking the town with the new development with special concerns over the possible closure of Water Moor Lane.
Lynn News readers who raised £160,000 towards a £400,000 upgrade of special care facilities for babies at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital can pat themselves on the back. The first tiny patients have moved into the transformed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after an all-night effort by staff and workmen to put the finishing touches to the facilities. The work had been completed on time in just 12 weeks, with the major refurbishment carried out to include improved security provision, an overnight room for parents and full decoration throughout.
An exciting new chapter has turned for Lynn-based Book Life, a leading UK supplier of national curriculum books to schools and libraries. The firm has expanded to such an extent that it has moved into additional premises, doubling its presence on the North Lynn industrial estate. The expansion has been appropriately timed ahead of a busy summer and the launch of Book Life’s September catalogue which now features 200 fiction and non-fiction book collections. It is planned to build up the workforce from 25 to 40 people over the next six months.
The first evening market to be held in Swaffham could hardly have gone better, said Sheila Lister, chairman of the town council’s market committee which organised it. She added: “A lot of people said it was like a Continental market, like you would see if you went to France, and the whole thing went brilliantly.” The market, with stalls set up on the road between the Buttercross and Legends Café, attracted hundreds of visitors including many local people. Two more Friday evening markets are planned this year and there may be up to six during 2013.
Downham Conservative Club has won the prestigious Sir Marcus Fox Award for the Best Conservative Club of the Year, beating more than 1,000 other contenders. Club chef Tony Handley, his wife Hayley (the stewardess) and chairman Roy Daynes were presented with the award by Home Secretary Theresa May at the Carlton Club in London. The Handleys have spent 20 years working in Conservative Clubs, with the last three being at Downham where the committee have recently spent a considerable amount of money on refurbishment.
Lynn police are battling a big anti-social behaviour problem in the area around St Nicholas’ Chapel in the town. The churchyard is regularly being used as a meeting place for drinkers, many of whom are sleeping rough. Residents whose homes overlook the graveyard told the Lynn News how they have been living with the problem for years and it leaves some of them terrified to walk out of their front doors.
