Originally published in the North Norfolk News on 1 November 2007. Lightly edited from my original copy; an unrelated passage about a supermarket dispute has been omitted.
North Norfolk has never been renowned for its entertainment or culture. Some might say it’s the retirement capital of England, or a snob’s paradise, but with so many older residents in the area, it’s no wonder there is often a lot of tension between the younger and older generations. Whatever young people do, it sometimes feels as though someone will criticise.
Take this week for example – it was Halloween – a night where the children get a chance to dress up and earn themselves a few sweets for their efforts. But when they came knocking at your door did you offer them a piece of fruit, or did you slam the door in their face and threaten to call the police?
A perfect scenario that shows the bitter division between the two age groups, and you’ll always find more illustrations of it in the news.
Children and teenagers rely on the nightlife to keep themselves entertained, and in towns like Holt the two generations sometimes struggle to live in harmony.
An event at the sports and social club this summer was recently criticised for not informing local residents almost two months in advance. Some residents described the music as an ‘agony’ and that an environmental health officer should attend in future to oversee the music set up.
In recent years the town has lost its carnival because of the lack of support, and the community centre has seen a considerable cutback in events during the past decade.
As a consequence of similar stories we’ve seen raves in the area – where a large amount of people flock to rural areas with a sound system and a large quantity of alcohol – and it’s led to a lot of violence. I don’t support this, but is it not fair to say that these events probably wouldn’t have happened if regulations weren’t preventing youth from having events in their hometown?
Holt is no different to other towns in North Norfolk. There’s always going to be newcomers to the towns who have vendettas against the young, but the fact is that a lot of these venues were around long before the housing estates were there. Why was this never taken into account beforehand?
Meanwhile in Cromer the proposed zoo took several years of campaigning before an agreement could be made. Why does something that could bring so much joy to children take so much effort and time to be sorted? These proposals and ideas shouldn’t be discouraged.
However, I wouldn’t like to tar every adult with the same brush. They may do the same with us, but I like to keep an open mind about each individual.
One resident that lives close to one of the criticised venues in Holt welcomed new music into the town. She wished to remain anonymous but said that although the music was loud and wasn’t to her taste “it was great that it was live music and in Holt!”
The good news is that the council is finally listening to us. Last week I was invited to the launch of a ‘youth strategy’ which is being organised to give young people a chance to speak their mind, and help them effectively spend their budget.
Maureen Clarke from the North Norfolk District Council was overseeing the strategy and told me: “The youth strategy will, amongst other things, promote good relationships between the older and younger residents in the community. Both will play a major part in breaking down barriers and resolving tensions.”
She added: “Seeing young people as they are, not as problems but as part of the solution to community issues, may not only go a long way towards breaking down these barriers, but will help create more understanding and confidence between both younger and older members of the community.”
The launch saw everyone getting their chance to have a say. One young person described the situation in North Norfolk as a “vicious cycle” where the elderly move into the towns, and force the young to move elsewhere where there’s higher income jobs, affordable housing, and more to do after they outgrow the youth clubs.
Of course the last thing we would want to do is upset the elderly and portray them all as monsters, but it’s time our voice was heard too. We want to fight off the image Norfolk is a ‘backward’ county, and cater for all ages. This doesn’t require any dramatic changes; it just requires what they called in the olden days, community spirit!