Latest news with #Lowestoft
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Fishing vessel returns to Lowestoft home after 100 years
The owner of a 138-year-old fishing ship, believed to be the only one left of its kind, is hoping to raise funds to turn it into a research Nordlys has returned to Lowestoft in Suffolk, where it was built, for the first time in more than a Lund wants to raise £700,000 to convert the vessel into an eco-friendly ship for scientists to use."I am a custodian of history here and it is up to me to maintain that and keep this bit of Lowestoft afloat and alive," he said. The ship - originally called the Jubilee - was built in the coastal town in 1887 at the peak of the fishing industry, and was used as a drifter to catch herring. By 1910 it had been sold to a new owner in Norway. The vessel was most recently used to transport wine and olive oil from southern Europe and was later moored in the Netherlands during the coronavirus Lund, 25, who is an experienced sailor, helped bring the Nordlys back to Lowestoft on a 27-hour journey across the North Sea."She was absolutely flying. She sails better than any other boat I have sailed," he said."They have such power and life to them. They feel like living creatures that are meant to be out at sea." For the past five years, and the first time in its history, the Nordlys has not been used in a working is moored at The Excelsior Trust, which provides sailing experiences for the local community, and is where Mr Lund's restoration project will take place, with the help of volunteers. He said the ship was set to be transformed into a sail-powered research vessel, with the help of traditional boat-building skills."She will be used for taking scientists out to sea and giving them the opportunity to do research, without needing to burn too much fossil fuels," he added. Speaking about the ship, Karol Petryka, the general manager of the trust, said: "In the old days, the quality of timber was completely different, and the skill-set of people."The majority of the work has been done by hand."The restoration is estimated to take about three years. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Lowestoft to Norwich trains disrupted after boat hits bridge
A railway line has been blocked after a boat collided with a swing-bridge and became incident happened at the Somerleyton crossing over the River Waveney on the Norfolk-Suffolk Anglia said train services between Lowestoft and Norwich would be cancelled, delayed or revised "until further notice".It added Network Rail staff were at the scene investigating and passengers could use their tickets on some local bus routes. "A limited number of rail replacement buses have been sourced to operate between Lowestoft and Norwich," Greater Anglia said on its website. Tickets were being accepted on buses, X2, X21 and X22, between Lowestoft and Norwich, as well as the X1 and X11 services between Lowestoft and Great Somerleyton swing bridge was built in 1905 and carries the double-tracked Norwich to Lowestoft railway line. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Suffolk animator on turning drawing passion into career
As a child, Will Lloyd-Cook loved to draw Marvel Comic characters, and as an adult, he has turned that passion into an award-winning 35-year-old grew up in Lowestoft, Suffolk, before going to the University of Hertfordshire to study digital has become an animation series director and worked on successful children's shows including The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Alphablocks and Digby Lloyd-Cook, who recently became a dad, wants to create shows for his daughter while also inspiring the next generation. Mr Lloyd-Cook attended the former Kirkley High School, now East Points Academy, in Lowestoft, and discovered he enjoyed drawing. He later attended Lowestoft College where one evening he flipped a coin and decided to study digital animation."I had very hard working lecturers that I owe my career to," he said."Before I went to university I didn't know any names of the software, I didn't know anything about animation." Mr Lloyd-Cook actually dropped out of his university course early to take up a job, but he took time out of work to make sure he graduated in first role was an animation fixer for Blue Zoo Animation Studio on the show Tree Fu Tom, where he specialised in the animation of the characters' clothing."Before I knew it, not only was I doing skirts and wings, but then I was getting my own shots to animate, my own sequences, then I was getting my own scenes," he continued."It just snowballed from there where it became a two-week temporary job to now 14 years in the industry." In 2019, Mr Lloyd-Cook was part of the Bafta award winning team that worked on the show Numberblocks and during the pandemic he was a part of the Emmy award winning team for The Adventures of Paddington. Both were stand out moments, as was directing the show Alphablocks and creating the Netflix show Big Tree City through lockdown."I'm incredibly proud of how we managed to adapt and get a well made series from changing the way in which we worked," he said on that Netflix show. 'Giving back' The artist takes time out of work to speak in schools and for students at his old university."I like giving back to what made me," he continued."It's also fun and it puts things into perspective because those kids you talk to, in the future they want your job and you have to stay one step ahead of them."It makes you appreciate where you are and where you came from when you see these hungry students who want to get into the industry."They inspire me to be better and hopefully they get a little bit of inspiration from me as well." Mr Lloyd-Cook also ensures his daughter is always at the forefront of his mind while working."Whenever I make anything I always think of her," he said."I like to work on shows aimed at her that she'll watch as she grows up."So I'm quite happy in the pre-school area, but the older she gets I'd like to make content for that age group so she can enjoy the stuff that I'm making." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Seaside town named among UK's most affordable places to live set for huge £6million waterfront revamp
