ENVIRONMENT

The Mayfly, burgeoning coffee and cultural High Street hub, is turning some derelict land into, well, something else. A community garden? A mini-wildlife reserve? Butterfly haven? Part of a grand scheme to upgrade the whole of the cliff-face? It'll be up to those who get involved, said Piers Colby, le patron of The Mayfly and community catalyst.

On what had turned out to be  General Election Day, The Mayfly Garden Group welcomed Dr Ian Bedford and Dannny Suggit, Production Manager of PlantGrow Ltd

The Shed continues. We regularly meet on Wednesdays at 10am on land next to Lowestoft Station carpark.

For many years, the piece of land was a siding and cattle dock for the railway. We've found eleven posts. They are very robust – huge steel bars (possibly rail track) embedded in concrete. We have tried many ways of chopping the concrete off. We have failed. Up until now.

Pictured are the larvae of the brown-tailed moth. There's several colonies on the Land of Hope and Dreams. They look like spider-web nurseries, but they are actually “ … a silken tent”. Some will be pleased to know they eat the young leaves of brambles, amongst others.

The hairs on the larvae can cause irritation to the skin, about the same strength as a stinging nettle, and on rare instances can cause severe skin reaction and rash. So best not to give them a friendly stroke.

Did you know this is Big Plastic Count Week, 11-17th March?

If you were on Lowestoft's sunny South Beach on 28th August you may have seen people writing in the sand. It was a huge postcard to Rishi Sunak, our current Prime Minister. 

“Dear Rishi, hear our voice, save our beach, Floods 1953. Love, Lowestoft xxx”.

Many people watched and commented, and some Lowdown postcards – Lowdown's favourite social media – were completed. Being a holiday town, it wasn't just locals. 

Sometimes we have big household items which we need to replace. Quite often the replacements are second-hand, and households are left with large things which are difficult to get rid of, especially if you don't have access to a van or a trailer or something. And so sometimes they get dumped in back alleys or on the street. Fly-tipping. No one wants that.

Lowestoft Town Council has a remedy. They are funding a trial scheme 'Bulky Waste Free Collection and Disposal' service.

Local community group #We Are Here Lowestoft (#WAHL) has had a significant influence on our MP, Peter Aldous, and on this government's response to the Climate Change Emergency.

The Government has been forcing through parliament its Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill. Some intense lobbying of politicians over several years resulted in several important amendments being inserted. In a classic to-and-fro between the House of Commons and the House of Lords the amendments were removed in the Commons and re-instated in the Lords. 

The period of consultation was only 16 days. Get your comments in. See link below.

East Suffolk Council have announced their plans for the Battery Green car park and surrounding area.

The design team are Norwich-based architects Chaplin Farrant and Hemingway Design.

On Wednesday 4th October they presented a small exhibition showcasing the plans for us, the potential users, to examine.

It's not hard to think this is a Good Idea.

It's not all that often that we can congratulate local councils.

Lowestoft Town Council has – it seems – listened to people and made some sensible decisions.

They had proposed bringing down the Triangle sails. Contentious, but not outrageous. This has been done. 

But they also proposed removing three of the four trees gracing the Triangle. There weren't many in the area who understood this idea. And they complained and objected.