Lowestoft Town Council
Lowestoft Town Council are delighted to once again be marking Black History Month. For 2023, we are building on our regular writing competition with the introduction of a visual arts competition. The introduction of this competition gives another opportunity for young people in and around Lowestoft to enter and celebrate inspirational BAME people.
The theme for both competitions is “inspired and proud”. This theme encourages participants to think about the people who inspire them and make them proud.
The two competitions will also share the same age brackets:
Participants are welcome to enter both the writing and arts competitions.
Creative Writing Competition:For our creative writing, our judges are welcoming entries across a range of writing formats – from poetry to dramatic monologues and short stories (anything that shows off your creative writing skills!). Your entry could be inspired by a real person or include fictional characters. Maybe you want to write a monologue for Martin Luther King before his iconic “I have a dream” speech, maybe you’d like to write a short story about your own made-up character, or maybe you’d like to write a poem about Lewis Hamilton – the choice is yours!
Our judges will be scoring your work based on creativity, originality and how well your piece is written.
Visual Arts Competition:New for 2023 is our Visual Arts Competition. For this, we are welcoming any art entry. It could be a collage, sculpture, drawing, painting, graphic design – the more creative, the better! Your entry could depict a real person or be inspired by a BAME artist. Maybe you could do a collage that represents Rosa Parks, be inspired by the clay sculptures of Augusta Savage or the silhouette work of Kara Walker.
In this competition, our judges will be looking at your interpretation of the theme, how creatively you’ve used your chosen art medium, and the quality of the art/artistic skills on display.
The deadline for submissions is Friday 20th October. Submissions should be submitted to admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk. These can be in the form of a picture of the work. Submissions should include the child’s name, age category and school (if applicable).
Prizes will be given to the winner of each competition’s age category. Our judging panel will also award an overall prize for each competition alongside a prize to the winning school. The award ceremony is currently scheduled for Friday 3rd November at 5pm (Venue TBC). More details on this will be announced in the new academic year.
If you have any questions, please get in contact with us via admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk
Good luck to everyone and we look forward to seeing your amazing creative writing and artistic skills!
Terms and Conditions:
1. The competition is open to all children who either a) attend a school within the Lowestoft area or, b) live within the Lowestoft Town Council parish area.
2. The judging panel will be formed from a selection of Town Councillor and representatives of external bodies.
3. The judges' decision will be final.
4. The Town Council reserves the right not to consider any applications felt inappropriate or which do not meet the criteria set out above.
Read more on Black History Month Competition returns for 2023
With the Summer holidays upon us, Lowestoft Town Council will be highlighting the many things you can do in our parks for free over the summer - from enjoying our many play areas, to learning about the history of Lowestoft in the local museums.
Love Parks Week 2023
Our Summer events start with #LoveParks Week, a national campaign organised by Keep Britain Tidy to celebrate the importance of our local spaces. The campaign starts on Friday 28th July until Saturday 5th August. Over the course of the week, we will be working with local organisations to put on some free events within our parks. More details can be found on our Love Parks Events page. The week will also include an online campaign, highlighting some of the features in our parks and how we can all look after and care for the them.
Lowestoft Town Council is very proud of its play areas within our parks as we continue to invest in them. Recently, we have invested in the new "Alice in Wonderland" themed play area in Sparrows Nest, a "space-themed" play area in Rosedale Park and a "nature-themed" play area at Bentley Drive to name a few. Each play area has its own unique theme and equipment to ensure that there is something for everyone to enjoy.
The play areas managed by Lowestoft Town Council are:
Britten Road | Bentley Drive | Clarke's Lane | Cotman Close | Gunton Community Park | Fen Park | Nightingale Road | Normanston Park |Pakefield Green | Rosedale Park | Sparrows Nest | St Margaret's Plain | Stoven Close | Thirlmere Walk | Whitton Green
Get interactive with history
Lowestoft has a rich and diverse history and heritage which is celebrated throughout the town.
Keep active
Many of our parks have sports facilities that are provided for free and work on a "turn-up-and-play" basis.
Help us look after YOUR OPEN SPACES
You can do your part by:
Lowestoft Town Council are asking the public on their opinion on the future of the 'Drying Racks' at The Ness. The existing Drying Racks (which are replicas believed to have been erected in the 1950s of the originals) are suffering from serious rot and decay with repairs expected to be expensive due to the cost of timber and the large amount of wood needing replacing (over 50% according to a recent structural survey). Alternative suggestions for the Drying Racks include natural decay for wildlife and removal.
Members of the public are invited to fill out this short survey to establish public opinion on the future of the Drying Racks which will help inform any decisions made by Lowestoft Town Council. The survey can either be completed by following this link or by completing the form below.
The deadline for submissions to the survey is Friday 4th August. Submissions will then be collated and presented at the Parks and Open Spaces Sub-Committee meeting on 15th August.
Read more on Public survey on the future of the 'Drying Racks' at The Ness
In April 2023, Gunton Estate Community Hall’s new Management Committee was formed at an inaugural meeting, facilitated by Lowestoft Town Council as landlords.