A SEASIDE town named as one of the most affordable places to live in the UK is set to get a brand new £6m waterfront revamp. The beachside project is set to include a two-storey restaurant and cafe area. 6 Jubilee Parade will also include three new leisure concession units, public toilets and changing facilities. A new lift will also be installed to improve access to the seafront for beach-goers with mobility issues and pushchairs. It comes as a recent report by property portal Zoopla highlighted Lowestoft, in Suffolk, as one of the most affordable places to live in the UK. Zoopla found that 80% of towns in the south of England now have average prices more than four times household income. 6 Wisbech in Cambridgeshire is the only town in the south of England with prices below three times income while Lowestoft, Wisbeth, Great Yarmouth and Peterborough were among the most affordable towns. The £6 million waterfront revamp is expected to make the town even more attractive to homebuyers – though it's been a lengthy process with completion of the project now expected 'later this year' following delays in the tendering process. The delays also mean the project will not be completed in time for the popular First Light Festival in the town, which celebrates the summer solstice in June. The quaint seaside town holds an interesting claim to fame as it's the first place in the UK to see sunrise each morning. 6 The beach town is home to Ness Point, the UK's most easterly point. Overlooking the sea, Ness Point is marked by a large metal plate on the ground. Deck chairs are often spotted along the promenade, with visitors travelling throughout the night during the summer solstice to watch the sunrise. The redevelopment of facilities comes after East Suffolk Council was awarded £4.3 million through the Government's Levelling Up Fund in March 2023. A further £600,000 investment from East Suffolk Council's capital programme pushed the total cost of the project to just below £5 million. 6 With planning permission granted early last year, the project - which forms the third phase of the Jubilee Parade vision, with the development to complement the Eastern Edge beach huts next to it - started in April last year. It saw the existing 1930s structures on Jubilee Parade demolished, with the promenade extended onto the beach, as Sunrise at Zak's relocated to a temporary building nearby and temporary toilets were installed. This first phase of works was completed last summer. 6 The second phase of the project - involving the construction of the main building - was initially expected to start in June last year, and expected to be completed by Spring 2025. But with delays in the tendering process for the second phase and increased costs - which has seen the total cost of the overall scheme now reach £6 million - work started around three months later in September. This has now pushed the overall timeframe for completion of the second phase back. This week the council said that while "funding for the entire project has been secured," and it "remains scheduled for completion later this year," it will not however be complete by the time the First Light Festival opens in June. The up-and-coming English seaside town with cheap booze and huge beaches A council spokesman said: "The first phase of construction was completed last summer, with some beach huts moved to create space for temporary toilets and cafe to be installed. "The existing structures were demolished, and the promenade extended onto the beach. "After a pause for the summer season, the second phase of construction began in the autumn last year and remains scheduled for completion later this year. "So far, the second phase of work has focused on engineering works to secure the site, including foundations and piling. "These works are progressing well." 6 The council said the lift will connect the Upper Esplanade with the Lower Promenade, providing access to the restaurant space and first floor Eastern Edge beach huts. The council spokesman added: "Work on the structure of the building will begin upon completion of the ground works. "The new complex will greatly improve the facilities on offer at this part of the seafront and will also increase seafront access for everyone, and we are looking forward to its completion later this year. "We have seen increased costs however funding is secured for the entire £6m project. "In August last year, the council took the decision to reallocate funding from the railway station project to provide further support for key Lowestoft regeneration projects, including Jubilee Parade. "The construction will not be complete by the time of the First Light Festival, but will be completed later in the year."
The Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
We woke up with a Banksy mural on our house… it's cost us over £400k and cursed our lives – he's an uncaring a**ehole
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... GERT and Garry Coutts were at home in North London when they had a strange call from the tenant renting their house in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Hearing that scaffolding had been erected overnight, they assumed that the council was fixing the chimney. 12 12 By the following morning it had disappeared to reveal a giant seagull, some 14ft in size, painted on the end of the wall of the house. It was the largest work ever done by the famous yet anonymous street artist, Banksy. In the foreground he had placed a real skip which had strips of insulation in it that resembled chips. The piece, which appeared in August 2021, attracted worldwide attention with hundreds of people flocking to the site, some putting their young children in the skip that the gull was dive-bombing, to take photographs. With talk of the art work being worth £3million, the stunned couple wondered what to do next. But instead of making them a fortune, the street art has caused them years of anguish left them seriously out of pocket. It eventually cost them in excess of £400,000 to have it removed and put in storage and they continue to fork out £3,000 a month to keep it there in the hope of eventually finding a buyer. 'It's not a seagull, it's an albatross!' says an angry Gert. 'At first you think you are gifted by Banksy but you are actually not.' Their extraordinary story and that of another seaside home owner in Margate, Kent, are told in the BBC Sounds podcast The Banksy Story: When Banksy Comes to Town, presented by James Peak. BANKING IN Moment new Banksy artwork is hauled away by council workers in high-vis jackets 'I didn't know what to think or what to do when I first saw it,' says Gert. Amidst all the commotion, the local council decided to act and asked the couple's permission to place a huge Perspex screen over the seagull. 'But it started hanging off because the wind got under it,' says Gert. 'The council then contacted us saying it could be dangerous to the public if it fell off and that we needed to replace it. I said, 'Surely it's your problem.' "They wanted to put a preservation order on it and we would be liable for the upkeep of the artwork at a cost of £40,000 a year. So, there you go Banksy. Does he realise what the consequences are of his art work - or does he care?' Depressed and sick The co-owner of Gert and Garry's house, Rod, managed to arrangea loan to get the wall removed. In a huge undertaking, the 16-tonne structure was lifted off by crane overnight. 12 12 12 After all costs were factored in, including road closure, it was an eye-watering sum in excess of £400,000. But while experts usually value the price of a Banksy artwork in the millions, the reality of selling it on is very different as the unfortunate trio soon discovered. All the auction houses they approached turn down the offer to try to sell it leaving Gert, Garry and Rod to pay £3,000 a month to keep it stored in a climate controlled-warehouse - and ruing the day Banksy came to town. 'I'm completely depressed and sick about it,' says Garry. 'I've done everything I can, tried to do the right things, and me and my wife have just had the p**s taken out of us. I'm so angry about what has gone on because of that a**ehole Banksy. It's as simple as that.' Rod adds: 'Banksy does these things without thought of the consequences – or doesn't give a damn about the consequences." To us he's an uncaring, unthinking person who has had a massive detrimental impact Rod 'He might say, just paint over it if you don't want it but if we did that the public would say, 'How dare you destroy such a phenomenal piece of art?' "We can't win. To us he's an uncaring, unthinking person who has had a massive detrimental impact. "It would have been great if we had got together and worked out how to get the artwork to remain in the public domain and, okay, we may want a little bit of money on top of that, but he has never come forward.' Repeat offender A similar tale happened to homeowner Sam, at her property in Margate. 'I was in bed on a miserable February morning when I checked my phone and there was a message from my tenant at the house, saying, 'Sam, we need to talk,'' she recalls. 'She added a picture of the house with a Banksy on it.' The work released on February 14, 2023 was called Valentine's Day Mascara and featured a painting of a 50s-style housewife wearing an apron and yellow washing-up gloves. With a missing front tooth and a swollen eye, she appears to have pushed her abusive husband into a real-life discarded freezer in front of the painting, with his protruding legs painted on the wall behind. 