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Road closure will put pressure on roads in Hellesdon, Drayton and Horsford

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Extra long-term pressures on roads through Hellesdon, Drayton and on Church Street, Horsford, are expected following the permanent closure of the B1149 Holt Road, south of Horsford.

The closure has been brought forward to Wednesday August 9 after BT Openreach announced earlier dates for moving their fibre optic cables. The closure had been put back until late August after BT said diversion of the cables would not begin until after the World Athletics Championships (August 4-13). However, that work has been rescheduled by BT to start on July 31. This will allow more of the complex final phase in constructing the major A140 Cromer Road/A1270 Northern Distributor Road (NDR) junction to be carried out in the school summer holidays. Altogether, it is expected to take around three months to complete the junction. Following the B1149 closure, traffic will be diverted via New Drayton Lane – which has recently opened – on to Reepham Road. This diversion will remain in place until traffic can use the NDR dual carriageway and A140 junction, or part of it, to restore access to the A140. Norfolk County Council and Balfour Beatty has apologised for the unavoidable disruption to normal travel.

 

Norfolk artist wins Holt Festival – Sir John Hurt Art Prize

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Norfolk born artist Chloe Steele has been announced as this year’s winner of Holt Festival’s Sir John Hurt Art Prize.

Her pencil drawing Beginnings End was chosen by the judges from over 250 entries from around the country. The winning entry is one of a series of three drawings by the artist inspired by Norfolk skies.

She said ‘It’s thrilling to win this prize in my home county. Norfolk has always inspired me, its vast skies are almost overpowering and constantly changing. For me Norfolk skies and its landscape have an emotional charge that combines the real and abstract. I consider Landscape and drawing to be at the heart of my work’.

After growing up in Norfolk Ms Steele attended Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art before training at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Her work has been regularly exhibited in the UK over the past ten years at Galleries including at Norwich Gallery, Firstsite in Colchester, Keith Talent and Pump House Gallery, London and as far afield as Canada. She has been selected for various residencies including Up in the Air, Liverpool, by the British Council in Shanghai, Gasworks in Taiwan, Chateau de Sacy in France and by the Slade School and West Dean College, Chichester. On graduating from the Slade in 2005 she was awarded the Henry Tonks prize for drawing.

She was recently commissioned by MAX architects to design steel portcullis gates for the entrance to a former department store near London’s Victoria station.

The artist, who lives in Wells-Next-The-Sea, received a cheque for £1,500 and will have her work exhibited at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts later in the year.

Announcing the winner, Lady Anwen Hurt said ‘John was a great champion of art, he started in painting and painted all of his life. He was very honoured to be asked to be a judge of the Holt Festival Art Prize.’ She thanked Art Prize organizer James Glennie saying ‘Thanks to the hard work that James has put in the Prize is becoming better known with entries coming from ever further afield and the quality getting better each year.

Introducing the prize judge Robert Upstone, former senior Tate curator, also praised work by Norwich based painter Will Teather and Norwich University of Arts student Jessica Burgess.

The prize was renamed Holt Festival – Sir John Hurt Art Prize in honour of the Norfolk screen legend who died earlier this year. He was a keen supporter of Holt Festival and especially the Prize, awarding or judging or both almost every year since its inception.

The winner and all thirty shortlisted works can be seen in a free exhibition at The Auden Theatre, Cromer Rd, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6EA until the end of the week.

