Occasional Newsletter Number 6, June 2009

Friars street pavement

Norfolk County Council recently announced plans to renew the tarmac surface of Friars St to the pavement along the school side from the corner of Gladstone Rd to halfway along the playground side. The planned surface was "Golden Gravel" a sort of yellow colour similar to peanut. The Friars' Community Group met with Norfolk County Council and they agreed it wasn't appropriate for a conservation area and said they were open to persuasion. Following a successful campaign by the Friars' Community Group of e-mails and letters, the work being carried out, depending on weather conditions, over a six week window from 20th July, will result in paving slabs being laid. Friars St will not be closed over the whole of this period, but it will be closed while contractors are working there.
Thanks to all who objected.

With gratitude

The Friars' Community Group is indebted to the Norfolk Community Foundation for their grant to enable us to purchase essential equipment and funds to bring you this newsletter. The Norfolk Community Foundation exists to support small community groups with limited resources and identifiable needs providing a service to the society in which they serve. They welcome approaches throughout the year and may be contacted via the Norfolk Community Foundation, St James Mill, Whitefriars, Norwich, NR3 1SH. They are very helpful and are willing to guide groups through the application process in order to make the procedure as easy as possible. Many organisations in King's Lynn have already benefited from their support in addition to the Friars' Community Group, and we would urge groups struggling for funds to seriously consider asking for help.

Traffic congestion and the School

Residents of the Friars will know that twice a day the population of the Friars seems to double with parents delivering or collecting their precious bundles of joy in cars, and as a result, not only is there frustrating and dangerous congestion, but there are weekly "near misse" as children, blind to danger and drivers driving inconsiderately, narrowly avoid becoming injured. The Friars' Community Group have been involved in discussions with the school regarding this and recently set up a site meeting with Norfolk County Council for them to view the problem. There are four initiatives being considered at present as a result of this meeting and it is to be hoped that life around the school will be less hazardous as a result. Meanwhile, anyone able to do so may wish to remind parents that there is a free car park behind the launderette in Valingers Rd, (although the Council refuse to sign-post this as it is meant for residents only), and it is but a safe and short walk to the school gates. The school is aiming to promote a weekly walk to school day, distribute safe walking to school route maps, and NCC hopes to renew the local road markings. The Walking Bus scheme is on ice till more volunteers come forward. Any offers anyone?

Another letter arrives from a Mrs Trellis of North Wales;

"Dear Women's Weekly, Opposite my kitchen window is an alley filled with an old mangle, some black sacks with possibly some body parts, and numerous discarded cans of Special Brew. I've rung up the council to ask them to come and clear it up but after trying this for some months they have yet to arrive. Why is this, and what can I do?
Mrs Trellis North Wales

The Editor replies;

Dear Mrs Trellis;
The answer it seems is that where this rubbish lies as it does in a passage between two properties, it is considered by the authorities private land, and anyone coming along to tidy it up could be accused of theft. (Do I hear something about the lunatics running the asylum? Ah..I see it is the same people who want to replace a nature trail with a housing estate so all is now clear). This is why no one will tidy it up. It would be irresponsible of me to suggest you move it a couple of feet onto public land as that would open you to the charge of fly-tipping yourself, but were the original dumper more considerate and dumped it on public land the authorities would be obliged to don their Marigolds and sally forth.

Does anyone remember?

Hubert James Manning
Chris Manning writes asking whether anyone from the Friars can remember anything about his father who lived in All Saints Street after WW2 until about 1951. He worked at the Bestyett before the war and afterwards for Shell tankers and frequented the Hulk PH. Chris' parents were divorced in 1951 when he was 4, and he does not know what happened to his father after that. Anyone who can help Chris, please contact him by e-mail at chris.manning273@btinternet.com or call him on 01366 324129

Harding's Pits

On Friday 12th June 2009, following a week long opportunity for the public to see how the council plan to reroute the Nar through Harding's Pits to make way for the threatened housing and a marina, a public meeting was held in Whitefriars School. About 160 people crowded into the hall and from the beginning the mood was angry and hostile towards the Council. Despite two weeks notice, the invitation by the Harding's Pits Community Association to the Council to attend and present their case was not accepted. Despite this, several Borough Councillors turned up in their individual capacity, and each not only made it clear that the scheme was not universally popular amidst the council, but the Cabinet style of governance allowed opponents and detractors of the scheme to be ignored. Clearly the present administration have problems with democracy and we should all be alarmed at this.

