Welcome to Harding's Pits Doorstep Green

 Your Green is Under Threat  

Four years after it agreed to a 25 year arrangement for Harding’s Pits to be managed as a Doorstep Green, King’s Lynn borough council wants the land back.

Please help to save it. Click here to go to our petition page.

Go to the 'Fight for the Pits' page to read the latest on our fight to save Harding's Pits for the town.

News & Events

Harding's Pits Bird List 2009

Poor weather and family commitments meant I had less time available for bird watching during 2009. I did, however get a good tally of species (86) on the times I was able to get out, with some notable 'firsts' for the pits at the very end of 2009. The extreme cold brought good views of a Brambling, Water Rail and a couple of Snipe (although it is likely that they have been there before, just that I've not seen them!). A Short-Eared Owl has been a regular visitor in the early morning, too.

On the other had, some birds have been noticeable by their absence, in particular the Pheasants (probably foxes) and Yellowhammer. Let's hope they'll be back this year.

As before, for the purposes of the list, I've recorded all birds seen in the area bounded by the rivers Nar and Great Ouse, Wisbech Road and the top end of Winfarthing Field

Just to get 2010 off to a good start I got good views of a Yellow-Browed Warbler in early February. This is a fairly rare Siberian vagrant, which occasionally over-winters in the UK. Given the weather conditions at the time it was probably feeling very at-home!

The full list for the year is:

(B) — nesting on Hardings Pits     (B*) — has nested in the past.
(B?) — possibly breeding     (O) — seen flying over at height.

Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Cormorant
Grey Heron
Glossy Ibis (O)! (3 seen earlier at Welney)
Little Egret
Mute Swan (B*)
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Shelduck (B*)
Mallard (B*)
Eider
Red-Breasted Merganser
Marsh Harrier
Red Kite (O)
Common Buzzard (O)
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Hobby
Peregrine
Water Rail
Moorhen (B)
Coot
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
Golden Plover
Lapwing (B?)
Turnstone
Dunlin
Common Sandpiper
Redshank (B*)
Bar-Tailed Godwit
Snipe
Curlew
Black-Headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Yellow-Legged Gull
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Great Black-Backed Gull
Common Tern
Wood Pigeon (B)
Stock Dove
Collared Dove (B)
Cuckoo
Short-Eared Owl
Barn Owl
Swift
Kingfisher (B?)
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Swallow
House Martin (B)
Meadow Pipit (B)
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren (B)
Dunnock (B)
Robin (B)
Stonechat
Song Thrush (B)
Mistle Thrush (B*)
Redwing
Fieldfare
Blackbird (B)
Blackcap (B)
Whitethroat (B)
Sedge Warbler (B)
Reed Warbler (B)
Willow Warbler (B)
Chiffchaff (B)
Goldcrest (B?)
Great Tit (B)
Blue Tit (B)
Long-Tailed Tit (B)
Magpie (B)
Jay (B?)
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow (B)
Chaffinch (B)
Linnet (B)
Redpoll
Goldfinch (B)
Greenfinch (B)
Reed Bunting (B?)

This year I am started to keep more detailed records of bird numbers. It will be interesting to see if the construction of the new road has much effect.

Rob Archer — March 2010

Council Meeting

The full borough council will meet on Thursday next, 28th January, at 6.30 pm in the Town Hall, Sat Market Place. It will rubber stamp decisions regarding Waterfront Regeneration, ie mothballs for foreseeable future. The relevant council document can be seen here.

King's Lynn — so where's that then?

It looks as though we are going to get a single local government body embracing all of the county of Norfolk. The Boundary Committee responsible for deciding the outcome of the current Local Government Review has recommended that the various local councils, including King's Lynn and West Norfolk, should be ditched in favour of a 'unitary' authority which will , basically, be the existing county council.
This news has had the denizens of King's Court, elected councillors and unelected officers alike, dancing with rage. Leading borough councillors have put a lot of time and much money (yours) into trying to persuade first the Committee, and then the courts, not to give them the chop.
It doesn't seem to have crossed their minds that Norfolk already has a near 'unitary' authority because of the substantial number of local councillors who are also members of the county council — the so-called 'twin-hatters'. Lynn has its fair share of these and their cost in emoluments and expenses, along with those of their colleagues in other councils within Norfolk, is one of the prime reasons why the Committee thinks that a one council state would be a good idea.

It's not all good news

Linnets might be forgiven for agreeing, particularly if it means that the unitary council, charged to deal fairly with all parts of the county, decides to dump the present West Norfolk council's marina plan. As the marina is a financial non-runner and as the new council will be just as strapped for cash as the ones it will replace, that seems quite likely. The present temporary delay in carrying the plans forward would become permanent
Don't cheer too soon. Scrapping the current marina plan would certainly score Brownie points among Lynn locals, not to mention those much further afield when they eventually wake up to what the cost of the marina could do to development in their own areas.
On the other hand don't forget that the general reaction of any county-wide, Norwich-based authority — highways, police, education — tends to be a certain mystification as to what and where King's Lynn is. It is notable that hard on the heels of the Boundary Committee announcement came news that senior Norfolk police managers are once again agitatiing for a super-force to cover the county plus Suffolk, Cambridge and even Lincolnshire.

