Lowestoft Town Council
On Saturday 19 June 2021, Mayor of Lowestoft, Cllr Alan Green attended, ‘Lowestoft 1945: The Year the Lights Came Back On’, to make a surprise announcement to local historian Christopher Brooks that he had been awarded Freedom of the Town of Lowestoft. Nominated by the Lowestoft Evacuee Association, the award recognises Mr Brooks’ dedicated contribution to the Association over the past 30 years. Fittingly, this was also the first live event held at the Marina Theatre since the pandemic. The Town Council would like to thank all at the Marina Theatre and the Evacuee Association for making the evening such a success.
The award will formally be bestowed on Mr Brooks, and two other recipients, later this summer.
Image credit: Phil Mummery. Pictured below, Left to Right: Mayor of Lowestoft, Cllr Alan Green, Mary Draper (former evacuee and current Treasurer of the Lowestoft Evacuee Association), Christopher Brooks, Sandra Delf (co-author with Clive Capps of ‘A Long Way From Home: Evacuee Memories 80 Years On’) and her husband.
Read more on Mayor of Lowestoft announces awarding of Freedom of the Town to local historian
For the first time since its formation in 2017, Lowestoft Town Council has conferred the title of Freedom of the Town. Whilst not a regular activity of the Town Council, the Council may choose to confer the title on persons who have rendered eminent services to Lowestoft or to organisations and objects of distinction that are linked to the town.
Before consideration is given to awarding the title of honorary freeman or freewoman, the Town Council needs to receive an application supported by people of the town and the application is then scrutinised by the Council. Applications need to demonstrate that the nominee has delivered exceptional service to the Town of Lowestoft and awards are only made when the Town Council is satisfied that the nominee is deserving of such an infrequently awarded title.
Given the above, the Town Council is now officially announcing the following titles have been conferred:
>Mr John Wylson, nominated by The Excelsior Trust. Mr Wylson is a chartered Architect and Sailor whose enthusiasm and vast knowledge has been of immense value to the traditional ship building history of East Anglia, and in particular Lowestoft. A founder member of the Excelsior Trust, Mr Wylson secure continued funding and manpower for completing the restoration of Excelsior, but the also set out to keep alive the centuries old shipbuilding skills.
>Mr Chris Brooks, nominated by the Lowestoft Evacuees Society for over 30 years’ of dedicated contribution to the Society . Mr Brooks has played a significant part in placing on record this historic and unique event of the evacuation of 3000 young children from Lowestoft at the outset of WW2. Mr Brooks received the surprise news at an Evacuees Society event held at the Marina Theatre on 19 June (see additional press release).
>The Excelsior, nominated by The Excelsior Trust. The Excelsior will be marking her centenary in 2021 and the title is award by her home port town to make her unique status as being the last, authentic Lowestoft Smack* in existence.
Arrangements will now be made for formal presentation of the awards later this summer.
*A Smack is a traditional fishing boat.
Freedom of the Town Press Release
Read more on Freedom of the Town – Three Awards made by Lowestoft Town Council
Last weekend, Harley Davidson riders from across the UK gathered safely at Ness Point for the start of a challenge ride, driving from the UK’s most easterly point and finishing at the most westerly point, Land’s End, Cornwall.
The independently organized event saw eight represented chapters including Sherwood and Plymouth, representatives from Sportster Sickness, members of the Harley Davidson Riders’ Club of Great Britain, and Harley enthusiasts. The riders called in at four locations during their journey, including Newmarket, Reading, Devon and Plymouth, reaching their final destination before the sun set in Cornwall.
The aim of the challenge was to bring together all Harley riders that have one thing in common, to ride their Harley Davidsons.
Please note, this event complied with Government guidelines in regards to Covid-19 and all restrictions were adhered to by riders and wardens of the event.
