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Your views on housing scheme, a pub reopening and owners nine years at football club

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Readers cast major doubts on a huge West Norfolk housing scheme in this week’s Lynn News letters…What’s so good about ill-conceived West Winch homes scheme?It would be really useful if West Norfolk Council and Norfolk County Council could explain precisely what the advantages of the ill-conceived West Winch housing scheme are.Surely it can’t be just earning brownie points from the loony left government for meeting their ridiculous house building targets.They, particularly Cllr Moriarty and Cllr Day, are issuing platitudes and vague promises of economic and transport benefits. Make no mistake, if you are already a West Norfolk resident, when this development, together with all the others in the area are completed, you will be marooned.The so-called relief road will be anything but. An overpriced, over-budget white elephant which will contribute greatly to noise and air pollution. Supposedly to relieve the congestion through West Winch. Big deal! I had the misfortune to travel from Lynn to Stevenage this week and I spent the next three hours (usually two), wondering how good it was going to be in the future.Answer – purgatory.Lynn is served by a single-track railway line, so most people will drive because they will need to work in Cambridge. The A10 south of Setchey is all single carriageway. Then you come across a massive housing development at Downham, but I suppose our councillors see a different picture from their cosy space in cloud cuckoo land and think that all the new population will be staying at home.Then after working your way past numerous other schemes at Ely and all the way into Cambridge you see what a nightmare it will be.Councillors are sitting pretty after voting themselves a healthy pay rise and then stealthily sidestepped local elections by agreeing to unitary councils which will take ages of negotiations.At least they will stay on the gravy train for years. That might be the benefit they are crowing about. Or perhaps they believe the clap trap coming out of the Westminster Palace of Nonsense.North Runcton residentName and address suppliedExactly how will housing scheme benefit me and others? While I’m sure there will be great glee in West Norfolk Council as the prospect of another 1,100 lots of extra council tax land in their coffers I can’t for the life of me see how these new houses at West Winch will benefit West Norfolk as a whole.The member for planning Cllr Jim Moriarty trumpeted it as a great day for West Norfolk as this controversial planning permission will “unlock our growth plans” and “help secure the future prosperity of our borough”.I’m sure glittering rhetoric of this calibre looks good in the press release, but I’d be eternally grateful to hear from Cllr Moriarty precisely how this monster development will positively impact and benefit me or any of us.Securing our prosperity is a pretty soaring claim and while I hesitate to question the veracity of his words, I’d really like the details spelled out to me for the avoidance of doubt. Perhaps Cllr Jim Moriarty might put pen to paper and take us through the highlights of his plan to lead us into this new era of burgeoning prosperity. Steve MackinderDenver

The Lattice House pub in Lynn

Will Lattice House venture give councillors food (and beer) for thought?It was good to read about a wonderful renaissance of cultural Norfolk in Lynn News of May 23.A historic pub now has new owners with go ahead plans twinned with preservation. The Lattice House will have a blend of bar and grill which should be a recipe for success and many people will be rooting for it. I have used it in the past yet the pub’s potential was never fully realised, but judging by statements uttered by the new management this will change, and I envisage a profit making business, augmented by an interior with character.The proposed conference centre would prove a useful venue for nearby West Norfolk Council members to hold seminars etc with catering provided.The experiences would remind them that the saving of this pub called the Lattice House is better than handing it over to Lattice Flats. It would enlighten them on site that quintessential inns are a landmark feature of towns like King’s Lynn.Call it food and beer for thought in future planning permission for these places of refreshment, a sobering thought in the debating chamber, but sensible drinking when they go for a pint after meetings. Lattice go for it! David FlemingDownhamWe were all denied right to vote this timeLib Dem councillor Rob Colwell (May 23) insists Reform will ‘cut back our rights’. Would that be different from the ones we are already denied as shown by the last General Election results?On a vote of 14.3%, Reform secured five MP’s whilst Lib Dems on only 12.2% had 72 seats.As for the ‘right’ to vote for Reform, that was denied at May’s elections for everyone in Norfolk and Suffolk by the LibLabCon Party.Could the reason for that be, the Uni-Party was running scared of a huge Reform vote?Mrs JH O’WareMethwold

King’s Lynn Town’s chairman Stephen Cleeve.

Looking back at nine years at King’s Lynn FC with Mr CleeveThe Stephen Cleeve nine-year reign at King’s Lynn Town FC is over.Looking back at his time with the club, it has many highs – firstly getting into the National League.One of the best things is the drainage system which seems good now, the away toilets and food hub and the scoreboard – we won’t talk about that!You can’t argue with that great day at Doncaster and the victory at Port Vale in Covid times, with the goal by Sonny Carey, and then, of course, Walsall, Stevenage at The Walks plus Portsmouth.Then you come to the league. Warrington – what a victory and of course, Michael Gash’s late goal.The managers, Ian Culverhouse and Tommy Widdrington, were real football men.Then there is the not so good bit. Supporters being told someone new was coming in week after week. If something was going to happen just bring them as with Ian and Tommy.The people who left or were asked to leave – you cannot run a club like Lynn with a revolving door system, you need stability.Looking forward, from all accounts, the new manager James Rowe looks as though he has got all the boxes ticked for the job. I hope we, as supporters, will have a chance to meet him soon. We never met Adam Lakeland as a group – a very genuine man in my view.For the next year a lot of work has to be done behind the scenes to get the club back as a community club. I wish it all the success but it’s not going to be easy.Looking through the history books, I think I’m right in saying Kevin Boon tried to sign James Rowe from Histon for quite a bit of money in about 2003/4.David WrightEast WinchPicture of the Week

Regular contributor Julie Smart, of Grimston, sent us this picture and says: “I found a great spotted woodpecker nest in the woods a few days ago. I could hear the babies in there. When I went back a few days later this adorable little baby was peeping out the hole.”

John Elson’s weekly cartoon

John Elson’s Friday cartoon



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