The 9th Holt Festival continues until 30 July, full details and information at www.holtfestival.org

Pensthorpe in line for major national award

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The transformation of five former farmworkers’ cottages and the creation of an indoor adventure play centre at Pensthorpe Natural Park, near Fakenham, are in the running for a national award.
Pensthorpe’s management team has been invited to the grand final of the Local Authority Building Control Awards at London’s Westminster Park Plaza in November, having won Best Inclusive Building at the East Anglian regional finals.
“It is thrilling to learn that one of our projects has been honoured by judges in the LABC Awards – the largest business-to-business awards in the building control sector,” said Pensthorpe’s commercial director, Drew Payne. “We are all delighted – and all the more so because we were not expecting it.”
The project was nominated by Peter Wearmouth, district building control surveyor at North Norfolk District Council, who said: “Hootz House and Five Cottages is a scheme North Norfolk can justifiably take pride in.”
Conversion of the five cottages has taken place alongside the £1m Hootz House, a  nature-themed indoor children’s play area, designed to inspire and engage the next generation of nature-lovers, teaching them to care for the environment and providing  Pensthorpe with an all-year, all-weather day visitor attraction.
Built from sustainably-sourced timber, the cladding of Hootz House is perforated, to create a habitat for bird and insect life, and has already won other awards for Pensthorpe.
Parts of the building date back to the 18th century and gained nationwide TV exposure as home to the popular BBC Springwatch series for three years between 2008 and 2010.
Five Cottages houses the Pensthorpe Natural Park and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust offices and will also be used as an event, conference and wedding venue.
It is also home to Creative Chiropractic, which offers chiropractic care, sports and therapeutic massage and reflexology and rehabilitation therapy in a soothing, natural setting. Verbatim, which offers psycho-therapeutic services, education assessments, consultancy and training has also joined the Five Cottages family.
“Promoting wellbeing is integral to all we do at Pensthorpe; belief in the healing and restorative value of the natural environment is a core part of our ethos and co-owner Deb Jordan’s vision for Pensthorpe to be used for holistic healing,” said Mr Payne. “The Five Cottages and Hootz House project was conceived as part of that philosophy. It is pleasing not just to win the regional award, but to know that award recognises the inclusive nature of the development.”

Our picture shows  Drew Payne (left), commercial director, and Deb Jordan, owner of Pensthorpe Natural Park, receiving their latest award from Peter Wearmouth, District Building Control Surveyor at North Norfolk District Council.

 

Get ready to rock out at Bodham

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They’re all ready to rock in Bodham as its charity music festival gets under way at the weekend.

Rock Bodham will be held at the village playing field on Saturday, July 22, and the village’s Red Hart pub on Sunday 23rd.

Britpop covers band The Stereotypes, local bands Generals and Soul Alliance are among the bands to have been confirmed alongside DJ’s Naughty Daughty and 2016 Sheringham battle of the bands winner Liberty Popey. The headline acts are Bloodshake Chorus on the Saturday and, on Sunday, Red Leaf.

Festival secretary Callum Ringer said of this year’s line-up: “Bloodshake Chorus played for us last year, in the middle of the afternoon, and went down really well it was a no brainer to ask them back, and to put them higher up the bill.  We are also looking forward to welcoming back Soul Alliance, and Generals from previous years, but we also have some new acts, and I’m really excited for Knotted, The Stereotypes and The Dulcet Tones.”

On Saturday, alongside the live music which starts from 1.30pm, there will be a children’s entertainment, stalls and fete games, bouncy castle and circus skills for the afternoon.  There will be a licenced bar and barbecue all day and into the evening as well as a raffle on both days. The event gave away more than £3,000 last year to a range of local charities and has given away more than £15,000 since its inception in 2012.

The event organisers have put out a plea for more volunteers for the weekend.  Callum said: “To be able to make as much money as possible, we really need as many people to help as possible. We have stalls and games ready to go but they won’t run themselves.”

Tickets for Saturday are £5 for adults and £1 for under 12s.  Under threes free. it’s free entry to Bodham Red Hart on Sunday, donations taken on the day.

