At a special awards ceremony last night (25 September), local architectural excellence and craftsmanship was celebrated with the announcement of the winners of the annual Mayor's Design Awards.
The 2018 awards, which were launched in October 2017, attracted a large amount of entries. 30 schemes were shortlisted for the awards under a number of different categories. The judging panel had previously commented on what a pleasure it had been to visit all the schemes and what a difficult job it was to choose the winners.
Commenting at the ceremony, Pam Lynn, the council's conservation officer, said: "A very successful and well-attended event to recognise and celebrate the high quality design and workmanship which make west Norfolk such a wonderfully interesting and diverse place to be.
"We had more entries than ever this year with a good mix of traditional and contemporary buildings, which made the judges' job in selecting the winners extremely hard. From a conservation perspective it was immensely pleasing to see such a high level of craftsmanship throughout all of the building trades, but especially in respect of the various historic buildings where the skills in the use of traditional materials is key. Well done to everyone involved and special congratulations to our winners."
The overall Gold Award Winner was Davaar House, Docking. The judging panel commented: "Davaar House stood out for the panel. It is an exceptional scheme which not only has high environmental sustainability credentials, but is also a clever and distinctive design that sits comfortably on its plot and takes advantage of the views afforded by the surrounding countryside".
Cllr Nick Daubney, Mayor of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, said: "The awards ceremony was a great evening, a suitable celebration of our push for better design and innovation and construction standards across our borough. We've worked closely with architects, contractors, developers, and their clients to achieve this aim, and we are glad to reward buildings and schemes that illustrate this focus on quality and innovation.
"I was very pleased to present the Mayor's Special Award, which was instituted for this tear's awards. I felt it was needed as there was no particular category to recognise a scheme or building that hadn't changed much in appearance, but has had an immense impact on the 'story' of the area. Goldings Public House and Rooms has achieved this magnificently, and we wanted to recognise the effort that has gone into the scheme. The renovation of the building has transformed the use and atmosphere of the Saturday Market Place, improving the impression it makes on residents and visitors to King's Lynn, and the pleasure they take in it".
All this year’s entries have been scrutinised by the judging panel, which comprises The Mayor, Cllr Vivienne Spikings, chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Mick Peak, vice-chair of the Planning Committee, Stuart Ashworth, Assistant Director Environment and Planning and Pam Lynn, Conservation Officer.
The winners of the 2018 Mayor's Design Awards are:
Community Schemes
Winner – SPAR Shop, Castle Acre
Residential Extensions
Winner – Larks Rise, Castle Rising
Single New Build Properties
Winner – Davaar House, Docking
Conversion Schemes
Winner – GroundWorks Gallery, King’s Lynn
Listed Building Schemes
Winner – Snowre Hall, Fordham
Small Residential Groups
Winner – Queen Street, King’s Lynn
Craftsmanship
Winner – Snowre Hall, Fordham
Gold Award
Winner - Davaar House, Docking
Mayors Special Award
Winner – Goldings, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn
More people than ever before enjoyed The Searles Soap Box Derby in Hunstanton on Sunday 22 September.
The event, organised by the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, returned to the town in 2017 and has got more popular each year. 44 teams raced down the new, faster, course that started at the town hall and finished near the bandstand overlooking the sea.
Teams travelled from all over the country to take part, including racers from Newark, Wellingborough and Milton Keynes.
This year, for the first time, there was a speed trap on the course. Some karts travelled at more than 30 miles per hour. The fastest vehicle on the day was driven by Ed Napolitano in the Hunstanton District Round Table kart. Completing the course in 31 seconds on his first run and 28 seconds on the second.
Mods and Rockers Classic Scooter and Motorbike Meet returned to King’s Lynn for the fifth time on Sunday 11 August.
A full day of entertainment was presented by the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk in the Tuesday Market Place.
The event has become popular with scooter and bike enthusiasts, along with fans of the clothes and music of the era. More bikers turned up this year, the first 100 receiving a unique patch.
Event manager, Abbie Panks, said: "We extended the size of the bike area for this year and that was also filled so we saw an increase on last year's numbers which is very positive. We also had bikers travelling to King's Lynn for the event from Leicestershire, Nottingham and Essex."
Councillors and the street scenes teams from the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk have been taking the Anglia in Bloom judges on a tour of West Norfolk.
King’s Lynn was the first to be seen on Thursday 18 July. Borough councillor Elizabeth Nockolds took the judges on a tour of the town.
In Tower Gardens Julie Williams and Jo Reynolds from Soroptimist’s King’s Lynn explained the planting they had done in the gardens, alongside Rachel Williams and David Taylor who worked with local school children on projects in the Tommy Garden, including creating the little Tommy soldiers. President of the Rotary Club of King’s Lynn, Steve Roberts, pointed out their work. John Hayes from the Gaywood Valley Conservation Group and Phillip Pole also discussed the work they have done in the borough.
Two buildings in King’s Lynn have been listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England, in recognition of their historic and architectural importance.
One of England’s earliest reinforced concrete buildings, on St James Street near Greyfriars Tower, has been listed at Grade II, as has the former Lloyd's Bank at No1 Tuesday Market Place.
The listings are a part of the Heritage Action Zone scheme in King’s Lynn which is working to make the most of the modern medieval town’s historic buildings and areas to boost the local economy.
Heritage Minister Michael Ellis said: "These new listings in King’s Lynn prove that heritage treasures are not just ancient monuments, medieval churches or Georgian houses but that they are found in the most unlikely of places.
“This is a superb example of how buildings of historic importance can be used by local businesses and I am pleased it will now be protected for future generations.”
Community participation and environmental responsibility are the themes for this year's Britain in Bloom competition which was launched in Hunstanton
Volunteers, and representatives from businesses, local schools, Scouts, Hunstanton Town Council, Civic Society, the allotments and community orchard were invited to a special tea party at Hunstanton Town Hall to celebrate Hunstanton's achievement of Gold in Anglia in Bloom and Gold Coastal Winner in Britain in Bloom. The event also marked the beginning of the 2019 campaign.
Cllr Elizabeth Nockolds, Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk cabinet member for Culture, Heritage and Health, said: "Taking part in Anglia in Bloom and Britain in Bloom is a real community event. We rely on the contribution of local volunteers, community groups and organisations and local businesses to make it successful. The efforts that are made in Hunstanton have seen repeated success in the competition and we felt it only right to celebrate this achievement and thank those involved in making it happen."