Much spluttering in Chapel Street

Our Dear Leader is predictably angered by the Committee's decision. He is reported to have dismissed it as 'laughably arrogant'.
He'd know all about that, being one of the architects of the farcical 'public consultations' back in the summer at which no discussion of the council's marina plan was permitted. Only cosmetic matters — tree planting, pathways and so on — were fit for discussion.
Consultation with HPCA has so far consisted of one meeting at which association members were told that the River Nar would be diverted across the middle of the Doorstep Green, houses would be built upon most of the rest and the Green itself would be subsumed into the borough's own riverside park plan.
There was to be no debate about this, the decision had been made, the policy was fixed, the reward for acceptance without argument — for none was to be allowed — being the Green's replacement by a rubble-strewn builders yard around a concrete block pumping station. But the borough would be delighted for the present Harding's Pits volunteers to continue to pick up litter and keep pathways clear of overgrowth.
Laughable? Not really. Arrogant? You can say that again.

And then there's the little matter of the docks

Another bit of news in early December revived the idea that the King's Lynn docks might yet form an ideal seaward facing marina. This is another of those possibilities always rejected out of hand by King's Court, and which therefore has merit. The two dock basins could provide safe berths for any number of the luxury yachts whose plutocratic owners are, apparently, endlessly clamouring to visit the town, waving wads of money and cheque books issued by dodgy banks; the land around the basins would be eminently developable for the grand houses and apartments and the smart boutiques, restaurants, cabarets and health centres which form the social and life support system of the super rich.
Of course, Associated British Ports would have to move out first. And the chances of that happening at some point in the medium to long term seem to be increasing all the time.
The new port facilities at Great Yarmouth are about to be reinforced by some 18,000 tonnes of grain storage; the port itself will be able to handle 25,000 tonne vessels with fast turn round, something that shippers prize very highly. Ships don't earn money while tied to a quay.
Yarmouth is a deep water port with direct access to the sea; Lynn is approached through shallow waters which prevent all but the smallest of ships from getting to and fro for much of each month.
Grain handling is a cornerstone of the business of the Lynn docks. Work it out for yourself.
We have been told that the Lynn docks were very busy last year. This was in large part due to the good Doctor Palm and all the heavy machinery and materials which he brought by sea to Lynn while creating his great works further up the river. But Doctor Palm's paper factory is now up and running. Will he be building another?

Locals Propose Alternative Scheme for the Lynn Marina

Two Lynn men, Davy Wilson and Rick Morrish, have devised their own scheme for a King’s Lynn marina. It has been handed to West Norfolk borough council so that its potential can be considered as part of the council’s review of its own marina scheme. Both men are directors of the Harding’s Community Association Ltd. which is opposing the borough’s scheme because it involves the diversion of the River Nar and the destruction of the community-run Doorstep Green, at Harding’s Pits, a move which has triggered widespread opposition.

The alternative plan makes use of the Nar Loop, or Friars Fleet, and would largely employ existing quaysides. The marina would be fed with water from the River Nar in its present course with a small sluice at the mouth of the Loop to flush the basin. It would be closed off from the tidal river either by a gate that would be subject to tidal movements or a lock which would offer longer hours of operation but which would increase cost.

Annotated Borough Master Plan for the Marina

Click image to view as a large PDF file

Waterfront Alternative with Explanatory Text

Click image to view as a large PDF file

Potential development areas around the marina basin and up both sides of the Nar would be similar in scale to those proposed in the council’s scheme. They could allow for businesses such as yacht chandlers and repairers, a yacht club and winter boat storage as well as residential areas and mixed commercial, retail and leisure uses.

“We’ve looked at the existing quaysides within the Loop and we think they could easily and not too expensively be brought back to use,” says Mr Wilson, a Lynn fisherman for many years. He remembers the quays in use when Paul’s Mill stood on what is now the Boal Street car park.

“In those days they were one of the best moorings in Lynn and there was a considerable length of them. They’re still there and probably as good as the day they were built. We reckon to be able to get 80 to 100 boats into what is a smaller, but very much cheaper, marina basin. I doubt very much whether Lynn, initially, would attract more boats than that but if it did eventually happen there is the opportunity to look to regeneration of the Millfleet, which could provide a lot of mooring space, and to the docks which are underused now.”

Mr Morrish is the landscape architect who helped locals design the Doorstep Green. He says the plan presents considerable practical advantages and could offer huge cost reductions over the scheme produced by the council. It would also save the Green for public use into the bargain.

“In fact it might be possible to increase the size of the Green and perhaps add new play areas like those recently promoted in workshops held by the Borough. However the Green is a very popular space because of its natural character. Local people have already voiced their outrage at its possible loss” he says.

“Even allowing for the cost of a lock, we believe our scheme would be far cheaper than the Borough Council scheme. There’s a real risk that their proposed plan could bankrupt the borough in the present financial climate, something which the Audit Commission hinted at in its recent report on the whole waterfront regeneration programme.”

