‘Levelling up seems to apply when dealing with north-south but not east-west,’ says Hunstanton columnist
In his weekly Turnstone column, Hunstanton writer discusses town issues…
This week's Turnstone column kicks off with a quote from the Lynn News feature ‘On this week: October 20-26, 2013' which is even more relevant now than it was 11 years ago. "West Norfolk has been highlighted as one of the areas that will lose out most from the proposed HS2 high-speed rail link. A report by accounting firm KPMG has revealed that HS2 could make 50 areas in the UK, including West Norfolk, worse off. The report suggests economic output in West Norfolk would be the fifth worst affected in the country, down by £56million. North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, sceptical about the scheme, said his main concern was the massive cost of HS2 which had gone up to £50billion."
Henry Bellingham proved to me that he was no fan of HS2 when he invited a deputation from Hunstanton to observe a meeting of the HS2 Select Committee. We were in Westminster to meet a Coastal Communities Minister - I forget which one - to raise issues arising from West Norfolk Council's failure to enforce the terms and conditions clearly set out in the 999-year lease for Hunstanton Pier.
Meanwhile, in the Select Committee meeting, we heard passionate objections to HS2 from people whose lives would be made unbearable if this costly scheme went ahead. It was not just the adverse impact on ancient woodland, it was also the prospect of high-speed trains roaring past private back gardens and destroying the peaceful existence of residents.
Rail enthusiasts might have been expecting that money saved by cancelling the northern half of HS2 would go towards reinstating some of the lines that were wrongly axed in the 1960s, but the recent budget would suggest otherwise. Reinstating the rail link between Oxford and Cambridge seems to be as far as it goes when it comes to cross-country travel by rail in the southern half of England. Levelling up seems to apply when dealing with north-south but with little or no concern for east-west.
When it comes to North West Norfolk it looks as if we will have to rely on buses as the only form of public transport, but once again it looks as if the county council's proposal for a revamped bus station and library is in danger of being compromised by the borough council's intention to include the addition of up to 24 'affordable' dwellings.
Perhaps it should be pointed out that the original plan put forward by the county council was to 'replace' the bus station with a new library and a block of apartments. My concern now is that any residential units added to the current proposal will fail to protect or enhance Hunstanton's important Conservation Area. The magnificent Westgate Gardens - very small when compared with The Walks in Lynn - were sacrificed to make way for the bus station in 1963, when I was out of town. The proposed bus station with new toilets and a library, will be greatly enhanced if the trees west of the existing bus station - a reminder of the Westgate Gardens - are allowed to remain in place.