Cool customers needed for Norfolk competition

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Electrical retailer JB Postle has a cool competition with a Norfolk theme this summer.
They want people to make use of their artistic skills to create a wrap-around design on a Smeg fridge. The only criteria is that the design has to be Norfolk linked hence #FabNorfolk as the competition title!
Nikki Filby said: “The design #FabNorfolk could be anything people associate with our lovely county, maybe Cromer Pier, the crabbing industry, the lovely landscape, the seaside, our iconic buildings in the city or just simply a chance to promote your Norfolk Charity, Business or Organisation”
The competition, which runs now until September, has two winning categories – an individual entry and one for organisations. The group category could mean a business, charity or sports organisation and you can enter as many times as they wish!
The individual winner will receive a bespoke day or night out in Norfolk for four people worth at least £200 and will depend on the interest and age of the individual winner! It could be anything from a trip to the zoo or a night out on the town! Whatever you choose, you are guaranteed to have fun in our home county!
The group design chosen will receive £200 to donate to a local Norfolk charity of their choice, so if you want to raise money for an important cause, get your thinking hat on!
“We wanted a way to engage with the community and celebrate our wonderful county so we thought this would be a great way to find out what Norfolk means to people whether they live here or are visiting” said Nikki.
JB Postle have a Smeg blackboard fridge which has been touring JB Postle’s local branches in Aylsham, Cromer, Sheringham and North Walsham and has even been seen on Cromer Pier. The team will be taking the fridge to Worstead Festival on July 29 and 30 where there will be some surprises on the day and a chance to take part in the competition.
Nikki said any business which might like to have the fridge to visit them should get in touch to give staff the chance to get artistic with chalk pens.
The competition was launched on Cromer Pier and entries have now started to come in.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing what people come up with,” said Nikki. “Look out on social media for news!” You can follow each of the JB Postle branches on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @JBPostle
Call the Cromer store on 01263 512134 to find out more about hosting the Smeg blackboard fridge and if you would like to volunteer as a competition judge, call Nikki on 01263 735326.

Free child seats checks

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Norfolk County Council’s road safety team and crews from Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service are once again taking to the road during the school holidays to host more than a dozen free child car seat checks across the county.

More Norfolk children are killed or seriously injured whilst in a car than they are as a pedestrian or cyclist. One in three child car seats are incorrectly fitted in Norfolk but almost all of these can be fixed immediately.

Child car seats are a legal requirement in the UK and make children far less likely to be seriously hurt in a collision. But they must be correctly fitted and adjusted to offer maximum protection, and it is easy to get it wrong. The events are running until August 16, 10am until 2pm at the locations listed below.  Families are invited to come along to get their child seats checked and to ask our team of experts about any aspect of road safety.
The county council’s road safety experts are also using the 18 free child seat safety checks to encourage parents to keep children rear facing in the car for much longer than families traditionally do in this country.
Scandinavian countries routinely keep their children in a rear facing seat until they are four or five years old. Research proves this is five times safer than the UK approach of putting a child in a forward facing seat at around nine months old.
Iain Temperton, the county council’s road safety manager, said: “I would urge anybody carrying young people to visit one of our events. It will only take five minutes but that will be time well spent if it improves the safety of the next generation of road users.”
Alistair Steele, consultant anaesthetist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn said: “During my time as an air ambulance doctor and as a trauma doctor I have seen too many children severely injured from car accidents. In addition to the messages about driving safely we really want to help parents and carers get the right advice about child safety in cars, and there is a confusing array of restraints and booster systems available.
“The best thing to do is to take advice from a professional car seat fitter to ensure you’ve not only chosen a safe seat but also it is installed correctly.”
Child seat safety check events are taking place in the following locations from 10am until 2pm:Mon 24 July  Norwich – Tesco Harford Bridge
Tue 25 July  North Walsham – Sainsburys
Wed 26 July Sheringham – Tesco
Thu 27 July Aylsham – Tesco
Fri 28 July  Stalham- Tesco
Sat 29 July Holt – Budgens
Mon 31 July Norwich – Longwater Sainsburys
Tue 1 Aug Wymondham – Waitrose
Wed 2 Aug  Thetford – Sainsburys
Thu 3 Aug Diss – Morrisons
Fri 4 Aug Great Yarmouth – Asda
Mon 7 Aug Dereham – Tesco
Tue 8 Aug Downham Market – Tesco (2pm-6pm)
Wed 9 Aug Kings Lynn – Sainsburys
Thu 10 Aug Fakenham – Tesco
Fri 11 Aug Swaffham – Tesco
Tue 15 Aug Norwich – Sprowston Tesco
Wed 16 Aug Norwich – Hall Road Asda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenbuild 2017 in call for exhibitors