“We need to make the most of what we’ve got and we’ve actually got quite a lot. There is an existing basin that could be dredged out and quays that could offer the ability to create an attractive and historically relevant waterfront at the heart of the regeneration area. As well as the moorings for local and visiting boats it would be a centrepiece for marine themed events and festivals.”

“Allowing the new bus route to cross the existing Nar sluice, which was the original plan agreed by the County and Borough Councils, would offer further cost savings.”

“In our scheme security around the Marina would be easier to implement, which will be an issue of great importance to boat owners, but it should also be possible to ensure that other people can enter and enjoy the area.”

“We understand that the Environment Agency has not proposed or agreed to moving the River Nar and that if flood capacity in the river needs to be increased it could be accommodated with works along the existing river corridor. That would avoid the multi-million pound cost of diverting the Nar as shown in the Borough scheme.”

Both men hope the council will take their ideas seriously during the review of its own marina plan.

“We’re conscious there’s been quite a bit of spin from King’s Court about HPCA being anti a marina,” says Mr Wilson. “It’s not true. People in HPCA may have their own ideas about it but the association has never expressed an opinion about having a marina, only about the marina that the council is planning. And that is because it’s just too big and too expensive and if it is ever built it will be a big white elephant. I think that’s how most people in Lynn feel about it.”

Mr Morrish agrees that many would like to see a marina. “I would, too. But I hope that in its review of the present plan the council will take into account the design we have come up with because I think it is far more suitable for the historic Lynn waterfront.”

For further information please contact:

• Rick Morrish, 01553-760406 or 840284, mobile 07887-560160, email: Richard@rmassoc.co.uk
  
  
• Davy Wilson, 01553-776470 (evenings/weekends only)
  
  
• Roger Turff, secretary, Harding’s Pits Community Association Ltd., 01553-764422 email: roger@smithandturff.demon.co.uk

So that's the reason

Widespread speculation as to the reason for the borough council’s sudden decision to review its multi-million pound waterfront regeneration project seems to have been answered by the Audit Commission.

In a report* on its inspection of the council’s regeneration service the Commission says that while much of the council’s economic regeneration programme for King’s Lynn has been positive its ability to deliver future development is questionable.

The Commission’s findings give fresh hope to HPCA that the unnecessary destruction of Harding’s Pits Doorstep Green can be prevented. The report casts doubt upon the ability of the borough council to carry forward the waterfront regeneration scheme, the latest version of which would involve diversion of the River Nar across the Green and the sale of the rest of the land to pay for the marina.

The report summary says: “Prospects for further improvement are uncertain. The council’s ambitious vision for future economic regeneration is still focussed on the delivery of infrastructure projects. Some of these, such as the planned waterfront regeneration, will be difficult to deliver successfully against a backdrop of recession and falling land values.
“More importantly the need to translate the continued physical transformation into tangible aims and objectives for local residents has not been properly addressed. There are no robust future economic targets that will enable the council to effectively monitor and manage improvements to peoples’ lives, and especially for those who are the most vulnerable.
“This further diminishes the impact of a performance management system for economic regeneration which, up to now, has been mainly about project management.
“As a result there is no clear sense of how the major challenges for the people of the borough — for example in terms of jobs, skills, wages and educational attainment — are going to be addressed, in what time scale and at what cost.”

The report comments that the borough has “insufficient capacity to deliver future improvements in economic regeneration” and says that with the new college site at NORA on hold and the increasing impact of the recession on both the council’s future revenues and developers plans, “the council has to take some difficult decisions about its management of economic regeneration going forward.”

Effectively what the Commission is saying is that with the marina project the borough council is now trying to bite off more than it can chew. This is exactly what critics of the scheme have been telling King’s Court for months.

The Commission is the watchdog body responsible for monitoring and reporting upon local authority financial activity. Among its powers are the ability to surcharge both councillors and council officials if they are shown to have misused or misapplied public funds.

The borough council would have had foreknowledge of the Commission’s report and its contents will have concentrated minds powerfully at King’s Court, hence the announcement that the marina plan is to be reviewed.

Cllr Law: Sack us if we’re wrong

At one of the latest meetings in the series of public consultations which the borough has been running on the landscape issues surrounding the regeneration project, Councillor Jason Law, the political boss for the project, was asked about the risks involved for the council in spending its entire capital reserves on infrastructure (digging the big hole for the marina and providing all the other necessary facilities). This to attract an operator who would then take over the marina and run it. How would the council cope with potential operators who, knowing that the council was thus exposed and anxious to get some quick payback, would have the council over a barrel?

Councillor Law opined that this was unlikely to happen, which shows a degree of both financial and ethical naivety. But if it did happen?
”Well, you could always vote us [the present administration] out,” he said.
Very true. But, as the maiden said, too late, too late. By then the damage would have been done.

* Economic Regeneration Service Inspection, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, July 2009. The full report is available at www.audit-commission.gov.uk