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What Do We Want At Acle Bridge?


JennyMorgan

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Well done MM - totally agree with you. Perhaps some of the posters on here should remember the BA is NOT just about boaters, but others too who wish to enjoy the Broads.

Of course you should engage with the children - it is almost an embarrassment that so many children in Norfolk / Suffolk have no idea what even a Broad is!  Whether you like it or not, children are our future and if we do not engage at an early age, the area will be the poorer for it.

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2 hours ago, Ray said:

"Landmark Building" So often this translates to eyesore, am I the only one who's heart sank reading this?

The whole things sounds like a vanity project for the BA, surely boaters, fishers and general tourists simply want a small general shop and maybe a WC. If there is money to spend fix the closed moorings, make some new ones in popular places and come to an understanding with local land owners to enable clearance and use of 'wild moorings'

I'm not suggesting that all of the above is easy or cheap but if there is this sort of money in the budget it should be used toward the betterment and maintenance of The Broads not a shiny new cafe and visitor centre full of information anyone interested can find on the internet.

Just a personal opinion of course

Worth repeating the above, my thoughts exactly. Of course some people will love the idea and obviously it has its good points but the moorings at Acle are not excessive so where are the customers to justify this vanity project to come from? I say vanity project because this one has been in the making for at least 18 months, that long ago JP showed me his folder on this one. 3/4 of a million quid equates to three large family houses in this part of the world, and that includes the land. For heavens sakes, what does the man want right on the bank? Ray has got it spot on for me. Tone it down, JP. Showers, shop, cafe, information perhaps but not a landmark destination.

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22 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I believe the speed limit is NOT advisory, there was a change in  the law a while back so things like roads works limits became law not advisory.

If the speed limit is shown in a red circle it is mandatory, regardless of whether it is a temporary sign at roadworks or other obstruction, on a gantry or other structure on a motorway or however else it may be displayed, it is the red circle which makes the limit mandatory. If there is no red circle it is an advisory limit but you may still be prosecuted under other offences such as due care etc if you do not comply with them. 

Where contradictory signs are displayed the lower limit always applies, so if a contractor has forgotten to obscure the main road signage when placing a temporary limit, (or the method of obscuring fails) the lower limit still applies. 

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23 minutes ago, marshman said:

Of course you should engage with the children - it is almost an embarrassment that so many children in Norfolk / Suffolk have no idea what even a Broad is!  Whether you like it or not, children are our future and if we do not engage at an early age, the area will be the poorer for it.

I am not arguing with that! But that is the responsibility of the local education authorities, and not for the BA to spend their (and our) money on. I can assure you that in Sutton, where both of my grandchilden have started at school, they certainly know what the Broads are all about and they teach it very well.

I question, in the light of previous failures, whether this new scheme, especially in that location, is really going to have any long - or even short - term benefit.

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2 hours ago, Gracie said:

Spent plenty of hard earned pocket money in that little shop on plastic toys I neither wanted or played with but just to spend some pennies in that little place was one of the highlights of our holiday

My kids loved this shop over 30 years ago, as they did the one at Brundell and Waveny River Centre, with the added attraction of the Dove cots and doves.

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3 hours ago, Ray said:

The whole things sounds like a vanity project for the BA, surely boaters, fishers and general tourists simply want a small general shop and maybe a WC. If there is money to spend fix the closed moorings, make some new ones in popular places and come to an understanding with local land owners to enable clearance and use of 'wild moorings'

Personally I have to agree with this.

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Sorry I'm not with you on this one. First thee price. £750,000 is cheap as chips for a building that can accommodate all that the BA has requested. as for style though just look at the shop/info centre at Ranworth How old is that building? or Deerfoot in Horning, that one I know is new build.

No, J.P. was doomed from the start. If he'd replaced the old sheds with new sheds, He'd have got it in the neck for putting up expensive temporary buildings. He asks for new designs and he still gets it in the neck for wasting money on eyesores.

