A Monthly Publication

 By Andrew Murray,  Honorary Secretary

Monthly Talks -  This season’s evening talks started in September with a really memorable evening.  Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis gave an outstanding account of his achievements in the fields of power boating, motor car design and construction and in particular his wartime experiences as an RAF pilot.  Since the end of the war Ken has been developing autogyro machines and is still flying them near his home between Dereham and Wymondham.  Several members were privileged to visit his home and see his collection of machines and watch in awe as he took off, circled and came back to earth with a perfect landing.

In October, our second talk was given by Cllr. John Smith.  He gave a detailed account of the connections that Saint Edmund has with Hunstanton and Eastern England that are well illustrated in the stained glass windows of our parish church.

The society’s EGM and AGM will be held on 1^st. December when there will be presentations by the trustees of the activities during the past year.  A new committee will be elected.  Mr. John Selby will then talk about Norfolk Stone and the buildings of the area.  Mr. Selby was until August, the Conservation Officer for the Borough Council and has worked closely with the Civic Society.

The programme for January has had to be changed and we shall be welcoming Mr. Peter Dawe, who will describe his ideas on climate change and the feasibility of building a barrier from Old Hunstanton across to Skegness in order to generate electricity from the tidal water and also provide protection from flooding.

The Civic Trust was until April, an umbrella organisation to which over a 1000 various civic and other societies up and down the country were affiliated.  Unfortunately, it relied heavily on funding from central government to run amongst other things, Purple Flag Awards.  When that funding stopped the Civic Trust had to go into administration.  Your committee consider that the objectives of Civic Societies can best be met by co-ordination and sharing experiences and expertise between them.  Efforts have been made since April to establish closer liaison with several organisations in the voluntary sector, local sister societies and national bodies whose aims and objectives are similar to our own.

In June, the Civic Society Initiative was formed with funding for 12 months in order to try to establish the need for a new national organisation and how it may be managed and funded.  The results of extensive consultations were presented as a booklet ‘Own the Future’ at a National Congress in Blackpool. They have shown that there is a need for representation at a national level and a reference point for authoritative information and advice for the different civic societies.  The proposed new organisation should be much more driven by and be responsive to its grass roots.  It should be broad based, inclusive, influential, pro-active and dynamic and effective in campaigning, lobbying and projecting policies at a national level.  The quality of life in an area is related to the sense of pride and identity that local people have for their community.  Civic societies need to be much more than organisations for intelligent crumblies or middle class do-gooders.  For the new organisation to be truly independent and fulfil its aims, its core finance needs to come from its component societies with a fee of £3 per member per annum.  This is likely to mean a rise in membership fees but be compensated for by a free voucher to use for a visit to a National Trust property and possible other benefits including favourable insurance terms.

The Hunstanton Civic Society web site is now being regularly updated.  It includes reports of our activities and meetings, a diary of events as well as sections on the town’s history and a photograph gallery.

See www.hunstanton-civic-society.org   Committee meetings are open and held in the meeting room at the Council Offices in Valentine Road.  The first meeting after the AGM is on Tuesday December 15^th. at 11.30