Is Walton Highway the ‘wicked wild west’ or a ‘safe area’?
A councillor’s comments have sparked debate over whether Walton Highway is the “wicked wild west” or a “safe area”.
The councillor sent the tumbleweed flying by claiming the area has become so lawless there are now “no go” areas for the forces of law and order.
Cllr Julian Kirk, who also represents the neighbouring villages of Walpole Highway and West Walton, made the comparison in a West Norfolk Council meeting discussing a planning application.
“This area has become known as the wicked wild west, and it is,” he told fellow councillors.
“Members living in the leafy suburbs will have no idea what it is like out there.”
Cllr Kirk, who is also a Norfolk county councillor, was speaking out in opposition to a planning application to install a static and mobile caravan on a patch of land on the outskirts of the village.
He claimed the occupants of such sites – which are dotted across the area – are contributing to a rise in “wild behaviour” in the community.
“There are ‘no go areas’ for police,” he added.
“I have seen police chases down my road. Looking out the window is better than watching TV.”
Some residents have complained to the borough council that people are racing horses and carts along the surrounding roads.
Cllr Kirk urged councillors to visit the area to see the “wild west” for themselves, which they did last week before approving the scheme.
But while the dust has settled on that issue, the metaphorical fists are still flying in the village over his characterisation of the neighbourhood.
Vanessa Norris, 56, who has lived in the area for 11 years on a nearby farm, said: “We’ve never had any problems - it is very quiet.
“You get rubbish being dumped here and there, but that is it. There are definitely not any no-go areas here.”
Nicky, 48, who declined to give her surname, has lived at her home in Walton Highway for four years.
“It feels like a safe area,” she said.
“We have just had positive experiences. At the end of the day, people need to learn to live with each other.”
However, there were a few voices concerned about law and order.
One villager, 72, said it was prone to feuding and vengeance.
“It’s as safe as anywhere to be truthful, but if you upset someone, you may have a problem.
“I don’t think it’s the wild west. But the way people talk sounds like the police won’t go to some places.”
Another villager, who did not wish to be named but has lived nearby for 73 years, added: “No one talks to each other anymore.
“It is sad. I’ve lived here all my life and have known everyone, but it hasn’t got much community spirit anymore.”
And there certainly are tensions in the village.
The planning application for new caravans that prompted the “wild west” comments was for land designated as a gypsy and traveller site by the borough council.
Cllr Kirk said villagers had complained they had seen their properties devalued since the site’s designation, while others were struggling to sell up.
But Freddie Brazil, the applicant, was frustrated at the response and questioned whether prejudices against the gypsy and traveller community have played a part.
Photographs of fly-tipped rubbish were sent to the council by one objector, claiming it was on Mr Brazil’s land. But he insists the images are from elsewhere.
The 49-year-old, who has lived in the area all his life, said: “Anyone with common knowledge knows it’s not here.
“I feel they did it as they don’t want me here, but I’m not doing any harm to anyone.
“The person who sent the pictures to the council should apologise; it feels like discrimination.”
As well as this land at Common Road South, there are a number of other traveller and gypsy sites in the area.
There is a large one nearby at Wheatley Bank, another on Burrett Road near Walsoken, and there are about eight caravans on land behind Mr Brazil’s.
The idea of no-go areas appears to stem from suggestions in the village that police are reluctant to visit some of these larger sites.
For its part, Norfolk Police has said Marshland North – the district covering the villages – is not a high crime area.
Statistics from the last three years appear to support this, with 998 crimes reported in the last 12 months.
Police crime maps do not show any crimes recorded at these traveller sites in Walton Highway in recent months.
Comparatively, there were 1,094 crimes in the nearby Suttons in Lincolnshire and 1,863 in Downham and surrounding villages.
Violent and sexual offences are the biggest number of crimes reported in these areas, followed by anti-social behaviour and criminal damage – a situation common in most areas.
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN?
Cllr Kirk, who is no stranger to political gunslinging, faces a fight to hang on to his county council seat.
He recently quit the Conservative group at the borough council and joined Reform.
His defection has triggered a County Hall by-election for Marshland North in which he is standing.
His opponents have seized on his comments.
Richard Blunt, the deputy leader of the Conservative group at the borough council who also represents the area, is standing against him in the county by-election.
“It’s terrible to make such comments,” he said.
“It does not do anything for the area.”
Matt Hannay, the Labour candidate, said: “It’s disappointing he would use such language to describe the village where he lives. What he said is unfounded.”
Alan Holmes, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats, added: “I understand there are a few who unfortunately get up to mischief, that is a fact of life in rural and urban communities.
“But in three weeks of speaking to people on the doorstep, I cannot remember anyone mentioning their concerns about crime.”
Cllr Kirk is also running against Rob Archer for the Greens and 18-year-old Michael Squire as an Independent.
