Lowestoft

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Lowestoft
Coordinates 52 ° 28 ′  N , 1 ° 45 ′  E Coordinates: 52 ° 28 ′  N , 1 ° 45 ′  E
OS National Grid TM548933
Lowestoft (England)
Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Residents 73,315 (as of 2017)
administration
Post town LOWESTOFT
ZIP code section NR32, NR33
prefix 01502
Part of the country England
region East of England
Shire county Suffolk
District East Suffolk

Lowestoft is the easternmost city in Great Britain . It is located in the county of Suffolk in the District of East Suffolk (until its dissolution in 2019 in the District of Waveney , of which it was the administrative seat). Since 2017 Lowestoft forms its own community ( Parish ) and carries the title of Town . Lowestoft has 73,315 inhabitants (as of mid-2017). On the coast is Ness Point , the most easterly point in the United Kingdom.

Urban geography

The city is located in a charming rural setting, characterized by many waterways. Lowestoft is divided into north and south halves by the harbor and the Lake Lothing and Oulton Broad waterways, which are connected by two bascule bridges , which creates long traffic jams on both sides of the city during rush hour.

In the 19th century , the southern part of the city in particular was strongly influenced by the work of the architect Samuel Morton Peto (1809–1889). Under his planning, the harbor was expanded, and the seafront and various buildings and parks in Victorian style were built , establishing Lowestoft as a seaside resort for Victorian society.

traffic

Lowestoft by end London and Ipswich coming A12 road and from King's Lynn , Norwich and Great Yarmouth next road A47 . In addition, the A146 road begins here , which leads offshore to Norwich. These roads are designated as the primary route.

The city is away from major traffic routes and highways . Decades of negotiations with the planning authorities in London and Ipswich with the aim of improving the city's transport connections and at least expanding the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft to four lanes have not yet led to a final result. Some of the residents are very happy with this state of affairs, especially since the quiet and village-like character of the East English landscape is preserved.

history

In 1665 the naval battle at Lowestoft between Dutch and English naval units took place here, which ended in a devastating defeat for the Dutch.

On November 3, 1914, ships of the German deep-sea fleet bombed Yarmouth and Lowestoft. In both world wars, Lowestoft, the easternmost town in Great Britain, was repeatedly the target of German air raids. This caused considerable damage. There were also fatalities.

economy

The fishing that was prevalent until the 1960s and the industries associated with it have now almost completely come to a standstill. Today the food industry (Birds Eye), shipyards, offshore supply services, construction of oil platform components and, more recently, wind turbines are the main industries in the city. The wind turbine at Ness Point, called “Gulliver”, was completed in 2005 and, with a capacity of 2.75 megawatts, was one of the largest wind turbines in Great Britain. A 500 MW offshore wind farm, Greater Gabbard , was completed in 2012.

Even the tourism plays a significant role with an award-winning beach, two piers , numerous hotels, caravan parks and catering businesses. In the northern district of Corton there is also the Pleasurewood Hills amusement park with family attractions and rides. South of Kessingland is the Suffolk Wildlife Park , renamed “Africa Alive” in 2006. The unemployment rate, which is subject to strong seasonal fluctuations, is, however, due to structural reasons, at 12%, significantly higher than the average in Suffolk or the United Kingdom.

Administration and politics

The community of Lowestoft was granted the status of a Municipal Borough (MB) and thus the city charter in 1885 . It was enlarged in the course of the dissolution of the Rural District Mutford and Lothingland in 1934 by the parish of Gunton and parts of Carlton Colville , Corton , Oulton and Pakefield . With the entry into force of the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974, the city was merged with the MBs Beccles and Southwold , the Urban Districts Bungay and Halesworth , the Rural District Wainford and large parts of the Rural District Lothingland in the newly created Waveney district. The new formation of a community with its own community council for Lowestoft was waived. Instead, were charter trustees in trust tasked to continue the traditions associated with the City rights and preserve it. The urban area has now become a so-called "unparished area".

With the assignment of an area strip to Corton, the "unparished area" was divided into two newly emerging communities on April 1, 2017. Since then, the larger has been Lowestoft, with the title of Town , the smaller Oulton Broad .

Lowestoft maintains a city partnership with Plaisir in France.

Culture

Lowestoft is the birthplace of the composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976). Most of the members of the glam rock group The Darkness also come from here.

A few miles from town is Somerleyton Hall, the palace-like seat of the Somerleyton Barons . The Victorian building with park and hedge labyrinth is open to the public.

The author WG Sebald wrote about Lowestoft in his book “The Rings of Saturn. An English pilgrimage ”.

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ City Populations
  2. ↑ The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972, Section 35, Number 1 on the UK Government's Legislative Server, accessed April 18, 2019
  3. ^ District Councils and Boroughs. Reply by the Minister for Planning and Local Government, John Silkin , to a question by Mr Alan Beith in the House of Commons on 28 March 1974 Hansard (English), accessed on April 18, 2019
  4. ↑ The Waveney District Council (Reorganization of Community Governance) Order 2017 of January 25, 2017, PDF file, 754 kB, accessed on April 18, 2019 (English)
  5. ↑ Website of the partnership association , accessed on April 18, 2019 (English)