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Thursday, June 13, 2013
YOUR DAILY LYNN & WEST EDITION INCORPORATING 70p
LOCAL
www.edp24.co.uk
Council to
debate new
incinerator
proposals
page 4
WEATHER 14
UK & WORLD NEWS 8-11
LOTTERY RESULTS 8
CONTACT US 12
OPINION 30-31
LETTERS 32-33
ANNOUNCEMENTS 36
CLASSIFIEDS 49-52
FUEL VOUCHER 37
SPORT 54-64 www. 24.co.uk
Gas leak could have killed us all
Family 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 storm
page 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 Papworth
andrew.papworth@archant.co.uk

2. 7
local NEWS
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013
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@edp24
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