Bulletin Board

Brief news items

There's a new website at www.police.uk which is supposed to tell you about recent crime in your immediate area. Because it's day one (1st Feb) the site has crashed under the weight of traffic. Doesn't it make you proud! Doesn't it make you wonder why ebay, amazon, google can handle massive loads and never have this problem, but UK government sites never ever seem to have enough installed capacity?

are holding a meeting on 20th Jan to discuss how to shoehorn their spending into the cash available. It's open to the public and there's also a rather useless pdf form (why don't they use a proper html form??) that you can use to send in your thoughts. Details on their website.

Norfolk County Council have completed extensive work on Southgates Roundabout, they've remodelled the Millfleet/London Road junction and they are now (in an ocean of mud!) building the 'Hardings Way' bus route, digging a hole between Harding's Pits and the Nar, and doing some kind of road-widening procedure at the far end of Nar-Ouse Way.
Helpfully, they produce weekly bulletins as to 'progress'. See a copy of their update 41, here (in pdf format).

Hillington Square is up for a (much needed!) makeover and Freebridge have engaged Wayne Hemingway, formerly of designer clothing firm 'Red or Dead', now transformed into an award-winning, um, architect? (is that right, someone? ..........Ah. Thank you!) 'urban designer' specialising in affordable and social housing, to steer the transformation from monstrous carbuncle to urban gem.
W.H. launched the project in front of an audience of the great'n'good and Hillington Square residents (who asked 'what about the dog cr@p, hey?') at the Guildhall of St George.
There's a page about the scheme at hillingtonsquare.org.uk, and more about Wayne Hemingway Design at www.hemingwaydesign.co.uk.

Lights Out!

Norfolk County Council have floated the idea of saving power and helping protect the environment by switching off street lighting from midnight to 5am in 'selected streets'

This isn't planned to happen until 2011-2013 which is pretty vague. There is a bit on the NCC website, Norfolk County Council are promising consultation, so there will be more details here when they're available.

So, where are the 'selected streets'? At a quick scan, the whole of the Friars except for London Road! That's selective!

Update! But not so many switch offs in Norwich, according to this Eastern Evening News story! Why does this seem such a familiar pattern?