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Are you a business which deals in renewable technology, green energy, environmentally friendly crafts or any other type of green activity?

Or perhaps you run a farmers’ market stall, selling cakes, jams, chutneys and other tasty goods?

Then Greenbuild – Celebrating Norfolk, North Norfolk District Council’s free-to-enter annual celebration of all things sustainable, may well be right up your street.

Greenbuild’s 13th outing will be at Felbrigg Hall, on September 9 and 10. It is designed to show people how to lead a greener lifestyle in an affordable and practical way.

Tom FitzPatrick, Leader of North Norfolk District Council, said: “This is a leading event of its type for the region and mixes entertainment for the family with crucial, accessible information about leading a greener lifestyle.

“We are on the lookout for more exhibitors from the region to join those already registered for this year’s weekend, be they returning businesses or people who have never been before.

“It’s a fantastic event and a brilliant chance to find out more, whether you are exhibiting or wanting to find out more about leading a more eco-friendly lifestyle.”

There is always plenty of entertainment for the whole family, including talks and one-to-one advice from knowledgeable experts on topics ranging from retro-fitting to eco-friendly heating, food and drink stalls and children’s activities.

And the annual favourite of three bags of compost for £3, delivered to your car when you leave, will be back.

Please note all catering spaces have been booked and there is no availability.

Parking and entry to Greenbuild are free. Opening times are 10.30am-4.30pm on the 9th and 10.30am-4pm on the 10th.

For further information visit www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/greenbuild or contact Jeanette Wilson on jeanette.wilson@north-norfolk.gov.uk or 01263 513811.

Royal visitor opens new music school

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The Princess Royal flew in to Gresham’s School by helicopter at the weekend to officially open its new music school, the Britten Building, and to hand out prizes at the annual Speech Day celebration.

Her new role as The Prime Warden of The Fishmonger’s Company also means she is Gresham’s Ex Officio Governor and she was met by an excited group of Pre-Prep and Prep pupils as she made her way to the School’s Memorial Chapel to enjoy a service for Upper Sixth leavers and their parents.

To commemorate the opening of the Britten Building, she planted a tree and, after a tour of the building and time spent chatting to donors and school governors, she unveiled a plaque in the building’s foyer.

Speeches took place in the School’s Theatre in the Woods, attended by pupils, parents, governors and staff.  Head of school  Zara Raslan and deputy head of school George Jefford both gave speeches and closed them with a musical performance.  Gresham’s chairman of governors, Andrew Martin Smith, announced that Cromer-born former Gresham’s pupil, Sir James Dyson, would become a governor representing the Old Greshamian Club.

Douglas Robb, Gresham’s headmaster, said: “We feel deeply honoured that HRH The Princess Royal has agreed to become a Governor of Gresham’s in her capacity as Prime Warden of The Fishmongers’ Company.  She follows in the footsteps of her father and Gresham’s Patron The Duke of Edinburgh who has been a governor previously.

“Gresham’s is also very excited to welcome Sir James Dyson as a governor from September. The school is in great spirits after a lovely speech day and the opening of new facilities. We are lucky enough to enjoy growing school numbers and are well set for the future.”

The princess handed out prizes to 80 pupils and took the time to speak to each one in turn.  After her departure by helicopter, guests enjoyed lunch and many stayed to watch a ‘Staff vs Leavers’ cricket match.