Today sees the launch of Explore-a-book, a brand-new book bench trail, in West Norfolk.
The book bench trail has been funded by the Norfolk Strategic Fund, specifically to encourage people back into town centre areas and to help support those businesses adversely affected by the impact of Covid-19.
The trail has been organised by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk in partnership with Stories of Lynn and Kick the Dust.
Duncan Hall, Assistant Director, said: "We are working hard to encourage people back into town once it is safe to do so. This trail has been launched to coincide with the first lifting of restrictions, encouraging people to come out, and walk around King's Lynn, Downham and Hunstanton, to discover the benches and to learn a bit more about each area. Then as we move towards the next trigger for lifting restrictions we hope more people will come to see the benches and visit shops and other businesses while they do."
The trail consists of seven benches, supplied by Wild in Art, who have produced trails in this country and abroad. Six of these decorated benches have been temporarily placed in landmark locations around King’s Lynn and one in Hunstanton. A further three benches have been decorated by local artists with designs submitted by local young people and these will remain as permanent features in King’s Lynn, Hunstanton and Downham Market.
A trail leaflet, available online, has been developed by the Kick the Dust group. They have contributed their ideas to how the trail will work, have chosen and researched the potential locations, and written the content, the aim is to get the maximum number of people engaged in the project.
Rachael Williams, Learning and Engagement Officer, said: "It has been a pleasure working with local artists and the Kick the Dust Group to get this project up and running and we are very pleased with the entries we received from the local community suggesting thoughts, ideas and designs for the benches. We hope people like them as much as we do and we look forward to seeing photos with the benches on social media, tag us with #ExploreABookWN."
Designs and ideas were submitted by Betty Hill, Ciara McNulty, Chloe Drew, Casper Robinson, Daisy Holland, Jonathan Pick, Jason Holland, Calleigh Welham-Smith, Ivy Whitmore and Astrid Radanke. These have all been incorporated into the finished designs by local artists. Madeleine Eggleston from Downham Market, who is a volunteer at Stories of Lynn and supports the Kick the Dust project, has produced the designs for the Downham Market and Hunstanton Benches and Savannah Andrews who is a member of Kick the Dust, has worked with Nicola Murray Woods to complete the King's Lynn bench.
The trail leaflet is available at https://www.storiesoflynn.
The Government asked all local authorities to find suitable accommodation for homeless people in shelters and hostels to enable them to self isolate properly. All those identified have now been relocated to alternative accommodation where they have their own room and are able to follow social distancing guidance. They are also being provided with welfare support, 3 meals a day, toiletries and will soon be provided with clothing bundles.
This was no mean feat and would not have been achieved without the support of partners in west Norfolk providing assistance.
Cllr Adrian Lawrence, Cabinet Member for Housing said: “I would like to thank all of those involved for their efforts in ensuring the safety and protection of the homeless in our area. While we know this is a time of concern for many, our top priority needs to be the most vulnerable in our community. This has been a mammoth task in such a short timeframe and I’m pleased to see that yet again the council has pulled together with community partners including the Purfleet Trust Day Centre, the Winter Night Shelter and Alive West Norfolk to ensure some of our most vulnerable members of the community are protected. Broadland Housing Association also stepped forward with providing accommodation. We wouldn't have achieved this without their support" .
This February, the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk will once again be celebrating all its apprentices, during National Apprenticeship week, 3-9 February 2020.
The council has run a successful apprenticeship scheme for 8 years, supporting employees by offering a broad spectrum of apprenticeships across a variety of fields. At the moment, there are 30 apprentices working towards qualifications.
As part of the week-long celebration, a fresh campaign will be launched highlighting the apprentices, their successes and experiences while earning and learning at the council.
All apprentices are being asked to take part in the campaign. In addition, Stephanie Glasser (Accountancy) and Holly Attlesey (Waste & Recycling) have participated in the East of England Apprentice Challenge, competing to be the Local Government Apprentice of Year.
A much-loved and historic venue in King’s Lynn will give people an extra reason to visit when major refurbishment and renovation work is completed. Live shows return to the Alive Corn Exchange in March and, in the summer, a new two screen cinema will open at the site in the Tuesday Market Place.
As well as hosting regular live theatre, comedy and music in the main auditorium, visitors will be able to enjoy big screen releases in the upstairs cinema. There will be special screenings for parent and babies, parent and toddlers, Silver Screenings (for over 60 year olds) and family screenings at the weekend.
Comprehensive work is already taking place inside and outside the building. The glazed roof is being replaced with acoustically sealed zinc panels. Repairs are being made to the Grade II listed stonework façade, gutters and flashings.
A new floor will be put in the main foyer, with cladding of the box office and bar counters. The ground floor toilets will be refurbished, with additional female toilets.
Mods and Rockers Classic Scooter and Motorbike Meet returned to King’s Lynn for the fifth time on Sunday 11 August.
A full day of entertainment was presented by the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk in the Tuesday Market Place.
The event has become popular with scooter and bike enthusiasts, along with fans of the clothes and music of the era. More bikers turned up this year, the first 100 receiving a unique patch.
Event manager, Abbie Panks, said: "We extended the size of the bike area for this year and that was also filled so we saw an increase on last year's numbers which is very positive. We also had bikers travelling to King's Lynn for the event from Leicestershire, Nottingham and Essex."
Councillors and the street scenes teams from the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk have been taking the Anglia in Bloom judges on a tour of West Norfolk.
King’s Lynn was the first to be seen on Thursday 18 July. Borough councillor Elizabeth Nockolds took the judges on a tour of the town.
In Tower Gardens Julie Williams and Jo Reynolds from Soroptimist’s King’s Lynn explained the planting they had done in the gardens, alongside Rachel Williams and David Taylor who worked with local school children on projects in the Tommy Garden, including creating the little Tommy soldiers. President of the Rotary Club of King’s Lynn, Steve Roberts, pointed out their work. John Hayes from the Gaywood Valley Conservation Group and Phillip Pole also discussed the work they have done in the borough.