Conflicting Issues: Parliamentary Berths
King's Lynn Fishing Fleet has, historically, been divided into two fleets, north and south. For as long as the north and south fisher fleets existed, people living in the north of the town berthed at the north Fisher Fleet close to where the Docks are, and those in the south of the town could choose to berth at the Nar Loop, Millfleet, or the Gasworks Bridge. When the Millfleet was dammed and the Nar Loop diverted in the mid 1980's, the berths were reallocated to the Ouse side of the Nar sluice outfall. Sixteen iron pilings were driven into the silted banks, eight either side of the outfall water, to accommodate these entitlements. Because of the excessive silt in the Ouse, these pilings are now only just visible but their entitlements remain.
The authorities were informed at the time that silt would be a major problem and
fishermen were informed that to combat this there would be regular dredging to resolve
the problem. However, this promise was not carried out; these entitlements subsequently
silted up as predicted, and within the year became unusable. But these entitlements remain.
Correspondence was entered into between the owners of these entitlements at the Gas Works Bridge, Nar and Millfleet and the Borough Council to establish allocation and the moorings were allocated thus:
- Mr & Mrs Naylor, 13 Gladstone Rd.
- Mr Wilson 36 Portland Place.
- Mr Huddlestone, Wildfields Close, Clenchwarton.
- Mr Thompson, 49 Suffield Way, Gaywood.
- Mr Ames, 92 Wisbech Rd, (now moved to Extons Place).
- Mr Riches, Fairlawn Edma St.
- King's Lynn Sea Cadet Corps.
- Unoccupied
- Mr Johnson, Holcombe Avenue,
- Mr Johnson, Holcombe Avenue.
- Mr Barker, Saddlebow Rd.
- Mr Howard, Bridge St.
- Mr Hornigold - address unknown.
- Mr Witting, Gaywood Hall Drive.
- Unknown.
- Unknown.
Records of the Council decision to allocate entitlements to the new site are available in Council archives and recorded in Council Minutes prior to June 1988.
The Tory Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk have publicly acknowledged that these entitlements would be honoured, but in no report made available have these entitlements been referred to.
Two points emerge here;- Will the Tory Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk ignore these Parliamentary Berths and entitlements and hope they go away, (as they plainly ignore the majority wishes of the electorate in King's Lynn and wish some of them would just 'go away'), or will they honour these 16 berths should they ever build this expensive white elephant?
- a) Given the vast body of evidence known about silting in the Ouse, and
b) given that in the past, those knowledgeable locals have warned the municipal authorities that anything they do on the Ouse will result in a massive problem of silting, and
c) given that the municipal authorities have unwisely chosen to ignore the knowledgeable locals, and
d) these knowledgeable locals have been proved right, and
e) significant silting has damned the municipal plans of a solution to a problem...