On this week in 1990 and 2000: Brownies enjoy holiday camp and costs in Tony Martin investigation reach £400K

In our regular On This Week feature, we look back at what was making the headlines in 2000…On this week: April 15 – 21, 2000Operational costs involved in the Tony Martin murder investigation have run into more than £400,000. And by far the greatest proportion of those costs have been run up by the round-the-clock protection and surveillance needed for Bleak House, Mr Martin’s home. Detective Chief Inspector Martin Wright said that the protection was necessary because, for perhaps the first time in English legal history, the entire crime scene was preserved as an exhibit for use as evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service. In the seven months since the shooting the cost of securing the scene has amounted to £185,536, the actual inquiry involving up to 32 officers of all ranks cost £82,000 and the remainder of the £414,000 bill for the Tony Martin case has been racked up by a variety of things such as the cost of forensic examinations.

The next phase of a £500,000 facelift of the accident and emergency department at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital is due to start this week. The plans involve improving security for patients and staff, investing in new equipment and increasing clinical areas to improve efficiency. The next phase would involve the creation of a five-bed resuscitation area to replace the three small rooms currently used for this purpose.Terrington St Clement Primary and Downham Clackclose Primary are to receive £85,000 to build additional classroom space in order to ensure they meet the Government’s pledge of 30 or less pupils per class. And in a separate move, Gaywood’s Alderman Jackson special school will have new toilet facilities and lifting equipment after the Government also announced a total of £8.8 million for Norfolk for upgrades, repairs and improvements.Approval has been given for plans to convert Hunstanton’s run-down Garden House Hotel into 20 residential flats. Giving permission for the scheme, West Norfolk Council’s planning committee had heard that Wisbech-based Norfolk Property Investment had plans to invest £1 million in restoring the five-storey building and work would be completed by next summer. It is expected the luxury apartments will be sold at around £100,000 each. Westminster heard how strongly West Norfolk feels about its post offices with the delivery of 6,665 names in a Lynn News petition. North West Norfolk MP George Turner and Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers were presented with the petition by deputy editor Andrew Malkin. The petition was prompted by claims that Government proposals to pay pensions or benefits directly into bank accounts could lead to dozens of post offices closing in West Norfolk. In London, however, both Dr Turner and Mr Byers, said people would still be able to receive their benefits and pensions in cash at post offices.Lynn firm Sanford UK has been named as education exporter of the year at the Education Resource Awards 2000. The awards recognise the excellence of British-based companies. Mr Will Hinks, director of sales and marketing for education and export, said: “For our customers it is reassurance of Sanford’s high standing as a supplier of writing instruments and art materials for schools across Europe.” Two years of fundraising by Heacham Women’s Institute ended with the formal presentation of a seat to the village to mark the millennium. Made from recycled materials, the seat is on Lodge Road, adjacent to Jennings Close, and near bus stops. The presentation was made by the WI president, Mrs Ann Guilbert, who welcomed guests including a representative from Eastern Counties Buses, and she hoped that a bus shelter could be built on the site.Pro-life campaigners from West Norfolk travelled to London to lobby against euthanasia. Members of the Downham branch of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, met with South West Norfolk MP Gillian Shephard at the House of Commons to discuss their worries about proposed legislation that would enable doctors to withdraw feeding from terminally ill patients in order to speed death.A flighty film star and an aviation innovator drew crowds to the Collectors’ World Museum in Downham. Nearly 300 visitors were able to see the autogyro, Little Nellie, featured in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and also the engine which powered the first Concorde through the sound barrier. Museum owner Eric St John Foti arranged the special viewing to mark the millennium and invited Little Nellie’s designer, Wing Commander Ken Wallis to unveil the Concorde memento.