The Hall is central to many of the community events that take place in the local area and Lowestoft Town Council felt that the hall should be run by the community - for the community. The Town Council was delighted with the interest shown by local residents and existing hall users in forming the new Management Committee.
The Management Committee and Lowestoft Town Council would like to thank the previous management committee of the hall for their hard work and dedication over the years in running the hall.
Speaking on the formation of the Management Committee, Louise Addy, Chair of the Gunton Estate Community Hall Management Committee said “Since our first meeting the management committee has worked tirelessly towards creating an environment that welcomes all hall users in the local community and increasing our awareness and within the surrounding areas. We are in the process of having the hall redecorated and starting a community garden. We are having a Grand Reopening on Sunday 23rd July 10am – 2pm and welcome everyone to come along and see what is happening, the changes we have made, find out about all the activities in the hall, make suggestions and meet the committee.”
Read more on New Management Committee formed for Gunton Estate Community Hall
Lowestoft Town Council is looking to appoint approved arboriculture contractors for planned and reactive tree works in our parks and open spaces in Lowestoft.
All interested contractors should fill out an Approved Contractors Questionnaire and send all relevant documents to admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk.
For more information, please contact admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk.
Contract Opportunity - Collection and Disposal of Bulky Waste
Lowestoft Town Council will soon begin a trial of a scheme to help households in Lowestoft by offering a free to access collection and disposal of bulky waste items such as sofas, fridges, wardrobes and play equipment where such households may struggle with the charges ordinarily made for such a service.
The scheme is part of the Town Council’s aim to decrease fly-tipping and restore pride in the town.
If you have the equipment, necessary licences and are interested in submitting a tender for this works, please read the Tender Document and complete the Approved Contractors Questionnaire. These should then be submitted, alongside your quotation and all relevant documents to admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk.
The deadline for submitting documents is 10th July 2023 (please note new deadline extension).
With the new Committee memberships agreed at the recent Annual General Meeting for Lowestoft Town Council, we are opening up an opportunity for a member of the public to join our Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee as non-councillor members.
Currently, there are two non-councillor members on this committee with the committee members looking to expand this to three. Our existing non-councillor members have already contributed positively to this committee, championing initiatives such as the Earth Protector Town Declaration.
With climate awareness ever increasing and the impact of humanity's actions becoming evermore apparent (especially after the recent report on global warming set to break the key 1.5C mark for the first time), the importance of local action and campaigning has never been more important.
By being a non-councillor member of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee, you will play an active role in promoting and supporting environmentally-friendly initiatives in the Town, helping the Town Council meet and exceed its Climate pledges and helping to action our recent Earth Protector Town Declaration.
If you are someone who is passionate about the environment and local action, expressions of interest including reasons why the role interests you should be submitted to us at admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk. The full Terms of Reference for the Committee are available to view on our website.
Expressions of interest are welcomed by Friday 7th July ready for discussion at the Committee’s meeting on Monday 17th July.
Read more on Be a part of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee
As we enter into the Summer Season, the public facilities at Denes Oval will be open from 8am-8pm.
The sports facilities include public Tennis Courts and the popular Putting Green. Putters and golf balls are available to use for free from outside the Cricket Pavilion. Please can these be returned after use.
At the Annual Meeting held on Tuesday 16th May 2023, Councillor Sonia Barker was unanimously elected as the Mayor of Lowestoft Town Council for the Municipal Year 2023/2024. Councillor Nasima Begum was appointed as Deputy Mayor.
On being elected as Mayor, Cllr Barker thanked the outgoing Mayor Cllr Alan Green for his “service to the community”. Cllr Barker added that it was an “honour” to be elected as Mayor as she looked to “serve the people of Lowestoft with enthusiasm and passion” for her home town.
The elected chairs for the following committees are: Assets, Inclusion and Development Committee, Councillor Elise Youngman; Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee, Councillor Paul Page; Finance and Governance Committee, Councillor Andy Pearce; and Personnel Committee, Councillor Alan Green. The Chair for the Planning Committee will be confirmed at a later date.
The Full Council will next meet on Tuesday 23rd May at 6:30pm at Hamilton House where the Town Council will consider the co-option applications to fill the Council’s six remaining vacancies following the recent local elections.
The new Mayor, Cllr Barker, receives the Mayoral Chain from the outgoing Mayor Cllr Alan Green.
Read more on New Mayor elected at Lowestoft Town Council's AGM
Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday 7th May in Sparrows Nest for the Coronation Concert.
The concert, organised by Lowestoft Town Council in collaboration with the Royal British Legion, included live performances from Super Swing Big Band, Ben Carruthers, Sam and the SwingTones and the Waveney Concert Band.
Lowestoft Town Council would like to thank everyone who came along to the celebration, especially to our live performers, food vendors and stall holders.
Below are a few of our favourite photos from the day. If you have any photos you'd like to share with us, please share them with us at admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk
Read more on Crowds gather for Coronation Concert Celebration