We scream out for facilities, yet when they are offered all he gets back is "All we need is what was there before"

The overall design of the building will be popular with some and hated by others whatever it looks like, so let him do as he is doing on that score, but can we have any influence over what facilities we want? I think we might have (if we haven't totally alienated ourselves with him) as long as the requests are reasonable and constructive.

As I said before, there's nothing pretty there anyway so it's not an unsuitable spot for modern design.

Traffic issues I would have thought were not significantly different from those on the Bridge Inn entrance, except no alcohol involved.   

 

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The money is not the main issue, JP sold the Ludham Field Base for a welcome, some might say silly price well over valuation so he has cash to spend, don't have a problem with that so long as he spends it responsibly.

What I do worry about is what £700,000.00 will buy. We need to be mindful of that previous vanity project, Dragonfly House. Irresponsible spending that finally cost the taxpayer well well excess of one million pounds and for what? Nothing remotely tangible, indeed the Authority had to walk away from it and spend yet more money at Yare House. £700,000.00 will buy a lot of bricks.

Planning, I'm mindful of Hunsett Mill. The local planning authority is the Broads Authority, say no more. 

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A visitor centre sounds as though it could end up like the zoo in the film "Fierce Creatures"....... Animals sponsored by the National Park,  plastic models of wherries, a pond full of peat and of course a few piles of reed with replica tools.

I'd prefer to see the shop back and if the BA want visitors to experience the broads, take them out on the water in the places inaccessible to the public so they can see it for real and learn from a knowledgeable guide.  

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3 hours ago, ChrisB said:

It was closed as part of the savings about six years ago when the NP grants were slashed. It was all part of moving Ra, redundances etc.

I still think moving Ra to it's gravel pit was stupid, the trip round Barton really gave visitors a proper Broads experience of an area otherwise inaccessable to them. You can walk round Whitlingham so why pay to go on a boat? I would love to actually compare passenger numbers in the two locations.

Don't bother with last yrs passenger figures it didn't move all yr due to being broken .

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2 hours ago, rightsaidfred said:
4 hours ago, Vaughan said:

I thought there was already a visitors' centre. at Ranworth?

They closed that along with the one at Potter as a cost cutting exercise some time back.

 

Sorry Fred, I missed that, first time round! But for me, that says it all!

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Just now, CambridgeCabby said:

An ideal site for a new visitors centre would be imho Potter Heigham, where there is a historic bridge , day boat hire , plenty of parking and plenty of under utilised buildings .

Maybe they could carefully disassemble the bridge (mark each brick) and reassemble it in the museum.

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Not long a go, on a Facebook Group which is supporting the fact the Broads is not legally a National Park something was shared by the Broads Authority (or rather a member of the group shared a link to the document) and it was the first time I felt maybe, actually there is some worth in this whole push to become a real legal National Park after all.

The thing that struck me was the fact in the entire 'debrief' from Mr Packman no mention was made about the beginning of the new tourist season, hire boats, boatyards, private boaters, navigation, rivers, people it was all about conservation activities, researching new ideas on things, trying to get funding for others and a holiday he took somewhere else that reminded him of the Broads and the work in education and conservation going on there.

So, is it really any surprise that they have taken on the moorings here at Acle and wish to spend a great deal of money to have designed and built...a visitor centre? No, not any more to me. This in certain circles will be going down so very well, it fits in with so much of the new aims because it will promote education about the environment, the birds and wildlife and the history for the Broads to not only visitors from afar but local school children and those living in the area. And while that might seem not too bad of an idea (it is not in my opinion) that can all be done anyway from the likes of Wroxham. I might add I recently popped into the information centre at Wroxham to buy a couple of the Broads Authority tide tables and a key ring.

