On this week in Heacham, King’s Lynn, RAF Marham, Snettisham and The Walpoles: February 2-7, 2003
The Duke of Edinburgh joined hundreds of people in remembering the victims of the floods which devastated West Norfolk’s coastline in February 1953. On that eventful night, pounding seas killed 81 and thousands of homes were swept away after flood defences were smashed down. Memorial services were held around the district and at Snettisham’s Market Square, Prince Philip braved the cold weather to unveil a memorial plaque which honoured the victims of the tragedy and the heroes who risked their lives trying to save others. He was joined by civic dignitaries from Lynn and Hunstanton, North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, villagers and relatives of those who were lost.
Heavy snow and packed ice have caused mayhem on the roads, bringing West Norfolk to a standstill. In particular, ambulance teams were particularly hit hard, as the volume of traffic in the morning rush hour made it difficult to respond to emergency calls. Dozens of schools were closed, refuse collections were stopped, buses and trains were either cancelled or delayed. Most of Norfolk Green’s bus services to rural areas were disrupted and the company blamed the lack of grit on the roads, saying they had been “let down” by the authorities. Norfolk County Council said gritting teams had worked through the night, but the amount of snow that fell combined with the freezing temperatures, made the salt virtually ineffective.
North Lynn company Porvair has remained upbeat about the future despite reporting a massive drop in pre-tax profits of £3.6 million. The international company, which employs about 300 people in North Lynn and also has its headquarters there, announced pre-tax profits of £200,000 for the year ended November 30, 2002, in its preliminary results; in 2001 the profit was £3.8 million. Bosses say they had expected profits to be held back for a time having embarked on a radical new strategy to acquire, improve operational efficiency and increase research and development.
A hole load of trouble continues in The Walpoles, the parish council has been told. At its recent meeting, the usual discussion on potholes ensued and once again it became heated because some potholes had been filled in where the council had not asked for any action, but others had been left altogether or scrappily filled in and the contents dispersed, leaving the hole bigger than before. Members wanted the highways department to know how disgusted they were, particularly as a representative of the department failed to appear at a meeting with the parish council and the contractors involved.
Heacham’s Norfolk Lavender has won a £15,000 Government grant to run an in-house training scheme to help its managers improve skills and efficiency. The grant, given by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), follows £100,000 the company received from the Government and European Union in 2002 to improve its business over the next few years. Norfolk Lavender – which is England’s largest lavender farm – and employs more than 100 people, has used the £15,000 from Defra’s vocational training scheme to run 110 days of training for its ten-strong management team.
Personnel and aircraft from RAF Marham will be heavily involved as the UK gears up for war in Iraq, it has been announced. Airmen and women from the base are already patrolling the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq, but now the Ministry of Defence says an additional 75 aircraft and another 7,000 personnel from across the UK would be sent to the area. With world tension increasing and both strong support and opposition to a Middle East conflict being voiced, anti-war demonstrations have been held in London, with some activists in England and the USA saying they will go to Baghdad so the city could not be attacked without a global outcry.
The 36th annual Lynn News sports awards were held at Lynnsport, with more than 120 people defying the freezing weather to honour the cream of West Norfolk’s sporting talent. Martin Saggers, the Lynn born-and-bred cricketer picked up the Sportsman of the Year award after being joint leading wicket-taker for Kent in the County Championship, and being named in England’s provisional World Cup squad. The sportswoman award went to golfer Julia Wilkinson after winning the county championship for the third year in a row.
Council tax for West Norfolk residents could rise by up to £147 a year on average, although borough councillors are working hard to keep costs down. But with a black hole of £1 million to plug in the council’s 2003-04 budget, several money-making and cost-cutting measures have been announced. For example it will cost more to go keep fit, with prices for the bulk of West Norfolk leisure activities to rise by 10p or 20p. An increase in licence fees has yet to be decided, but it could be particularly steep for Hackney carriages.
