News

Aug 14, 2023

Your letters on King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, potholes in East Winch, a council by

Here are the letters from the Lynn News of Friday, August 4, 2023... Have they really thought this through? Having read the proposals for the re-siting of the helipad at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Here are the letters from the Lynn News of Friday, August 4, 2023...

Have they really thought this through?

Having read the proposals for the re-siting of the helipad at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn to a location on the opposite side of the A149, I am puzzled as to how the patient (presumably in need of urgent treatment) is to be transported across the already very busy roundabout and into the casualty department.

Is there a proposal for an overbridge on the A149 to allow for the necessary speedy movement of the patient?

Or haven’t the hospital planners thought of this. I am aware of the safety needs for the safe operations of helicopters.

Len Algar

Downham

Are they finally going to be repaired?

Regarding the potholes in Gayton Road, East Winch (LN&A 7/7), there is no need to panic!

The best-looking potholes in Norfolk have been adorned with white box lines ready for repairs.

Chip first, repairs (maybe?) second. Couldn't make it up.

Charles Fox

via email

Insensitive and disgraceful behaviour

As many readers of the Lynn News will be aware my late husband, Nicholas (Nick) Daubney, was a borough councillor for many years, later Mayor and Alderman.

He was also a councillor for the Freebridge Lynn ward for Norfolk County Council until his death in May this year.

Before his funeral had taken place the Lib Dems had published and distributed a leaflet in favour of their candidate to fight the by-election for the seat.

In the publicity leaflet reference was made to Nick’s valued work and commitment to the ward.

The publication and distribution of this leaflet so soon was callous - even Norfolk County Council did not officially declare the by-election until after the funeral, as a mark of respect to Nick.

Despite their reference to Nick’s work for Freebridge in their leaflet, you can imagine my hurt and disgust to receive a personal letter from their candidate actually addressed to Cheryl and Nicholas Daubney requesting that we vote for him. How insensitive.

I would expect something like this from any of the mail-order outlets who would have no idea of recent deaths, but from a political party who had hitherto made reference to my late husband, his death of course, being the only reason, they have a chance to stand- No, utterly disgraceful.

Cheryl Daubney

via email

Donors were so generous

The Wings Appeal collection recently held at Tesco Downham Market by the Royal Air Forces Association raised the grand sum of £1,003.65.

We are very grateful for the generosity of donors for their contributions, especially in the current times of high living costs.

The amount collected will provide a boost to the Wings Appeal charitable resources. Our sincere thanks to all who gave so generously.

Len Algar

Press Officer, Downham branch, Royal Air Forces Association

Do we care about animal welfare?

Two very important issues facing rural Norfolk over the next few years are factory farming and the need for significant solar farms and battery parks, which imply a significant loss of productive agricultural land if not managed carefully.

I am bringing these to the public eye as the discussion seems muted and as a humble local politician, I want to learn what people think as a prelude to participating in the policy-making process.

Firstly, I’d like to address the issue of factory animal rearing. This is typically the province of large international food processors, such as Cranswick plc.

There are lots of issues of concern but one which is outside the scope of planning legislation is animal welfare.

I would like to see this as a planning issue, beyond the general requirement for sustainability.

My interest is sparked by the application by Cranswick to build one of the largest factory farms in Western Europe in SW Norfolk, with an application for 34 huge pig and poultry sheds that will together be some 30% larger than the Millennium Dome in London.

I am pleased to offer extracts from a very well-informed letter submitted by Dr Nick Palmer of Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) on the West Norfolk Council website.

Countless reports show the detrimental impacts of intensive farming on a whole range of measures including human health, rural livelihoods and the environment, as well as the obvious impact on animal welfare.

-Such factories require huge amounts of human-grade food, energy and water - they are not remotely sustainable;

-Factory farms are highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a major source of greenhouse gases;

-Intensive farming generates huge amounts of ammonia, which, when airborne, is a significant threat to human health, and extremely damaging to woodland soils and water courses;

-There is a high requirement for antibiotic use in factory farms;

-High pathogenic variants of avian flu are a creation of the industrial-scale poultry industry.

If you, as I, are concerned about the welfare aspects of such operations, which are not necessarily considered by the planners, then I urge you to contact your borough and county councillors to ask.

And that is the first step in achieving worthwhile change.

The letter from CIWF concludes: “The benefits of a higher-welfare, non-intensive system include, but are not limited to; an improved working environment for employees; a greater number of job opportunities; reduced pollution levels; a higher nutritional value in the meat produced; reduced requirement for antibiotic use and reduced incidence of health and welfare problems among the animals.

“If the plans were to be resubmitted, representing a change to a higher-welfare system, such as higher-welfare indoor or free-range, Compassion in World Farming would not object.”

Cllr Alun Ryves

via email

These actions can lose you public support

I'm chuckling at the Tuesday Lynn News headline detailing the fandango on the High Street in Norwich when a bank had its window cracked by protesters.

Clearly, the two protagonists have a beef with Barclays and in a (ahem) carefully thought-out strategy cleverly designed to persuade their multi-billion pound investment business to cease investing in fossil fuel businesses they broke a window.

Now, call me cynical or unfeeling but are these people ever -so-slightly deluding themselves if they imagined this futile act had even a tiny impact in the Barclays boardroom?

Now we're paying a small fortune for courts, police, and magistrates to give the two in the dock a spanking while an anticipated ragtag gang of supporters turn up to create more noise and wave a few cardboard placards.

I'm all for peaceful protest if that's what makes you happy but when you bring violence and criminal damage into the mix you'll find public support diminishes.

Steve Mackinder

Denver