At the back of the centre, placed in a position too high and at the wrong angle for anyone but a tall adult to see and use was an 'interactive' touch screen computer that helped educate you about the Broads. I had a tap here and a tap there and it felt for all the world like when the first ever multimedia computers came out with CD Rom drives. Nobody quite knew what this meant for them, but the way the shops helped sell the idea was comparing how many books could fit on a CD and now the ability to have full colour photos and even video and sound bringing the content to life.  This display felt much the same, lacking in speed and information - the privately funded one in Herbert Woods reception is far far superior.

So what I think will happen is a rather modern building, clad in some sustainable material like wood that will gently discolor and help blend in over time. Expect plenty  of glass and sharp angles too. Also expect some never before known Architect to be the winner as they use this as a good PR stepping stone for themselves 'we built a new visitor centre for the Broads National Park' and so their fees will be very much more reasonable - or maybe I am being too cynical?

Yes, the shop seems much lamented, what I think would be good is some more places like Bridge Stones in Potter Heigham - not a pub, somewhere different for a meal, a cake, a coffee and a chat. Then add on a small concessionary that sells papers and general 'bits and bobs' much like the shop at Ranworth Staithe does.  But a visitor centre? Goodness I think we ought wake up because Packman really is on a mission.

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I think the £750,000 would be better spent on more 24hr moorings :default_biggrin:. That's not going to happen, is it.

Any development of this site that is likely to increase visitors coming by road will require better access and much more parking. The 3rr attracts quite a few onlookers. The overspill park on the verge of the main road.

Although this may not be listed as an accident hotspot I'm sure the number of near misses must be high.

Refurbish, update or replace the existing shop and buy the toilet block off the borough council and add showers and laundry plus waste bins.

Visitorcentre? Wrong place IMHO .

Colin:default_drink_2:

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Robin, your post above is interesting, informed and good to read.

It wasn't until the very last line, that I could tell whether you were for it, or against it, and that is the sign of an objective view of the problem.   :default_icon_clap:

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36 minutes ago, SteveDuk said:

What I don't understand is why have a visitor centre at Acle?

 

It's hardly the most attractive part of the Broads is it?

This might come down to 'justification'

To let the moorings just disappear would be 'yet another example of the BA not providing moorings'. To provide that mooring with nothing else there, might be seen as pandering to the pub. (probably the only reason many would use the mooring). Putting just an information centre on the mooring, would be called a waste of money,  but improving the moorings and increasing the facilities for boaters as well as other visitors will be a valuable resourse.

The BA would want this done or well under way ASAP so what's the quickest way of achieving this.? Either pay an architect or do what they have done, get architects to submit plans. If they had done the former, any detractors (were any to exist) might possibly have had a go at them for being the planning authority passing  their own plans.

I can think of no action the BA could have done there that wouldn't come in for a waggon load of stick. I think they've taken the best option. 

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Me being sceptical I'll give it 2 yrs Max if it goes ahead , my reasoning for this is simple really , in the past I worked as project manager for a company that fitted out visitors centres and most died in 2 yrs , one of them being Standedge Tunnel visitors centre which was closed by British waterways , the only problem they had is most of it was lottery funded and they were swiftly told to reopen it ! , half of the problem with those that closed was location , if you don't get the volume of foot fall through the doors its really hard to justify something that's bleeding money , that said other facilities such as a shop etc  could off set that and it .might break even .

Its all well and good making grand gestures with tax payers money and lottery funds etc but they need thinking out just as much as if you were paying for it out of your own pocket , I agree totally with Islanders comment ie wrong location for a visitors centre , I'm sure the original concept was purely a shop and now its grown out of all proportion and I'm my experience won't work because it won't meet its visitors targets .

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Maybe JP thinks he's a property developer, put up a "land mark " property on the broads where you wouldn't normally get permission, and then flog it off in a couple of years for a fortune...

 

 one of the problems is they are allowing new buildings all over the place that don't '"mean the Broads" there used to be wooden sheds and houses all over the place. That was part of the broads. These are being replace by identikit modern buildings..

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