Kings Lynn's £25 million deal won't give instant improvements

The Town deal has been signed off by local authorities, but its finer details will finalised by a team made up of both the public and private sector

Eight development projects have been proposed so far
Author: Tom ClabonPublished 2nd Sep 2021
Last updated 2nd Sep 2021

Kings Lynn's £25 million town deal won't result in instant improvements for the town, according to the chair of the local project.

While the deal has been signed off by local authorities, the finer details are yet to be finalised.

The historic West-Norfolk town is one of one-hundred-and-one others, across the country, that have secured government funding for regeneration projects.

The chair, Graham Purkins, told us that eight projects have been proposed and that it's likely to be "ten months" before exact plans are approved and the funding for them released.

He went on to tell us that all this will take "a lot of effort" and that its likely that some projects, such as the re-development of Lynn's Guildhall, will take much longer than others.

Mr Purkins also told us that "the government were very keen that this wasn't just a council-led process and the town deal board was made up from a cross section of private and public sector representation and chaired by a non-council business person".

He said the town deal is designed to make Kings Lynn a more attractive place to "work, live and visit" and to strengthen the local economy, in the process. He told us that this will involve re-developing commercial property into homes and regenerating the town centre.

He concluded by saying that "Norfolk is a fantastic place to visit" and Kings Lynn, with its 800 year-old history, has a lot to offer."

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