On this week: October 7-12, 2005 in Burnham Market, Hunstanton, King’s Lynn, Methwold and Southery
In our weekly On This Week column we look back through the pages of the Lynn News from 19 years ago…
The number of homeless people helped by Lynn charity the Purfleet Trust has more than doubled in the past year. Latest figures show that 425 people went to the Trust for help compared to more than 200 the year before. Purfleet Trust works to find suitable accommodation for the homeless and is holding its annual meeting this week which will be open to the public. Office manager Karen Akers said: “We may not see many people sleeping rough on the streets of Lynn these days, but that does not mean there are no homeless people in the area. We are hoping to get more landlords to join our housing scheme and also raise awareness of what we do.”
The revival of Lynn town centre is storming ahead, with two major new stores and several smaller units set to open in the next few weeks. Leading national retailer Bhs, formerly British Home Stores, is now expected to take the place of Littlewoods in the High Street, possibly opening later this month. TJ Hughes has this week announced that its £2 million department store should be in business in Broad Street by the end of October and thirsty shoppers will welcome the arrival of Café Nero in Norfolk Street next month. The town’s long-awaited £6 million 700-space, multi-storey car park will be officially unveiled on October 17.
Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital has had some good news at last – it has met a maximum waiting time target three months ahead of schedule. After recently being “fined” £1.1 million by the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority for having an £11 million overdraft, the news of its waiting time success has come as a welcome relief. It has succeeded in reducing to 13 weeks the maximum time that patients referred by a family doctor or dentist for an initial outpatient appointment have to wait before being seen.
Special plaques have been presented to thank West Norfolk volunteers for their support. Age Concern day centres at Methwold and Burnham Market each received a plaque this week to recognise the efforts of volunteers who help run their services. Age Concern Norfolk has 160 volunteers working in various projects across the country and the plaques have been commissioned by the Year of the Volunteer and the presentations were made as part of Age Concern Week events around the country.
West Norfolk Council has not been processing planning applications quickly enough and cannot hold on to its staff, the Lynn News can reveal. The council is set to become a “planning standards authority” in April next year, which means it has failed to reach targets in the processing of planning applications. Government consultants may be sent in to review its performance. The council responded by saying the number of applications had increased in recent years and there had been ”increased difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified planners”.
The Rev James Fyfe is looking forward to enjoying the seaside after leaving behind city life to become the new parish priest of Hunstanton and Dersingham. But it’s a welcome return to the county, having served in Norwich just over five years ago. Father Fyfe comes to the parish, covering Hunstanton’s Roman Catholic Church and Dersingham’s St Cecilia’s Church, from Cambridge, where he has been assistant priest for two years. He was officially inducted in Hunstanton by the Rt Rev Michael Evans, the Bishop of East Anglia.
Lynn Stars sensationally reached the semi-finals of the Young Shield play-offs thanks to a final heat 5-1 maximum win over visiting Workington. Olly Allen and home skipper Tomas Topinka – who was unbeaten by an opposition rider all night – came up with the goods when holding off guest Magnus Zetterstrom and ex-Lynn rider Shaun Tacey. Lynn were trailing by eight points from the first leg at Workington, but by the mid-way stage of the meeting were six points up and despite a Workington fight-back they secured a 52-42 victory which saw them through by 94-92 on aggregate. Berwick will be the opponents in the semi-final.
A bid to ban heavy goods vehicles from using two village roads is being made by Southery Parish Council. Members heard that heavy goods vehicles were using Mill Lane and Churchgate Street as a through road night and day. The council believes that both roads are too narrow for the safe passage of HGVs and will ask the county council to place signs indicating to drivers that the roads are not suitable for large vehicles.