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Thursday, June 13, 2013

YOUR DAILY LYNN & WEST EDITION INCORPORATING 70pLOCALwww.edp24.co.uk

Council to debate new incinerator proposals page 4

WEATHER 14UK & WORLD NEWS 8-11

LOTTERY RESULTS 8CONTACT US 12

OPINION 30-31LETTERS 32-33

ANNOUNCEMENTS 36CLASSIFIEDS 49-52

FUEL VOUCHER 37SPORT 54-64 www. 24.co.uk

Gas leak could have killed us allFamily tells of shock over carbon monoxide poisoning horror – see page 15

INSIDE TODAY

Childhood sweethearts’ love story lasted a lifetime

UKIP councillor resigns over shoplifting stormpage 4

pages 2-3

Full story – page 7

A year ago, they lost their last remaining pub – but today, the residents of Shouldham start a fightback by announcing a cam-paign to club together to buy the venue so they can reopen it for the community.

Punters were devastated when the beloved King’s Arms, in The

Green, closed in June last year after it struggled to keep up with rent payments.

Determined to bring it back, they have decided to raise the £315,000 asking price and run it

themselves – with villagers each owning a stake and profits being divided between themselves and good causes in the community.

Backed by the EDP, the cam-paign will enable people to buy shares worth anything from £50 to £20,000 after residents won a bat-tle to get it listed as a “community

asset” by West Norfolk Borough Council.

John McGourty, chairman of the Save Our King’s Arms (SOKA) campaign, said: “This is our chance to put The King’s Arms at the heart of village life.”

SHOULDER TO SHOULDHAMEDP backing villagers’ bid to reopen beloved pub

Residents of Shouldham are trying to reopen their village pub, the King’s Arms. Photo: IAN BURT

Andrew Papworthandrew.papworth@archant.co.uk

7

local NEWSTHURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013

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Negotiations between council officers and the owners and of a town centre shopfront, right, about its “tacky” appearance are under way.

Following a decision by North Norfolk District Council’s (NNDC) develop-ment committee last month the front of the Holt Premier Stores on the Market Place was threatened with an enforcement notice if reme-dial work was not completed within a month.

The council received four emails of complaint about the shopfront before the committee debate, including from the Holt Society.

Issues included the copy-shop graphics being “tacky” and a visual blight, and the adverts being “inappropriate and outrageous” in the conservation area.

An council spokesman said

yesterday: “Planning officers are continuing to negotiate with the owners and are hopeful of a successful outcome in the near future. Given that we are in negotia-tions it would be premature to serve an enforcement

notice at this time. However should negotiations prove to be unsuccessful an enforce-ment notice will be duly served.”

He added the current advertisements and signs were “unacceptable”.

Council officers recom-mended the external vinyl sheeting would need to be replaced, the fascia board altered and a plastic box frame on the first floor removed or replaced by a traditional hanging sign.

The building is grade II listed and was previously a Spar shop before it changed in November.

Premier runs the business as a franchise and said before the NNDC debate the colour of the store was a “toned down” cream/yellow compared to the standard yellow.

Discussions about ‘unacceptable’ shopfront in historic town centre

Villages and local sports clubs are being invited to take part in a Rural Festival of Sport.

West Norfolk Sports Council is putting together a bid to Sport England for

£8,000 of funding to provide a West Norfolk Rural Festival of Sport next summer.

West Norfolk villages or rural sports clubs which would like to participate

are asked to write to Paul Brandon c/o the Sports Development Unit, Lynnsport and Leisure Park, Greenpark Avenue, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 2NB.

Villages invited to summer sports festival

A rallying cry has gone out to resi-dents of a village which lost its last remaining pub to club together and buy the venue so it can be reopened as a community-owned venture.

From August, anyone with a spare £50 will be able to purchase shares in the King’s Arms, in Shouldham, in a bid to raise the £315,000 needed to take it into commu-nity ownership.

The EDP is backing a campaign by villagers to take over the pub, which closed in June last year after its land-lords struggled to keep up with rent payments, and run it themselves with villagers each owning a stake and profits being donated to good causes in the community.

They have already formed their own company, Shouldham Community Enterprises Ltd, with a view to buying the empty building from current landlord Punch Taverns

and have nearly got it listed as a “community asset” by West Norfolk Borough Council.

That means the community would be given a window of opportunity to express an interest in buying the asset, and another window of oppor-tunity to bid for it, giving the Save Our King’s Arms (SOKA) campaign a real hope of buying the property – provided it can stump up the cash.

SOKA chairman John McGourty said supporters had “rallied around with the intention of buying the pub, returning it to its former glory and establishing a convivial meeting place and valuable asset for the bene-fit of the village”.

He added: “We think the King’s Arms should be owned and run as a community venture, functioning not only as a financially viable and welcoming pub but also as a hub for other village-based initiatives.

“This is our chance to put the King’s Arms at the heart of village life and make a contribution to the whole fabric of the community.”

Before its closure, the much-loved pub in The Green was often described as the heart of the village where resi-dents mixed and many community events were organised.

Its closure left residents fearing that the community of Shouldham, which once boasted a total of six pubs, would suffer as a result.

“There is a feeling we’ve got to do it

– not just for ourselves but future generations too,” SOKA secretary Phil Harriss said.

Campaigners hope people will buy a larger number of shares to help them reach their fundraising total. Shareholders will be able to have a say in the running of the pub.

COMMENT – Page 30

Rallying cry to help village buy and run its pub

Villagers are battling to save the King’s Arms at Shouldham. Picture: IAN BURT

Andrew Papworth andrew.papworth@archant.co.uk

There is a feeling we’ve got to do it – not just for ourselves but future generations too

Phil Harriss