Lose permits and we’ll lose trade

I WAS one of those people that stormed out of the town hall borough council meeting held about parking permits on Monday last week, after hearing Cllr Charles Reynolds say people from Ormesby, Bradwell, Belton etc could not park in Great Yarmouth.

Have these people not heard of car parks or are they just too tight to pay? I did not attend the Tuesday meeting knowing that I would probably lose it again. But reading the report in The Mercury about Cllr Steve Ames’ main concern being for the residents who could not afford to pay for a permit and therefore had to park away from their home I feel compelled to reply: what utter rubbish.

When I moved here in December 2005, I could not park anywhere near my house and was reduced to parking anywhere I could find. At the beginning the nearest place was Factory Road and I live in Nelson Road North. Parking in Factory Road did mean a bit of a walk but not too bad until somebody decided to key the side of my car and kick the driver’s door in.

After that the only places I could find to park were at the end of Wellesley Road right up by Sandown Road or Sandown Road itself, so when Mr Ames talks about people being able to park near their homes if there were no parking permits is rubbish. As I was the person that walked out of the meeting after calling Cllr Reynolds a name, in anger mind you, I would rather this letter was printed without my name and address. I have very strong views on the parking and I also own a bed and breakfast as did lots of the others at the meeting. If we lose the permits we will all lose customers.

I will be attending the next meeting about permits tonight (held at the Conservative Club Market Gates by the Residents Association) even if it means me getting angry. I do not vote Conservative.

Name and address withheld

No-one allowed to have their say

ONCE again the council shows complete disregard for the people it is supposed to represent, by the way the meeting in regards to residential parking permits was taken.

Once again, no-one was allowed to have their say; it seems the norm that the council rules. Once again it shows the need for open forums, where the people, the ones councillors profess to represent, can have their say and object or agree with any proposals.

Do these councillors think for one moment that this time, with the harbour, now the parking, and there are many other issues, people will allow this to go on much longer? I am sure that if it were possible there would be a vote of no confidence, and a way of changing meetings.

I don’t care if a councillor is a Conservative, Labour, Liberal, from the purple people eaters, or the flat earth society. Great Yarmouth is not a party battlefield, this is not Parliament.

Please, once and for all discuss your decisions with residents or those people affected by those decisions. Perhaps the leader of the council might hold that Gorleston Pier and parking meeting very soon. I believe all questions to be asked should be sent to the arbitrator, Anne Edwards, editor of the Mercury, as many people could ask the same question. The arbitrator will call on the person chosen to ask that question so the meeting doesn’t descend into a free for all. Run on similar lines to Question Time.

Don’t forget, May and election time is not too far away.

DAVID BROWN

Yallop Avenue

Gorleston

Church is not being utilised

I VISITED All Saints’ Church Belton on Saturday, September 10 for its open day and thought it a very informative and friendly event.

It is a beautiful church but it is such a great shame that it is not utilised for its designated purpose on a regular basis (I do not count the term-time activities there for church youth groups). Talking to fellow villagers at the open day it is quite obvious that there are a number of currently disaffected older parishioners who would welcome the reinstatement of a traditional form of worship at the church. I know, of course, that services are held on a weekly basis at Moorlands School but these are of a modern nature and do not satisfy the needs of all residents who wish to be able to worship in their preferred manner.

I would hope that some compromise can be found to allow both types of worship in our village rather than shuffling off the traditionalists to Burgh Castle (lovely and welcoming though that church community is). It seems an ideal opportunity now, with a newly-installed Rector, for this change to be considered seriously by the PCC and be rid of the unbending attitude that appears to have prevailed. For example, could there not be traditional and modern services held on alternate Sundays? Why not take a leaf out of St Andrew’s Church in Gorleston’s book?

I am told they cater separately for both types of worshippers and have resultant healthy congregations for each. I believe that Belton could emulate this situation given publicity and time.

I note that part of the reason that the church is not used currently is due to the lack of heating. However, there should be no reason why, at the very least, services could not be held during the spring/summer. If it’s a bit cold then why not do as our ancestors did and wear a coat!

Name and address supplied

Dismay at funds cut for garden

MYSELF and a regular group of volunteers have been working on the Great Yarmouth Library garden under the guidance of an experienced and qualified master gardener.

The area has been transformed into a pleasant garden that can be enjoyed by the whole community. Imagine our dismay when we learned that our funding is to be withdrawn next month.

