Your views on plans for solar farms in Norfolk, King’s Lynn Players’ Sound of Music and suggestion to cull ducks in Swaffham
Here are the letters to the Lynn News from Friday, November 22, 2024…
Why I think solar power is a massive con
Personally I think solar power is a big con, with all businesses and consumers having to pay excess charges on our electricity bills to fund schemes which depend on subsidies and are typically owned by overseas infrastructure funds who are the natural buyers of capital assets with predictable income flows, as the average return on investment is of the order of 15% pa, with projects paying for themselves over a 5 -10 year period.
The other major beneficiaries are the landowners who will get around £1,100-£1,400 per acre. Presumably these assets will be accounted as farming land with all the tax benefits this entails. As a working farm will be lucky to make £500 per acre, the incentives are pretty amazing.
Supposedly a 30 acre farm will generate 5 MW, which will power 1,500 homes. So for Norfolk the need would be for a capacity of around 1,300 MW (1.3GW) which is around 8,000 acres. The size of Norfolk is 1,290,000 acres so in theory for Norfolk to be self sufficient would require 0.6% of the land area.
And clearly we are going to have a significantly higher % of land used for this scam. I have ignored the additional needs for battery farms and cable infrastructure which will further gobble up our precious countryside.
I note also that the promoters of these schemes also suggest they support biodiversity. Give me a break.
So we will be losing our countryside to provide subsidized energy to major population centres, with little or no consideration given to our own tourist industry which many businesses now depend on.
I was in London last weekend and a thought occurred to me. Londoners enjoy some lovely green spaces with some 3,000 parks. Indeed some 20% of London is green. So why don’t we use this non-food producing space for solar farms? Richmond Park (where I was last weekend), a beautiful semi-wild space is some 2,500 acres and would be a noble sacrifice. And being surrounded by the users of this power there would be great efficiencies in transmission.
But no, Norfolk will be a major centre of solar energy production unless our hitherto spineless politicians (of which I am one) actually look around them and show some proper leadership.
Cllr Tom Ryves
Methwold
Thanks for 80 years of drama and music
Another opening, another show... but on its opening night earlier this month, this was so much more than this when King's Lynn Players presented the iconic musical, The Sound of Music.
For the show, with its familiar story and well-loved musical score, was a most impressive and accomplished celebration of eight decades of entertaining countless West Norfolk theatre-goers.
And how appropriate that local girl Sharon Fox should be the 2024 anniversary production's director, having appeared herself as a five-year-old in the role of the toddler Gretl von Trapp - one that inspired her love of musical theatre.
Since those days more than 50 years ago, Sharon has danced, sang and acted her way through countless plays and musicals, her creative talents and that of the talented casts, winning awards from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).
Many of these productions have become her firm favourites, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Camelot, Oklahoma!, Calendar Girls (the play) and they also were winners as far as the appreciative audiences were concerned.
Later Sharon's husband, Chris, became involved, both on stage and as part of the production crew helping to create impressive stage sets.
And who could forget the inspirational role of the late, much-missed long-serving KLPs chairman, Jim Farr, who arranged publicity link-ups with such theatre luminaries as Stephen Fry, Howard Keel, Ron Moody and Maureen Lipman, to name a few.
Over the years the King's Lynn Players collectively have worked hard to raise performance standards and their efforts have won them plaudits from a new generation of audiences.
The KLPs have also given valuable acting and singing experience, through the Young Players community group, to secure the future of amateur theatre in West Norfolk
So, as we raise our glasses in an 80th anniversary toast, we must all surely agree there certainly is no business quite like show business.
Thank you for the music and drama, for giving it to us for all these years.
Richard Parr
Gaywood
Fascinating to find out more about our park
Congratulations to Jeremy Ransome on his very interesting and informative article (Friday, November 15) about The Walks and St James' Park (and the Town Guide who supplied the knowledge).
I have known The Walks for most of my life and only knew half of its history and as for the real reason the flower beds in St James Park are raised - who would have guessed it was to avoid gardeners digging up bones and bodies lying below.
Fascinating!
Sally Pearce
West Winch
Thanks for all the support this year
By now, our thoughts are firmly focused on Christmas once again but looking towards the New Year, it’s time to get organised with a 2025 Magpie Centre calendar, which depicts our lovely horses and ponies in action.
Priced at £9.99 each, these are available from the Magpie Centre, Wallington Hall, South Runcton, PE33 0EP. Tel: 01553 810202.
November saw the start of the Magpie Centre’s Learning Through Riding programme for home-schooled children, many of whom have learning disabilities.
This project has been hugely helped by a grant of £80,000 a year for three years from the National Lottery Community Fund. Parents of home-schooled children who feel their child would benefit from being part of the Magpie Centre’s community of horse lovers are welcome to contact the Centre to find out more.
After a busy summer, Tea With a Pony has closed for the winter, and is due to recommence in April 2025.
This activity is designed for older people to meet, socialise and greet one of our ponies in the Magpie Centre’s wheelchair-accessible sensory garden at Wallington Hall.
It may be of particular interest to care home activities organisers, seeking new opportunities for their service users.
Tea With a Pony takes place every Wednesday 2pm to 3pm from April to October and costs £6 per person. Book through the Magpie Centre on 01553 810202.
Wishing all readers a very Merry Christmas and thanks for your support in 2024.
Caroline Dudley
West Norfolk Riding for the Disabled Association
There’s no ducking this issue in town
Lynn News 15th November reported on a councillor suggesting culling a town's duck population to prevent them from becoming a "health problem".
The idea came from Cllr Stewart Bell at Swaffham Town Council, saying that something needed to be done about the birds, presumably mallards, living around the Swan's Nest development.
Unsurprisingly he faced vociferous opposition from other members as wildlife protection is dear to the hearts of many people, even though culling ducks is not illegal.
A lot of options were discussed at the council with no solutions agreed, ducking the issue.
There is an alternative to culling and it would be rounding the birds up and moving them to more suitable habitats which are in plentiful supply in the county.
The remedy would end all arguments and remove health problems.
When I was a member of Ealing Council, Outer London, in the 70s we had a similar hazard with Canada Geese and we resolved it by moving them on to a less populated rural environment, only a matter of a short distance away, not Vancouver.
As I have said before in Viewpoint before, some Norfolk councils are clueless!
David Fleming
Downham
