King’s Lynn’s new hospital, community hub to replace library and Hunstanton Wash barrage among major projects we could hear more about in 2024
Major developments are planned across the borough which could alter the face of West Norfolk.
Here are five of the biggest projects we could hear more about in 2024.
Hospital rebuild
Replacing the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Lynn has become increasingly urgent, with the roof held up by thousands of props.
A £862m scheme was finally added to the government’s rebuild programme in May and work on the project will progress in 2024.
The first stage will see a new multi-storey car park built so the new hospital can be built on existing parking space.
Work is set to begin on relocating the hospital’s helipad from its current site near the main entrance to farmland off the nearby B1145 Gayton Road. When built, the new hospital will have a helipad on its roof.
Wash barrage
A bid to build a tidal barrage stretching from Norfolk to Lincolnshire was revealed at the end of 2022 and has proved to be a controversial suggestion.
If given the go-ahead it would see a tidal-powered deep sea container port built in the Wash, producing huge amounts of renewable energy and protecting the area from flooding.
But Conservation groups warn ‘catastrophic’ damage to one of the UK’s most important wetlands would be caused.
Centre Port, the company behind the scheme, is trying to raise £5m for a feasibility study for the scheme.
More information on the project is likely to be revealed next year, including whether the study will progress.
Ely Junction upgrade
Crucial East Anglian railway upgrades were announced by prime minister Rishi Sunak at the Conservative party conference in October.
After scrapping the northern leg of the HS2 rail route, Mr Sunak said some of the money would instead be used to rebuild Ely North junction.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has said it is in the “early stages” of planning the next steps, including delivery timelines for the schemes, and more information can be expected next year.
Ely junction is particularly important to Norfolk because it links five lines connecting Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge, Peterborough and King’s Lynn, but has become a bottleneck because it is operating at full capacity.
The improvements, long called for by business bosses and MPs, would mean capacity for freight trains would increase from 6.5 trains per hour to 10, while it would double passenger services on the Ely to King’s Lynn and Ipswich to Peterborough routes.
Wind farms
There are a series of major wind farms planned for the Norfolk coast.
Work on one of the sites came to a halt last year after the owner, Vattenfall, was hit by the rising cost of inflation.
The projects, Norfolk Boreas – which was paused – Norfolk Vanguard West and Norfolk Vanguard East, are known collectively as the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone and are three of the biggest wind farms in Britain.
In December, the rights to develop the wind farms were sold by Vattenfall to German rival RWE, which may now restart the development.
When built, the three schemes will supply around 4.2 gigawatts of power to the UK’s grid, enough to supply energy to four million households.
Lynn library replacement
A £12m community hub will bring a new library and a place where people can meet and learn new skills.
The next stage of the design will start next year, with a public consultation to be carried out over which services will be based at the hub, along with its design.
The current Lynn library, on London Road, will stay open until the opening of the hub in 2025.