12 12 Other real items included a frying pan at her feet with splashes of red on it, indicating it to be the bloodied murder weapon, an empty beer bottle and a broken white plastic garden chair. Intriguingly, Sam works with domestic abuse charities, suggesting that the siting may not have been a coincidence. 'I am Kent born and bred and have a long association with Margate. I used to go on holiday there,' says Sam. 'There are two sides to Margate that I know – those who don't have much money and who are really struggling on benefits, and the arty side with people from London who have gone there to capitalise on the property market. "For me, as a social entrepreneur, I believe there are ways to do good and make money. So, I wanted this to do as much good for as many people as we could. "I thought we could use the art work to raise money for the domestic abuse charity, Oasis, in Margate. It would be great for the charity and for the town. 'The first thing I did was to Google, 'What do you do when you wake up with a Banksy on your wall?' I thought it would definitely provide the answers, step-by-step. But it said nothing. 'So, I thought, right, I need to contact the council and find an art gallery that can advise me. "The first one I rang didn't really seem to get it, the second one was Red Eight and the guy who answered the phone said, 'We'll be there within an hour.'' But the problem for the town was that Banksy had decided to do this work in the style of fly-tipped junk – something the council had been criticised for not getting to grips with. Embarrassed by the public attention, council workmen were sent to remove the freezer and the other 'rubbish', leaving behind a by-now meaningless woman and disembodied pair of legs on the wall. Public pressure The public ridicule prompted a quick U-turn and they replaced the freezer but the frying pan had been lost in the rubbish tip. Red Eight chief executive Julian managed to track down the person who had pinched the three-legged chair and had to pay over the odds for its return. With the piece obviously so vulnerable, Julian and Sam went into partnership to have the wall removed for over £200,000 and placed on public exhibition at the Dreamland complex in Margate – along with the freezer and upturned chair – where they are hoping to one day find a buyer. What to do when Banksy comes to town Opinions differ on whether waking up to a Banksy mural on your home is a blessing or a curse, so what should you do if you find yourself the unwitting host of the street art? 'It's very much a seller's market and so I would suggest acting quickly if you want to capitalise on the situation,' Julia Bell, art advisor and founder of Parapluie, told Tatler. 'You could also separate the artwork from the property and conduct a separate sale transaction. If you wish for the mural to remain on your property, you will need to take steps to protect it. 'You could also seek a preservation order from your local council, but there are conditional costs incurred by doing so.' Steph Warren – the only person ever to work for Banksy without signing his non-disclosure agreement - told the first series of the BBC Podcast that situation is crucial for much of his art. 'With Banksy, where he puts the art is fundamental," she says. "Remove the work from the precise place on the streets that he put it, and the work instantly loses its power. Context is everything." Now the owner of street-art gallery Stelladore in St Leonards, also believes painting over the work is better than tearing out walls. 'Rather than it costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, buy a five litre tub of emulsion and paint over it,' she says. 'These things are not meant to be removed and stored. They are supposed to be looked at, admired, photographed and painted over.' 'It's cost more than the house is worth! That's the bizarre thing,' says Sam. 'Somehow this has been gifted to us as our responsibility. The people of Margate also had a huge vested interest in it and that was really big pressure. "There's no precedent and it's easy to look back with hindsight but at the time you are very quickly making decisions on things you don't really understand or know anything about. "Despite all the money and the palaver and the global attention, he [Banksy] is just a vandal.' Rod, who has shared similar grief and expense with the 'Lowestoft Seagull,' shares Sam's despair. 'There's a certain amount of hypocrisy on Bankys's part,' he says. 'He does all these street art works, gets a massive amount of publicity for it, which boosts the price of his art work, but he's saying the people on whom he has imposed the artworks can't have anything. "They've got to live with the cost and the emotional disturbance. 'It's clearly very difficult to sell 16 tonnes of brick and a skip.' We have contacted Banksy's representatives for comment. 12 12 12