During the holidays a number of school children have attended and learned the benefits of organic gardening and been able to take home some of the produce. We have had a lot of comments from residents about how pleasant the garden now is to sit and read or have a lunch time snack.

Our volunteers all agree that the garden has a relaxing effect on themselves and visitors and the companionship when working together is very therapeutic. We are sure that without some funding to cover the general expenses and the salary of an, at least part time, professional supervisor to coordinate and organise our efforts the garden will return to the depressing rubbish dump it once was.

BARBARA BROWN

Royal Naval Hospital

Great Yarmouth

Truck event too special to stop

I AM writing to you in response to the letter in the Mercury dated September 9 entitiled Magical Day With Truckers. I am a parent of one of the children that was in the convoy.

My son Ryan has ADHD and autisim plus he has the mental age of a four-year-old even though he has just turned nine.

The day my son went on the convoy was the most magical day of his life. He had the most wonderful time in the truck he was in and the driver and his wife were wonderful. They took such good care of my son and made sure he had his medication at the right times.

These drivers get nothing but pleasure doing this convoy. They pay for everything not only did they pay all fuel used but they also paid for everything the children had while in their care at Pleasurewood Hills. The smiles on these childrens faces was wonderful to see and even at Pleasurewood Hills these children just kept smiling.

I went into Pleasurewood Hills just in case my son wanted me but he was fine and had the most wonderful time. After returning to Norwich after the convoy the children were given goody bags and it was packed with stuff for the kids.

My son was proud to be selected to go on the convoy he had wanted to go for some years but I had waited till he was old enough to go. To find out that this year is possibly the last one was devasting and my little boy is upset to know that he might not be able to go again.

We spoke to a lot of the drivers that day and they were all very upset at the thought that they wont be doing this again for these kids and as for the police I spoke to some of them and they were the same.

One officer even said he would give up his free time to do it. The people trying to stop this should come and see the pleasure and the smiles on these kids faces – it is enough to bring tears to your eyes. I cried seeing the smile on my son’s face. This event is too special and too needed for it to stop.

KELLY STEPHENS

via email

Fabulous night of fundraising

AT a concert performed in aid of the re-thatching of the barn room roof in Hemsby, the St Mary’s Singers sang to a packed church with everyone enjoying a fabulous night of song, which included songs from Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Eva Cassidy, Josh Groban, Les Miserables, Fleetwood Mac, Sister Act and many more.

The audience were most appreciative and some lovely compliments were paid to the singers after the concert.

Father Adrian Ling introduced the singers and Donna Markwell the creator and leader of the group introduced each set of songs throughout the evening.

Following a standing ovation Donna was presented with a bouquet of flowers from members of the group, thanking her for all her hard work in forming the St Mary’s Singers and coaching them over the last five years.

This was the first concert in Hemsby by the singers and hopefully it won’t be the last. A total of �1,000 was raised on the night, a big thank you to all who supported the concert in anyway.

P SUTTON

Hemsby

A little higher on the shelf please

FIRSTLY I would like to thank the Mercury and for the many people who have spoken and supported my views, concerning the JLS condoms.

However I would like to respond to the letters from last week, and that I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Bullen in the fact that this is not really front page news. Also that I had spoken to the staff in the shop and contacted their customer service department with unsatisfactory responses.

The other letter stating “12-year-old should be aware”. Yes they should but my point (which was not probably highlighted enough) was that younger children such as five-year-olds can reach this product, as it is placed on a low level four shelves up from the floor, and with colourful JLS boys on the front making it attractive to grab, does this mean it is Ok for five year olds to know what to do with condoms and have sex?

Finally the charity is a fantastic cause and should continue but a little more higher on the shelf please.

Mrs S Crow

Gorleston

Residents must be considered

LAST week’s Great Yarmouth Mercury, page 7, Fears of a Blast Risk! On reading it, there must be many residents in Gorleston and parts of Great Yarmouth’s Barrack Estate etc, now very worried because of lack of general knowledge into the storage of Ammonia Nitrate (AN).

As we all know Bunn’s have successfully stored Ammonia Nitrate 34.4pc for many years. I will say, if Ammonia Nitrate has to be stored in a town or built up area, then where Bunns have it stored now is the best of three evils.

First Bunn’s stored AN at their farm behind the JPH Hospital. They had to move it from there as AN is not just an explosive, in certain circumstances it gives off toxic fumes. As it would have been very difficult to evacuate the JPH if fumes approached, it was decided to move the Ammonia Nitrate.