On Wednesday 23 June 2021, the Mayor of Lowestoft, Cllr Alan Green met with lead organiser of the Lowestoft Rubbish Friends, Mike Nursey, at the Ness Park to present equipment for use by the group’s growing number of volunteers. The Lowestoft Rubbish Friends is a group of volunteers who help to clean our parks and public spaces of litter, including backstreets and pathways, throughout Lowestoft. East Suffolk Norse donated the equipment to Lowestoft Town Council as part of a scheme they have funded to provide vital kits to Town and Parish Councils.
The Town Council is grateful for the Lowestoft Rubbish Friends work to keep our environment clean and if anyone is interested in volunteering in future litter pickings, the Lowestoft Rubbish Friends Facebook page is regularly updated with upcoming planned picks.
Mayor of Lowestoft, Cllr Alan Green presenting equipment to Mike Nursey, lead organiser of Lowestoft Rubbish Friends.
Read more on Mayor of Lowestoft gifts equipment to Lowestoft Rubbish Friends
The Lowestoft Town Hall business plan, which has been produced for Lowestoft Town Council by MossKing Associates Limited with detailed input from both Hudson Architects and Andrew Morton Associates (Quantity Surveyors), is now ready for the public to view. The document, which has been developed to support a funding bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), describes a sustainable plan for the future use of Lowestoft Town Hall, a grade II listed building set on the old High Street, in the heart of the North Lowestoft Conservation Area.
The deprived and deteriorating Town Hall has been vacant since 2015 and has been in the ownership of Lowestoft Town Council since 2017. Action is required to address the physical conditions of the building, this providing an opportunity to develop this important landmark and deliver a significant cultural, community and economic contribution to Lowestoft. One of the core elements of the Town Investment Plan is to restore and extend the Town Hall to become an inclusive centre for the community and visitors. Facilities will include a heritage hub, tourist information centre and exhibition space, alongside a café, attracting visitors and locals alike. The restored Chamber, with its notable stained glass windows, will be used for civil ceremonies, as well as by Lowestoft Town Council and the Registrars, who will become anchor tenants.
Please note that this version of the business plan, v3.0, has been edited to remove commercially sensitive details that could adversely affect competitive tenders. However, further details will be issued in regular updates as the project progresses.
Currently in the UK, you can legally buy an e-scooter, but you cannot ride it on a public road, cycle lane or pavement. The place it can be used is on private land. The police will advise you on the law and may ask you to take your e-scooter home if stopped by an officer.
Further information about the use of e-scooters and other powered transporters can be found on the UK Government website.
Over the weekend, vandalism to Kensington Gardens and Pakefield Street public conveniences occurred, these toilets have been temporarily closed until further notice. Further to this the Jubilee North public conveniences, which are maintained by East Suffolk Council, are also temporarily closed due to the amount of damage that was inflicted over the weekend.
The repairs and cleaning of these facilities will be carried out at a suitable time, the difficulty and often-unpleasant work of our contractors in cleaning these sites and dealing with these incidents are a great loss of time and resources.
Today, Monday 21 June, Suffolk celebrates our lovely county. The sun rises first in Suffolk, so this morning Mayor of Lowestoft Cllr Alan Green met with BBC Radio Suffolk’s Luke Deal at Ness Point, the most easterly point in the UK. The Mayor said “We are really looking forward to welcoming people from any part of the UK to our beautiful town where there is so much to do. Let’s have a staycation this year and come and visit Lowestoft.”
Find out more about the day here.
--UPDATE--
Due to schedule conflicts, the testing bus that was to be located at Triangle Market today, 23 June 2021, has been cancelled. The Town Council apologises for any inconvenience caused and we will keep the community updated with any rescheduling of this.
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On Wednesday 23 June at Triangle Market, Lowestoft, a testing bus will be offering free COVID-19 tests to the public, without appointment, from 8.30am until mid-afternoon. In partnership with Suffolk County Council Public Health team, the NHS community testing bus will be providing free home test kits along with guidance, information and support for anyone who wishes to undertake tests. Let's keep Suffolk Covid safe.
As part of the 'Yes2Test' campaign, testing teams have been located in town centres across Suffolk offering free test kits to the public, along with guidance, information and support. Image below, a testing kiosk located on the South Pier in Lowestoft this week.