The meeting concluded with the unanimous intention to press Natural England to oppose the council bid to tear up the 25 year covenant, and to seek every opportunity to protest and seek the support of others in the cause of saving Harding's Pits. A public march was even called for to demonstrate opposition. It is still early days, but should anything be organized that might attract the interest of people of the Friars, South Lynn, Hillington Square, and the wider environs of the town, we will bring it to your attention.

It cannot be stressed enough that those opposing the scheme to divert the Nar in favour of housing and a marina should object in the strongest possible terms to the Outline Planning Permission being sought during August 2009.

The Council intend to occupy the former Card Warehouse shop in town immediately prior to putting in an application for outline planning permission to have an exhibition on their intentions, so those unable to attend the "workshops" might be able to see in more detail the proposals. If the council gives themselves permission for outline planning approval, then the fate of Harding's Pits, (at least for the remainder of the Covenant), lies in the hands of Natural England whose agreement the council need to seek to tear up the covenant. This is why people are urged to write their opposition to the council plans by writing to Natural England, and signing the Downing St Petition.

Contact; http:// petitions.number10.gov.uk/savehardingspits
Shaun Thomas, Eastern Region Director, Natural England, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Rd. Cambridge CB2 8DR, shaun.thomas@natural.england.org.uk
If anyone would like to come forward to help with the campaign to save Harding's Pits, contact Jane or Jeremy Dearling here at the Friars Community Group, (tel 760513, or jeremydearling@googlemail.com) or Roger Turff, (tel 764422), or email roger@smithandturff.demon.co.uk

The Environmental Audit

The Friars' Community Group recently conducted an Environmental Audit of the area and a long list of issues requiring resolution were made as a result. The drains have been covered elsewhere, but the audit was such that it really requires further disclosure;

There were too many points to list here in total, but the general picture it provided is that we are fortunate in the Friars to have such a relatively crime free and blight free life compared to other parts of this Great Metropolis. Nevertheless, there are problems and the ludicrous machinations of bureaucracy when we tried to get things resolved. For example, there are areas of the Friars besmirched with graffiti. O joy O Rapture the council have a much acclaimed Graffiti removal team; "Dear Team, will you remove this graffiti?" "Ho no Sunshine: We can't remove it unless the person whose property it is on asks us to, and if it's commercial property we won't touch it". SO! If you have graffiti on your walls and you want it removed you must ask and they'll do it but the Friars' Community Group can't ask on your behalf, unless you are a business and they wont. Potholes, you might reasonably think, are a Highways problem. Not necessarily; we've raised the question about getting the road surface between Valingers Rd and Providence St dealt with but at present no one knows to whom the road actually belongs. Litter down the Everards is a particular gripe but the council sweeper that trundles around the gutters can't get to the litter in the gutters because of too many cars parked there so the litter remains. Of all the agencies great credit must go to Norfolk County Council; they have proved themselves repeatedly to be keen on transparent dialogue, open cooperation, and compromise wherever possible. Indeed they show up other agencies somewhat in their cooperation. For ages there were two spaces in Bridge St where bollards used to be. Following our complaint within days they were inspected and within weeks they were sorted. The pothole in Friars Walk was repaired almost immediately. Contact has been recently established with Freebridge, who tell us that some work is planned in the Churchyard but has to be delayed till nesting is over.

And so it goes on. Thanks to all who took part in the audit week-end. Nobody said it was an arduous job and many said how they enjoyed looking at the area with fresh eyes. We are still trying to move things along but it is not dissimilar to the efforts of a suppository moving things along in the natural order of things; it's a difficult job, one with stops and starts, an explosion of activity but for ages and ages it's nothing at all. Do we give in? Does a suppository?

NEVER!

Reminder

Readers are reminded that according to the constitution the current holders of the posts of secretary, Vice Chairman, and Treasurer must relinquish their duties and hand on to new post holders at this year's AGM. If the Friars' Community Group is to continue, new post holders need to step up to the mark and make themselves known. Unless these post are filled or a solution be found to the problem this could be the penultimate newsletter.

Is it really "Goodbye"?