Bunns moved the AN. to their Bunns Lane Wharf near Haven Bridge, one could say storing it in the middle of town was an equally bad move. Then town planners (1st East) had plans to build town houses on the quay from Haven Bridge to Richards Dry dock, so they had to move again to where they are now, the old Birds Eye Cold Store.

But when they moved, our council was at the same time pushing on with the Outer Harbour, even publishing a brochure of sailing times of the three times a day, seven days a week passenger ferry. We have already seen that the AN had to be moved because moving large amounts of people was difficult.

Most of us have been on channel ferries, and 1,000 people on board is not unusual. Now we know Superfast ferries pulled out of becoming “preferred ferry partner” as in their email they stated “too many conditions in place”. Was one of the conditions the existing Ammonia Nitrate store?

Bunns is there and they do have an excellent safety record but we must reflect on the facts of past tragedies, between 2001 and 2009 in the Western World there have been eight major disasters, with Ammonia Nitrate with much loss of life. So it’s not just a case of saying we have had no accidents, should it be there anyway?

As for yet another Ammonia Nitrate store, will this stop any further development south of the Pleasure Beach, or any development on Gorleston West Bank at the proposed Hall’s site. It has been suggested that the existing businesses on the peninsular have the ability to safeguard their own staff, but even that would be a major job, as all the ships moored at Wimpey’s or East Quay would have toxic fumes sucked into their air conditioning.

It’s the residents, the holiday residents, and the workers that must be considered before giving a licence to store 5,000 tons of Ammonia Nitrate that should be in an area well away from any town or village. But will they be considered?

JOHN COOPER

Burnt Lane

Gorleston

More information was available

JOHN Martin’s letter (Great Yarmouth Mercury September 2) “How informed were Members” deserves a reply.

The borough council was consulted by Norfolk County Council on a planning application for a waste incinerator at Saddlebow, Kings Lynn. Information was provided to me by letter, which provided a link to the county council’s planning application website which contained full details of the proposal.

Cabinet was provided with extracts from the supporting material which accompanied the application that I felt would be sufficient to enable members to make a valid and informed response. Cabinet was being asked to take a view on the principle (not the detail) of the proposal. In my view the wider issues of traffic, local pollution etc were (and are) essentially a matter for Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and the county council to consider and resolve.

If members had required further information it would have been available (and I believe still is) on the county council website, or it could have been requested either before or at the borough council’s cabinet meeting. Members decided to support the proposal and offered no objections to the scheme – these views have now been conveyed to Norfolk County Council.

PETER WARNER

Head of Planning and Business Services

Great Yarmouth Borough Council

How do you sleep at night?

TO the lowlife scumbag that stole my daughter’s handbag in St Georges Park on Sunday afternoon. I would like to ask how do you sleep at night?

My daughter works damn hard for her money, no doubt you do not.

Shame on you, not only is she devastated but you have stolen a weeks wages plus her passport and bank cards. You should be proud, what a result!

I assume the money will be spent on drugs or drink, well I hope its worth it because you are the lowest of the low and remember what goes around comes around and you deserve all you get.

If you are in anyway half decent you could at least return her personal belongings to your nearest police station, but I won’t hold my breath.

Mrs KYM ROBSON

Caister

Queues must have been huge

MY friend Cecilia Ebbage’s letter in the Mercury dated September 9 brings back a memory of my earliest days in Great Yarmouth in 1944.

As I was responsible for engaging girls for work in the new Erie Resistor factory I was extremely popular with the Labour Exchange who had vacancies for the first time in years for local girls many of whom had been sent away on munitions (to their mothers’ fury). The manageress the late Miss Waddinton told me the dole queues were so long that having received money from the bank they had no time to check and bag it up but handed each applicant his money in loose change as fast as they could. The queues must have been waiting in their hundreds and been extremely impatient.

Miss R L FARMER

Marine Parade, Gorleston

More damage on the Acle Straight

Firstly, many people have seen the cracks in the road surface of the Acle Straight. Will the council fill these cracks up with liquid tar before the winter does more damage? I doubt it will happen.

Secondly, those against moving the dykes say it will disturb the wildlife. How come the wildlife isn’t disturbed when contractors or farmers clean out the dykes every so often.

The dykes from Acle to Acle Bridge were moved about 10 years ago to make a footpath for the safety of the public. No-one complained then.

A W Burgess

Old Road, Acle

Turn to page 12 for more letters