The borough council’s executive Director of Environment and Planning sent me a letter on April 20 informing me that modifications had been received for an application to which I had objected back in 2021.
This application was to create 11 dwellings at Hunstanton’s former First School. I was informed I had until May 11th, to submit my comments in writing.
I tried several times to reply using the planning website. The technology was a bit confusing, just as many planning decisions have left my feeling completely confused over the past twenty years.
I was unable to understand the website, which made me more determined. I sent an email updating my reasons for objecting the Hunstanton’s highly valued Victorian ‘Council’ school.
Although it was not a school for the community, it was an integral part of the local community. What we now call the Community Centre Field was once the Primary School Field. The school was originally expected to move there. However, Hunstanton’s expansion south meant that the school would eventually relocate to the Redgate estate.
The Victorian school had become redundant and the infants had followed them to Redgate. I was not alone in believing that the buildings should still have an educational purpose. Even before the plans to redevelop the bus station site became known, arguments were being made in favor of moving the library into school as a fitting tribute for the generations of students who have used the buildings since 1875.
The school could be used as a research centre to study the best ways to reduce the effects of climate change on the environment, as it is becoming more aware of the dangers posed by it. I am not aware of any local councils that have expressed concern about the catastrophic effects of man-made global warming on our fragile ecosystem. However, this could be the right time to use an old school and its surroundings to educate current generations in the best ways possible to preserve the environment for future generations.
A nearby Edwardian convalescent house was temporarily used as the town library. This is a great location for a permanent library. Instead of expanding the built environment beyond what the school has, now is the perfect time to transform most of the playground area into urban mini-forests. This could include all the self-sown and established trees that are located in the garden of the head teacher on Valentine Road.
John Valentine was the engineer who built the railway line that served Hunstanton from 1862 to 1969. This road was named for him. This is a reason enough to suggest that the former high school could be used for conferences on finding the best way to restore Hunstanton’s railway line and bring it back to its former glory.
John Maiden
