‘Ludicrous’: Frustrations mount as ferry remains shut four months on

Frustrations continue to mount over the closure of the West Lynn ferry – which has now been out of action for nearly four months.However, West Norfolk Council has said it is now attempting to clear the “last fundamental hurdle” before it reopens.The service was closed to passengers in mid-January for safety reasons after contractors undertaking routine maintenance work on one of the landings discovered a “significant structural issue”.

Cllr Alex Kemp, who represents West Lynn on the borough council, says she has been “banging on the door” for weeks in a bid to see progress made.“The ferry isn’t a toy on the river, it’s King’s Lynn’s ship of state,” she said.“This is a wake-up call. Even temporary suspension of such a key public service in an area of need should never have happened.

“It’s put cars back on the road and increased congestion. “West Lynn – and Clenchwarton – are cut off and isolated without the ferry. They keep asking when it will be back.”Longer-term solutions are being explored to protect against future ferry failures. It represents an important link for people living in West Lynn and has been running for 800 years.A borough council spokesperson said: “The rennie jetty continues to be the last fundamental hurdle to us moving forward at pace with the rectification works that will allow the ferry to re-open.“We have in the last week had positive discussions with our specialist contractors and in house teams regarding short term mitigation measures which could allow us to move this forward. “We are currently evaluating proposals for suggestions in the hope that they will mitigate some of the risks in the short term allowing more fundamental works to move forward.”Karen Champion, press officer for the West Lynn Action Group, also remains frustrated at the prolonged closure – and said residents are “furious”.“There has been no replacement service, whereas if the train service is cancelled there is a bus replacement,” she added.“People are being trained not to use the ferry, so they are damaging a business just by it being closed.“It is absolutely ludicrous.”