Excitement in Fakenham over church improvements and new swimming pool

In his weekly Wensum column, Jim Harding looks forward to two new projects planned for the town...

Our parish church is a welcoming place and not just on Sundays. It is open daily to all comers from around 9am until dusk. On market days, not surprisingly, the church is especially busy. As I write, work has begun on a major project to improve the main front door entrance and this will mean quite a big adjustment for everyone.

If you are familiar with the building you will know that this access has been a problem for many, especially anyone pushing a pram, using a wheelchair or otherwise disabled. Over recent months a new entrance design has been approved and permission granted for it to be installed.

This is a major project which will replace the big wooden door with an automatic glass one to make coming and going easier for all. Currently, if you need to obtain access, you may do so via the north door and signs indicate the way around.

Part of the work will include improvement to the stone floor inside the building and because of excavation, this will require the presence, at some point, of an archaeologist. It is not possible to speculate if anything of interest might be discovered but such procedures are normal and can throw up some surprises. Apart from the provision of toilets and a kitchen, the last time the church underwent serious improvement was in the Victorian era.

A few weeks back I wrote about the possibility of a new swimming pool being built in the town. I was a bit cautious as speculation about this has been ongoing for several years. Recently our district council enhanced the probability by agreeing to extend facilities at the Fakenham Sports and Fitness Centre on Trap Lane to include a new 25-metre pool.

I understand this is tied in with the government's levelling-up fund and could be ready in early 2026. What wonderful news! Young people in the town formerly had the benefit of two indoor pools at both the old grammar and also the junior school.

There was a thriving swimming club which regularly trained at the grammar. Infant pupils used to be taken by bus to the juniors as I well remember, being on duty to meet our boys and help dry and dress them. Swimming is such an important skill which should never be underrated.

At my grammar in Woking, there was an open-air pool within a 15-minute walk where we had regular teaching sessions in the summer. I was never a great swimmer but did learn to become confident at an early age when out of my depth. It has served me well ever since.

When I qualified as a PE teacher I had to pass fairly rigorous challenges to be able to teach swimming and did so, very enjoyably, for many years both here and in Australia. I guess the nearest pool to us is in Dereham but it's very doubtful that many parents will have taken their sons or daughters there regularly.

School-based lessons are so much more preferable and convenient as part of the regular timetable if at all possible. How the new pool will fit into the school regime remains to be seen but I'd be surprised if the adjacent Fakenham Academy didn't move swiftly to make use of it.