Work begins to improve facilities for sailors

Work is under way to build new facilities for sailors and visiting tourists sailing off The Wash.

The Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk said new showers, toilets and washing machines would bring more boaters to King's Lynn.

A total of £240,000 is being spent to convert an annexe next to the listed Sommerfeld and Thomas Warehouse for the project.

Peter Harvey, from the Sail the Wash group, said it would make the quayside much more attractive.

Conversion works are expected to take about four months to complete and cost £240,000.

Leisure craft visiting King's Lynn use the South Quay pontoons to moor up.

The investment is part of a £25m regeneration of the area, funded by Town Deal cash awarded by the government in 2021.

Other projects in King's Lynn include a new library and the restorations of the Custom House and St George's Guildhall.

Harvey said his group was trying to get more sailors to visit the town.

"If you're planning to visit somewhere, you want to know you can get a hot shower when you get there," he explained.

"If you're caravanning, you come to a caravan site and you expect, once you've parked your caravan, to be able to use the facilities.

"Unless you provide it, they might come once, but they're not going to come back or they're not going to tell their friends how good it is."

No major changes are expected to be made to the exterior of the annexe, to ensure it complements the listed warehouse next door.

Jemma Curtis, the council's programmes manager, said the facilities would make the riverfront "more accessible, more usable" and "more appealing".

"This is a really important part of the wider vision for the riverfront where we're looking at further investment in the public realm."

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