Kevin Nicholls
Published: 09:28 Monday 24 February 2020
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Six mile queues after truck stalls near Rothwell
A broken down lorry is causing major queues on the A14 in Northamptonshire.
Major queues on the A14 in Northampto…
Cambridgeshire police said the road is blocked eastbound close to Cambridge Services.
One of the HGV is said to be loaded with hazardous materials.
Police said: “Please avoid the area. If possible find an alternative route.”
Police road clo…
This was the scene on the A5 near Tesco in Towcester on Sunday morning
Horsemarket was still closed in Northampton on Monday morning as part of the roof of Sol Central remained dangerous following the battering from Storm Ciara.
The busy stretch of…
The A10 is closed near Waterbeach after a crash involving two cars.
The police have closed the busy road which links Cambridge to Ely, while recovery takes place.
Police and ambulance services are on the scene near the traffic lights which lead into th…
The proposed garage would be at the jucntion between the A14 and A140 Picture: GOOGLE MAPS
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Documents submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council propose building a petrol filling station and store on Norwich Road on the roundabout at junction 51.
Vacant land near the junction has been earmarked for the proposed petrol station, which would be managed by EG Group through their Euro Garages arm.
As well as the station, there are also proposals to build a drive-thru cafe and a restaurant.
EG Group say the planned development “will be complimentary to the existing, dated service facilities to the north of the junction”.
If planning permission is received, the complex could lead to the creation of more than 100 jobs, according to EG Group.
The plans come as the Shell garage on the same roundabout propose making significant changes to their site, including planning to halve the number of car filling points to six to make way for another HGV station.
Shell also plan to remove the existing kiosk, canopy, fuel tanks, pumps and jet wash to allow for the construction of a new sales building, forecourts, canopy and underground tanks and car parking spaces.
MORE: A14 petrol station to become more HGV-friendly in major revamp
The £1.5 billion scheme to improve journeys between the East of England and the Midlands was originally planned to open to traffic by the end of 2020.
Today the Government-owned company said it plans to open the A14 improvement ahead of schedule this s…
PUBLISHED: 18:13 05 February 2020 | UPDATED: 19:27 05 February 2020
Will Jefford
There are long delays over the Orwell Bridge after two cars and a HGV crashed on the A14 blocking one lane. Picture: HIGHWAYS ENGLAND
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A crash between two car…
An application to redevelop the Shell petrol station in Needham Market, off the A14 has been submitted. Pictrue: GOOGLE MAPS
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According to plans submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning officers, major changes would be made to the filling station on the roundabout at junction 51 of the A14, near Needham Market.
The papers map out plans to remove the existing kiosk, canopy, fuel tanks, pumps and jet wash to allow for the construction of a new sales building, forecourts, canopy and underground tanks as well as more car parking.
As part of the development the number of car filling stations will be halved from 12 to six to accommodate another HGV station, increasing the number from two to three.
Despite the reduction of car fuelling stations, the application says the new arrangement will create a “starter gate” formation which will “allow for better throughput of cars and less congestion and meet the needs of the site”.
The canopy over the top of the petrol station is also due to be reduced to one “significantly smaller in size, bulk and scale”.
On designs for the new sales unit, Shell say the new building will be “modern in design, with a glazed front elevation, providing a light and spacious internal environment for customers”.
They also say it will create a “valuable source of jobs” which will suitable for local residents – especially those looking for flexible hours.
An application to redevelop the Shell petrol station in Needham Market, off the A14 has been submitted. Pictrue: GOOGLE MAPS
Archant
According to plans submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning officers, major changes would be made to the filling station on the roundabout at junction 51 of the A14, near Needham Market.
The papers map out plans to remove the existing kiosk, canopy, fuel tanks, pumps and jet wash to allow for the construction of a new sales building, forecourts, canopy and underground tanks as well as more car parking.
As part of the development the number of car filling stations will be halved from 12 to six to accommodate another HGV station, increasing the number from two to three.
Despite the reduction of car fuelling stations, the application says the new arrangement will create a “starter gate” formation which will “allow for better throughput of cars and less congestion and meet the needs of the site”.
The canopy over the top of the petrol station is also due to be reduced to one “significantly smaller in size, bulk and scale”.
On designs for the new sales unit, Shell say the new building will be “modern in design, with a glazed front elevation, providing a light and spacious internal environment for customers”.
