Norfolk Broads - The Forum - Are the Broads Britain's 'magical waterland'?

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What a load of absolute rubbish! How much tax payers money have they wasted on making a beautiful natural country location sound like a mock-up of Disneyland? I'm not even a Norfolk resident, I've visited the beautiful Broads numerous times and think this idea is completely ridiculous. The money would be far better spent on making the area more accessible with decent roads and better rail services.

zacthedog

Jul-23-2010 @ 5:17 PM

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No sarah, we want to keep it as quiete as poss so no one else visits and we can have it all to ourselves Playful Wink

and welcome to this site

Gary
1hr 30mins 60mls away
forum girly swot 19/3/2010

JennyMorgan

Jul-23-2010 @ 6:20 PM

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Would be nice to have known that I am going to be living in Disneyland, but no one asked! Will my address now change?

Jenny Morgan,
A vane, a boat, but not a bird.
http://www.drascombe-association.org.uk/index.php
The Broads is The Broads, it is NOT a National Park. Parliament says so!! And so does DEFRA & the Ordnance Survey!!

Jaywickrob

Jul-23-2010 @ 6:37 PM

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Further to the OP's link the story appears today in the Telegraph and on Yahoo.

http://uk.travel.yahoo.com/p-promo-3312543

I no longer live in that part of the world, but did live in Suffolk (Lavenham) some years ago and spent a lot of time visiting and cruising the Broads. I loved the peace and tranquility, but there is no money in peace and tranquility.
Rebranding to encourage more people to visit, throw their rubbish everywhere, pollute the waterways and make lots of noise seems reasonable to me Wink

This message was edited by Jaywickrob on Jul-23-10 @ 6:38 PM

osdguy

Jul-23-2010 @ 6:45 PM

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Disneyland?
Well maybe not to far off the mark???? Playful

We have some Mickey Mouse types in a quango, who make some Goofy decisions whist not giving a Donald D tounge-in-cheek

Why even on this beloved forum we have some of the seven dwarfs tounge-in-cheek

We may not have a little mermaid but there is certainly some flotsam and jetsam on the system and we do have a Friar Tuck (or at least we did) on here at one point.

I more than once I've heard someone calling for Huey after the local ale, although Dewie and Louie never seem to be as quite in demand.

So yes it could be Disneyland after all Smile

regards

Marc (stinky owner & rag n stick appreciator) & Karen (rag n stick)

jaguar

Jul-23-2010 @ 7:18 PM

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regards,Mike

STINKIES UNITED.
chairman of cider lovers united

forum girly swot 25/9/2009, 6/11/2009 , 10/12/2009, 8/1/2010,
2/4/2010, 4/6/2010, 18/06/2010 and 16/7/2010

Rondonay

Jul-23-2010 @ 10:37 PM

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Such a cutesy slogan, fair strips the enamel off yer teeth.

I loved the genuine real naturalness of The Broads and Broads people from the first visit onwards. Magic not required.

Pauline

“The wonder is always new that any sane man can be a sailor.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unintentional Forum Girly Swot 30.10.09 2.7.10

SOS247

Jul-23-2010 @ 11:11 PM

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It is very clear that the Norfolk Broads are still in decline, and you don't
need a laptop & a spreadsheet to know this! Because it can be clearly
seen Frown

The whole area is in a poor state.   As already mentioned, the road
networks & parking facilities are not that special, however Scotland &
Ireland still seem to attract a high percentage of visitors. The difference
is that driving along in those areas is enjoyable, because 'tourist type
pit-stops' are in place.

Obviously our needs have changed over time and  'camping on water' is
no longer what the majority of people want. In the 1960's, 70's & 80's a
planned holiday was very special but now the bar has been raised.
Travel & communication has drastically moved forward so a holiday on
the Norfolk Broads has slipped down the priority list! So the Norfolk
Broads need to be rejuvenated.  Most families visiting here prefer a
nice, clean, dry & warm boat to stay on, with all the facilities of home
(preferably a boat that don't smell of sewage all the time!)  So its clear
things have to change if the Norfolk Broads are going to attract visitors
from all over the world for their annual holidays. Also stag & hen
parties are here to stay, so we must make provisions for these, these
groups spend good money & it is spent in local shops, pubs &
restaurants so we can't ignore them!

Unfortunately there aren't many 'fantastic' leisure areas for children to
visit, and kids just get bored very quickly, so either more leisure places
are needed or all the existing places must work better together to make
it more interesting. Better & clear signage for public footpaths & cycle
paths should also be sorted.
Just for interest, Clippesby Caravan park produced a fantastic booklet,
and it included several local places for people to visit etc. It would be
nice to think they had support on doing these booklets! I believe a
larger booklet should be done (in different languages) and distributed
on a major scale

Major investment is clearly needed and any grant aid that is achieved
must be highlighted and it needs to go into one big pot!
Businesses & charities can then apply to a 'local' office, on an annual
basis with detailed plans, reasons, budgets & long-term gains to the
area etc. These must be available to the public and AGM meetings, with
a committee, including the presentations could happen. One big annual
Norfolk Broads party (I’m sure Richardsons will be happy to host it!)
The main thing is that everything regards to money etc must be out in
the open!

The Broads Authority needs to work with the companies who have
invested and who are still willing to invest long-term, currently I think
that is the 'Big four'!
Obviously these all need to work closely with different major waterside
land owners when making any development decisions, but someone
needs to be responsible overall.   Once the commercial businesses are
sorted, the 'green movement' needs to have a major say in what is
happening, to make sure certain areas & wildlife are fully protected.

The biggest problem I see is that no one is really working together on
sorting the problems or planning for the future.   People are trying to
do something, but no one person is            co-ordinating things.  It
would be nice for everyone to be working together on the long-term
plan, but people are just pulling in different directions.
There are also so many people who were involved in the early years,
and have a great deal of experience & knowledge to offer - the
authorities MUST listen to these people. I’ve spoken to some people in
authority, whose experience amounted to 'sailing a half-decker for the
last year or two!' They know nothing about the past so how can they be
involved in planning for the future of the Norfolk Broads!

My view is that the Norfolk Broads have just lost their way, and it
currently lacks clear direction.  But I still think its going to get worse
before it gets better.... Frown

Oops that was a long post! Blush

They say that 'Hard work never killed anyone' however, sleepless nights, stress, not taking breaks & not eating correctly may just get you there early!!

JennyMorgan

Jul-24-2010 @ 8:29 AM

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I agree that the Broads has long since lost its direction, and this latest re-branding doesn't help.

For generations the Broads has been almost wholly 'boats'.

Then the Broads became a 'wetland of international importance' rather than being The Broads.

We also had had a marketing push by the BA, trying to convince all and sundry that the Broads is a national park rather than The Broads. Rohan trousers, binoculars, floppy hats and walking sandles became mandatory. And clearly boats were a blessed nuisance and their owners were nothing more than just little people.

Thankfully there is now a grudging realization that boats do matter, that they are a part of what makes the Broads the Broads. But all of a sudden the national parks image is resurrected as a means of becoming a World Heritage Site, and yet another image is promoted.

And just to confuse the image still further, The Broads rather than being The Broads, is now being promoted as Hogworts on a Wetland of International Importance.

The Broads is The Broads, and I suspect it will still be so, long after Packman & co have taken early retirement on inflated civil service pensions.

Jenny Morgan,
A vane, a boat, but not a bird.
http://www.drascombe-association.org.uk/index.php
The Broads is The Broads, it is NOT a National Park. Parliament says so!! And so does DEFRA & the Ordnance Survey!!

SuPine

Jul-24-2010 @ 8:51 AM