Page 4, At Sheringham paper, Norfolk UK

New museum of people and boats to open in Sheringham

The go ahead has been given for work to begin on the creation of a new museum for Sheringham. The £1.1 million project will see the conversion of 'The Mo', a modern building and viewing tower on Sheringham seafront, into a smart new museum that will be a major new attraction on Norfolk's popular north coast.

Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund, which is backing the project to the tune of £799,500 has formally given the project the green light. Robyn Llewellyn, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund, East of England said: "Now that the Directors have successfully met all the requirements of their award work can really get going on the new Sheringham Museum. This is a great project that will provide a much needed resource for the museum, creating a fully functional exhibition area and enabling the proper display of the lifeboat and fishing boat collections for the first time. The provision of multi-purpose facilities and links with learning programmes is an inspired approach that will open up the museum's fantastic collections to the widest possible audience". The redevelopment will see the existing structure of The Mo transformed. The museum's impressive collection of lifeboats and fishing boats will be housed in two large ground floor exhibition halls, while upstairs displays will focus on Sheringham town and will include displays about tourism in the town and re-creations of traditional shops. There will also be a museum shop and a multi-purpose room for meetings, exhibitions and work with schools and groups. With several good cafes and pubs near by, a decision was taken not to include a museum café but to encourage visitors to use these instead.

The existing viewing tower, which currently offers only limited views, will be radically re-modelled to give visitors an unrivalled panorama of the town and coastline. Award-winning architects Fielden and Mawson have been appointed and the Directors will also be bringing in other specialist consultants to work alongside the museum's own team of expert volunteers. It is hoped that work will start on site in the autumn and that the new museum will open a year later.

David Brown, Project Leader and Chairman of the Directors said:
"It's the realisation of a dream for us to bring together the two different elements of our collections - the maritime and local and social history. We have three beautifully restored
lifeboats that all served the town and three traditional fishing boats that were built practically next door to the museum's new home. We've also got wonderful collections that bring to life the fascinating story of the town of Sheringham and its people". The museum will be a major new tourist attraction for Sheringham and for the north Norfolk coast. It will be open for 11 months of the year and a Museum Manager will co-ordinate a team of trained volunteers. Sheringham museum is still looking to raise additional funds and would be interested in hearing from companies or individuals who may wish to contribute. To find out more about how to support the new Sheringham Museum contact David Brown on 01263 823464.

Government must U-turn on plans to hit families with new car taxes

Trevor Ivory warns of the soaring cost of living across North Norfolk Working families across North Norfolk will find it even harder to cope with the soaring cost of living thanks to Labour.s new plans to hike taxes on family cars, Trevor Ivory has warned. Fuel prices at the pump are rocketing and households face ever-higher heating bills on top of higher council tax and soon the cost of driving a car will be even more expensive. Low-income households, who have already been hit hard by Gordon Brown.s 10p tax hike, will be the hardest hit, especially in rural areas where public transport is not an option.

The Government is to change the way that Vehicle Excise Duty is calculated to raise an extra £2.5bn for the Government.s coffers. Family cars face higher duty as well as a „showroom tax. for new cars.

The duty rises will be retrospective – so any car bought after 2001 will be hit by the higher tax rates. This will lead in turn to a plummeting re-sale price for second-hand cars, which will make it more difficult for people to replace their car and upgrade to a new or better one.

For example, the tax bill for a typical Ford Mondeo will rise from £210 to £310 a year, with a new £500 showroom tax on top. Yet, even the Government.s own estimates show that carbon dioxide emissions from motoring will hardly be cut at all.

“At a time when families are feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living – because of higher fuel prices, energy bills and council tax – the Government should scrap its plans for a big increase in road tax on family cars. This is yet another slap in the face for hard-working families, on top of the 10p income tax hikes,” Mr Ivory said.

“Conservatives have consistently opposed these measures. The Government must execute a sharp U-turn. Any change in road tax should focus only on the most polluting vehicles and be offset by equivalent reductions in family taxes. All Gordon Brown is interested in is finding new ways to push up his notorious stealth taxes even further.”

“These taxes are particularly hurting those in rural areas like North Norfolk, where many people are already struggling to fill their heating oil tanks and where the Government has failed to invest in a decent public transport system. Many people in rural areas have no choice but to use a car and they are being punished by the Government for where they live.”