On this week in 1994 and 2001: Playgroup marks 30 years and security reviewed after man got in council building after hours

In our weekly On This Week feature, we look back through the pages of old editions of the Lynn News dating back to 1994 and 2001…On this week: November 22-28, 2001League tables for about 4,500 schools in England published this week had mixed results for the 13 schools in West Norfolk. Swaffham’s Hamond’s High School was singled out for praise for sustained improvement over the last four years, but Gaywood’s Park High School was still in the bottom 200 for truancy despite a minor improvement in its figures. Independent school, Swaffham’s Sacred Heart Convent, again excelled itself with a GCSE 100% pass rate and was ranked as the second-best school in the county for GCSE results. At county level it was revealed that Norfolk’s ranking for GCSE results has increased from 64th to 61st out of the 150 local education authorities – and none of the 63 schools in Norfolk featured in the bottom 200 for GCSE results.

Holme Parish Council is urging villagers to “turn out and make your voices heard” when a final public meeting is held to decide the future of the Seahenge timber circle. Archaeologists from English Heritage will be visiting the village to explain why the organisation doesn’t want the circle reburied under the beach at Holme, as is the wish of local people, and instead has recommended that the timbers – dug up two years ago – are conserved and put on display.Security is being reviewed at West Norfolk Council’s flagship building, Juniper House in Lynn, after a Terrington St Clement man got in after hours through an unlocked door. He was able to wander around three floors of the state-of-the-art building and even walked into the records department, where supposedly classified documents and information is kept. Juniper House is on the corner of Austin Street and Chapel Street, just a few yards from the council’s older offices at King’s Court. The man tried to phone the police, but found all phones were directed to the switchboard, and so he attracted the attention of a passer-by to borrow a mobile phone to call the police. Admitting the breach of security, the council said the man got in through a back staff door that was not closed properly.Car crime is the major problem facing Downham Police, Insp Nick Dean of the Norfolk Constabulary, told members of the town council, adding that it was in fact a county-wide issue. Car crime includes thefts from vehicles as well as the theft of vehicles, with too many drivers continuing to leave valuables on view and thus attracting thieves. Downham Railway Station car park is one area where a special watch is being kept, he said, especially because of poor quality lighting and long-term vehicle parking. South Lynn’s All Saints’ Church has become so dilapidated it now needs in excess of £250,000 of work to rebuild and renovate it. Around £60,000 of it is considered to be emergency work. The mediaeval Hillington Square church is the oldest Christian site in Lynn and is the only church which serves the parish of South Lynn. Without the work being carried out there would be no place for essential services such as baptisms, weddings or funerals in the parish. As well as all the necessary building works that are needed, the church’s wiring has been condemned and services are held with emergency lighting.A bid will be made this week to block the massive increases in all-day parking charges in Lynn town centre that West Norfolk Council is proposing. If the proposed increases go ahead, all-day parking will jump 54 per cent from £1.30 to £2, and season ticket holders with a 12-month permit will see a rise from £180 to £250. Liberal Democrats councillors are leading the fight against the increases, which were put forward by the council’s cabinet which claimed the new fees were necessary towards meeting the expected £1.3 million budget shortfall the borough council faces in 2002-2003.Rural businesses in West Norfolk have been facing “crippling losses” because of the Government’s handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis, North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham has told the House of Commons. He was speaking during parliamentary questions to Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Pointing out there was huge anger in the countryside, he called for a full and comprehensive public inquiry, adding that while Norfolk hadn’t had one occurrence of the disease the regulations and restrictions were just as virulent as anywhere else in the country.