A new web poll for all you people who shop in Fakenham… Is it good, bad or just OK to shop here? Is it improving or getting worse? I’ve seen a few posts on Twitter which imply that Fakenham’s shops are dying because of Tesco. I don’t believe that’s true, but would like your opinion too.

Please vote using the Poll section of the menu on the right of the page. If you have a comment to make after your vote, please add it to a comment on this post. If you actually run a shop in town, please tell us about your experience.

The previous poll on here (pictured right) found that most readers of the site who responded are from the Fakenham area. That’s a start!

How do you think your ’shopping experience’ in Fakenham has changed since the major supermarkets arrived in town?

I got an email from somebody in Saffron Walden asking this question. His town is being targeted for a new Sainsbury store and their Tesco is planning to extend. It already has a Waitrose too. Here’s his message…

“I am contacting you because here in Saffron Walden we already have two supermarkets (Waitrose and Tesco) and now Sainsbury’s has applied to build a third one on the edge of town. We see from a 1998 report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister that there was a decline in market share for the town centre convenience sector in Fakenham of 64% caused by supermarkets.  Do you recall this being the case?  And how has the town centre coped since then?”

I said I’d post it here to see if anybody in Fakenham would care to voice their opinion. My reply to him is in the first comment below…

With all the effort going on to boost the town’s image, it’s a crying shame that The Crown Hotel in the Market Square remains closed. It’s currently owned by London property developers Wildmoor who, I believe, purchased the building from the previous owners – who then leased it back from the company and remained as managers. After a short while, the managers opted out of the lease and the pub has been closed since March 2009.

I know somebody (a client) who has just looked round the property with a view to taking the lease on. We’d been talking about the town in general some time before Christmas and the subject had got on to pubs (how strange, I hear you say!). I mentioned the fact that Kick Start Fakenham was originally interested in the re-opening of The Star. We came to the conclusion that The Crown was in a great location and could be run as a going concern given the right circumstances - and would considerably enhance the town centre if it was open again.

My client’s viewing of the property had made it obvious that lots of work needed doing to get the place running. The bar area had been previously renovated, taking away much of of the character of this 18th century building (including the original fireplace). The kitchens needed replacing. The rooms upstairs needed work. Sounds like £££s of investment are required to get things up to scratch.

I wonder if Wildmoor have the foresight to see that The Crown isn’t actually a great investment as things stand. The lease, as advertised here at £60,000 a year seems more than a tad overpriced if the intention was to get a tenant in quickly. No wonder it’s still unoccupied. Maybe it would be a better investment if the owners were willing to sell the building on again.

Any local entrepreneurs looking for a project? Drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with my client – who might be interested in joint ownership rather than leasing it (if the owners are willing to sell, that is)!

I’ve noticed lots of people complaining about the lack of grit on the town’s roads and pavements during this recent cold snap. Well blow me down, when I got to work this morning there was a guy in a hi-viz jacket hand-gritting both sides of the pavement along Norwich Street. The road had been done too – and I think a fair bit of the town had been covered, judging by my walk home this evening.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the recent Town Council meeting, where the state of Fakenham’s car parks before Christmas was ‘discussed’. Town Councillor Ann Chappel criticised the NNDC, saying that it had “failed to meet its responsibilities to shoppers and businesses”. I must say, having seen what Queens Road car park was like on the week before Christmas (we skated round for a bit then decided not to park there at all) I tend to agree.

As you may have read in the local press, Norfolk County Council are planning to save money in future by switching off some street lighting between the hours of midnight to 5am. They aim to complete the project by around the end of 2012 and are due to make the final decision by 25th Jan this year. The scheme will cost £274,000 during the next three years but is then projected to save £167,000 a year.

Here is a list of roads included in the project for Fakenham if the idea goes ahead as planned. Next to each road name is the number of the street light which is to be affected so you can check for yourself. The full list for Norfolk is available on the EDP website.

Arthur Road 001716 ; Baron’s Close 001719 ; Barons Hall Lane 001720
Bracken Close 001722 ; Bramble Court 001723 ; Bridge Street 001724
Bridges Walk 005894 ; Charles Road 001728 ; Clover Way 001732
Copperbeech Close 001733 ; Dairy Farm Close 001738 ; Eckersley Drive 001739
Edinburgh Drive 001740 ; Elizabeth Avenue 001741 ; Fayre Green 001745
Foxglove Close 001747 ; Gorse Close 001750 ; Great Eastern Way 001751
Green Court 001752 ; Gwyn Crescent 001755 ; Hall Close 001756
Heron Close 001759 ; Holt Road 001762 ; John Chapman Close 001763
Kingfisher Close 001764 ; Mallard Close 007742 ; Massey Court 001767
Meadow Court 001768 ; Nightingale Close 001771 ; Norman Close 001772
Norwich Road 001773 ; Oak Street 001776 ; Old Post Office Street 001779
Olivia Close 001780 ; Paddock Close 001783 ; Plantation Road 001785
Queens Road 001786 ; Riverview Court 001787 ; Rowan Way 001789
Salmons Way 001794 ; Searle Close 0017973 ; Sedge Close 001798
Shelldrake Close 001799 ; Smiths Lane 001800 ; Southgate Drive 001802
Station Close 015680 ; The Drift 001804 ; The Lawns 001806
The Ridings 001807 ; Townshend Green East 001809 ; Townshend Green North 001810
Townshend Green West 001811 [ Valley Way 001814 ; Warren Avenue 001815
Wells Road 001816 ; Wensum Way 001817 ; Wigg Road 001819