They also say it will create a “valuable source of jobs” which will suitable for local residents – especially those looking for flexible hours.
new
Robert William of Haughley Park
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What is your connection to East Anglia?
I was born in Stowmarket next to the ‘Camping Land’, a grass triangle near the market place. I was always puzzled that nobody ever seemed to camp on it but later I learned that ‘camping’ was an early form of football, which is exactly what we boys did on it!
What is your East Anglian Heaven ie what do you love most about East Anglia?
It’s corny, but it’s the skies – we get fantastic sunrises and sunsets. On the ground though, it’s the medieval churches. Suffolk has about 600 and Norfolk about 900, one in each village.
What is your East Anglian Hell ie what you hate most about living here?
I’m sorry but it’s the A14. It attracts too much development.
What’s your favourite East Anglian restaurant?
Wyken Vineyard. Good food and an interesting place to take visitors.
What’s your favourite way to spend an East Anglian evening?
Out on our back terrace with family and a bottle of wine, cooking on the barbecue and watching the sun go down.
What’s your favourite East Anglian landmark?
When I lived in London it was Woolpit church spire, delicately lit up at night. The A14 does have its uses – seeing the spire meant I was nearly home.
The best thing that happens in East Anglia every year?
I’m biased, but many say it’s ‘Weird and Wonderful Wood’ here at Haughley Park. Everyone talks about the ‘atmosphere’. It’s not happening this year but will be back in 2021.
What’s your specialist Mastermind subject?
In London I was a furniture designer/maker (his business was Pearl Dot Furniture Workshop in Islington), so possibly the different species and uses of wood, but I’d have to do a lot of swotting.
What is always in your fridge?
Three or four bottles of plain water at present. My wife is trying to stop me drinking so much orange juice which she says is bad for me.
Your simple philosophy of life?
Do what you love doing if it doesn’t harm anyone.
What’s your favourite film?
The Shawshank Redemption.
What was your first job?
I worked for my father, but the first job I got for myself, in 1967, was as a ‘Layout Planner’ with Dexion Storage and Logistics. I have a degree in history but ended up designing warehouses for their French subsidiary. Did you know that the French for Fork Lift Truck is Chariot-Elevateur?
What is your most treasured possession?
My 1928 Bentley. I love its engineering quality, its simplicity and the way it so clearly expresses what it does in the way it looks – it’s also wonderful to drive on our country roads.
Who do you admire most?
Pioneers like Brunel. People with imagination and foresight. My father was one.
What is your biggest indulgence?
An open log fire in the hall, which we bank up at night and keep going most of the winter.
What do you like about yourself most?
My digestive system. It seems to work really well.
What is your worst character trait?
Indecision.
What is your favourite holiday destination?
If I’m allowed only one, it has to be France.
Best day of your life?
The day I made the prototype of my ‘Plank Back Chair’, but the births of my two daughters come close.
What’s your favourite breakfast?
My only really healthy meal: rolled jumbo oats with a ground-up seed mix and sultanas, soaked in apple juice and with blueberries and whatever fruit is in season, cut up.
What’s your favourite tipple?
I do like a nice whisky with San Pellegrino water.
What’s your hidden talent?
I used to be able to take people’s headaches away by hovering my hand over their head. All in the mind of course.
When were you most embarrassed?
When I was invited to watch a big event on Horse Guards Parade and went wearing a dinner jacket.
What’s your earliest memory?
My friend and I, aged around three, were playing on one side
of our road when a man with a wheelbarrow stopped on the
other side and stared at us. In his barrow there was a sack with something moving inside it and we both knew immediately that he must be a German collecting up little English boys. We took one look at each other and fled home. I still don’t know what was in that sack. I’m now married to a German though.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Maybe Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Tell us something people don’t know about you?
I have never bought a CD.
What’s the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?
F-off Four-eyes! I had caught someone throwing fast food litter out of a posh Range Rover and told them to pick it up.
Tell us why you live here
I want to keep this lovely place going.
What do you want to tell our readers about most?
A new event here in February: SPECTACLE of LIGHT. It’s an after-dark walking trail through the gardens of the house. The trees and buildings will be illuminated and there will be amazing light installations accompanied by a musical score. Very much a family event.
See our website: www.haughleypark.co.uk
If you’d like to be featured please email gina@hallfarmfornham.com follow Gina @geewizzgee1
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The Spectacle of Light at Haughley Park.