The Police are to be congratulated for their efforts to redeploy the Hillington Square Society of Inebriates. These local residents of the town, many of them born and bred here, held court for many happy years in the Greyfriars Gardens Sherry Shelter where they remained out of harms way in a blithe community of their own. With the changes in the Greyfriars Gardens their usual place of refuge from the elements was unavoidably removed, and needing a venue out of the wind and within easy reach of a ready source whereby they could be refuelled without too much effort, they spotted Hillington Square arch and "saw that it was good". Every morning the "Offie" would open at 10 and by half past the usual crew would be under the arch falling into the arms of Bacchus, remaining as upright as the grain would permit till long after the last shadow had disappeared from the Graveyard. Harmless enough they were, but they proved an intimidating sight to many vulnerable people, the elderly and mothers with children in particular, and this community of drunkards gathering uninvited by the majority of Hillington Square residents attracted the attention of the Police, and over a period of months the Police have encouraged them to find somewhere less intrusive to socialise. "No Alcohol" signs have now been erected. The efforts of the Police, and the willing cooperation of the drinkers concerned, are to be thanked.

The way things work.

Fortunately we live in a sophisticated age with a powerful system of democracy where accountable political systems defer to the electorate who put them there. It was not always thus. Consider the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, Florentine civil servant, who wrote in 1513 this insight as to how those in power should conduct themselves.

"it is necessary for a prince, if he wants to maintain his position, to develop the ability to be not good ... experience shows that nowadays those princes who have accomplished great things have had little respect for keeping their word and have known how to confuse mens minds with cunning. In the end they have overcome those who have preferred honesty. ... there are two ways of fighting: the first using laws, the second force ... since the first is often not enough, one must have recourse to the second. A prudent ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when keeping it is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that made him promise no longer exist.. through the untrustworthiness of princes ... Some princes, in order to hold onto their states securely, have disarmed their subjects, some have kept their subject towns divided, and some have fostered animosity ... the prince who fears the people more than outsiders should build fortresses, but the prince who fears outsiders more than the people should ignore them ... Nothing makes a prince more highly esteemed than the assumption of great undertakings and striking examples of his own ability ... No state should ever think it can always make secure decisions. On the contrary, it should consider all decisions it takes as risks, because it is in the nature of things that in seeking to avoid one difficulty you run into another".

Plus ca change?

Consultations with the Police

The Friars' Community Group hold monthly meetings with the Police alongside other agencies, and persist in banging the drum about how we should not be ignored despite living in a relatively crime free area. This is one of the reasons why there has been a continuing police presence in the area. The promised street briefings have yet to materialise though, however the promise is always there. In their absence we sought a special ad hoc meeting and Sgt Trevor Smith and Mandy Allen, who works for Safer Neighbourhoods, met with us and we walked round areas of the Friars. Residents near the playground will know how, despite the letter on the notice board from the Council and others setting out rules, ("play nicely" is all it amounts to; a bit pointless as it means absolutely nothing), drinkers and revelers continue to make merry havoc in the early hours. Following representation from the Friars' Community Group the police have agreed that the CCTV will monitor the playground and surrounding areas within sight of the camera, continually.

This is a significant result for the Friars and has had almost immediate benefits; the most recent incidence of vandalism to the playground resulted in prompt police attendance and as a result a number of people have been interviewed. King's Lynn has a large number of CCTV cameras and they are monitored in a control room in the Council offices. The skilled staff have a large bank of screens to watch and for us to persuade them to commit part of their bank of screens to the Playground area should not only give residents of the Friars confidence that anti-social behaviour stands a better than average chance of being clamped down upon, but parents have the confidence that their children will be watched continually while there.

Drains

The Environmental Audit threw up a number of problems which have been forwarded to relevant departments. There were 49 gutter drains that appeared blocked, so a meeting was held between the Friars' Community Group and the Highways Agency. Although the debris in many of them was substantial, it appears that only a few areas warrant intervention by the Highways Agency, but Checker St residents and residents around the Whitefriars Rd area should hopefully see some intervention soon. The problem the Highways Agency has is when cars are parked over or too close to drains to unblock them. The answer is that if you are able to avoid parking over drains then you may avoid being subject to surface flooding. Of the remaining drains inspected in the Friars area, those blocked in Hillington Square are the property of Freebridge Housing Association and those blocked in Friars Fleet are the responsibility of another housing association. Surface water drainage is a complicated matter and is dependant upon the ownership of the land.

This is an example of a hypertext link, which obviously doesn't work too well in the printed version, needs to look like www.okdinghy.co.uk, so that the content isn't lost.
If you want to put in an email address, the link is dave@somewhere.net. Once again, putting the link in like that means you can stil read the email if the page is printed.

(new para) Anything I've left out? Obviously there are tags like strong, underline, italic and ~~strike~~, which is ~~always~~ never good for a laugh.