WHAT is the opinion of the police about the Big Tory Norfolk Black-Out? Why have they kept so quiet? Norfolk County Council is proposing to switch off more than half the street lights in Norwich, and all over Norfolk between midnight and 5am.
WHAT is the opinion of the police about the Big Tory Norfolk Black-Out? Why have they kept so quiet? Norfolk County Council is proposing to switch off more than half the street lights in Norwich, and all over Norfolk between midnight and 5am. In Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn they are planning to switch off over 60pc of the lights. There are whole streets and whole areas to be plunged into darkness.
I e-mailed all the Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Norwich for their opinions but they could not tell me. It seems they have been told by Police HQ to keep silent. As a county councillor I was at a meeting where we should have had a report from the police, but there was none. We were told it would be going to cabinet January 25, so that 10 senior Tories will decide for the whole of Norfolk. I and my Labour colleagues have been having a quiet word with Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Norwich, and officers on the ground and among the people, who are doing a brilliant job, bringing down crime, reassuring residents, being a complete, wonderful part of the community, have very real worries and fears about the Big Tory Norfolk Black-Out for their areas. The silence of Norfolk Constabulary is unacceptable. We as councillors, as residents want to know what Norfolk Police as a whole think, but we also want to know what our local police, the ones we meet on the street, think. They know the areas and can see the consequences, which may be different from someone behind a desk at HQ or county hall. So let us have the Police HQ opinion now, and also the opinion of each Safer Neighbourhood Team based on its experience of its own area.
Cllr BERT BREMNER
Norfolk County Council
WHAT an astonishing statement from Gorleston ward councillor Bert Collins about the state of the shelter along the Lower parade in Gorleston, the one he is so keen on seeing developed into another food and drink outlet. We already have enough of them, five in the vicinity. If he is so appalled at the state of the shelter why has he not pressed for the powers that be at Churchill Road to make sure the shelter is hosed out on a regular basis. Personally I have never seen it in a “putrid” condition and I regularly frequent the area. His statement on this issue is a vote loser.
KATHLEEN FARMAN,
El Alamein Way,
Bradwell
IT did not take long for Mr Formosa to resubmit the application to use the former first aid hut for sale of hot and cold food and drinks. The application seeks permission to open from 9am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 9am through to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. One cannot blame an entrepreneur for seeing a business opportunity and pursuing it. Good luck to him.
But does the area need any more commercial outlets at the expense of the promenade and sheltered seating overlooking the beach? I think it is reasonable for the Gorleston-on-Sea community to ask our elected councillors, Bertie Collins and John Burroughs, to consider the wishes of their constituents, most of whom seem to be opposed to adding to the catering provision already available, and ensuring that this exceptional piece of traditional seaside is preserved. Anyone who wishes to voice their concern about this application should make it to Elaine Helsdon at elh@great-yarmouth.gov.uk
PHILIP GUNN
Gorleston-on-Sea
AS a regular walker on Gorleston seafront I read with interest Bert Collins' comments on the shelter near the old lifeguard hut. I can't help thinking he has shot himself in the foot by saying that the shelter is awful and dirty. Surely it is down to the council to keep it maintained and clean especially as it is used for 365 days of the year by people who perhaps cannot walk very far but like to enjoy the view and the fresh air. So come on Mr Collins, stop trying to pull things down and promoting further unnecessary commercial business and channel your energies in to maintaining the existing structures. Incidentally congratulations must go to those who keep the beach and promenade area clean. They do a splendid job especially on weekends when there can be a huge amount of food and drinks rubbish left overnight.
BRENDA FULLER
I HAVE been both disappointed and ashamed at the borough council's proposal to demolish the Jetty. It seems to be vandalism on an epic scale. For over a decade now, Great Yarmouth has invested in its heritage. We have seen the South Quay restored to its former glory. Nelson's Pillar has been renovated. The wonderful Time and Tide Museum has been created and the Nelson Museum Trust chose Great Yarmouth as their base.
In order to maintain and increase the momentum of new tourism into our town, we should repair and publicise the historical sites within it. To do so makes long term financial sense. To destroy historical artefacts, not only diminishes us as a community, it is also counterproductive to our tourist trade.
I hope the council will reconsider it's proposal. Even if it is not possible in the present financial climate to restore the Jetty immediately, it should be a priority to conserve the structure until funds can found to make permanent reparations.
DEREK LEAK
ONCE again the people of the town have to call on their own expertise to make a positive contribution to protect a piece of town history which has stood since 1560, and who is to gainsay that no part of the structure from the past remains below the sea as a piece of town history and has not been destroyed for ever. Photographic and my initial research seem to indicate the possibility of parts of earlier structures remaining below the sand and sea. I have already spent many midnight hours on this with the aid of what minutes have been able to access. Negative council officers and uninformed councillors seem to have a death wish as far as the jetty is concerned. We, the townspeople, have formed a group to rebuild the jetty in its former glory as an historic feature and leave behind another part of Yarmouth's heritage - which the councillors seem not to care about. Then stand aside councillors, give us access to the Planning and Conservation Officers and let we townspeople who care save the jetty.
MICHAEL BOON
Local Historian
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