Locals win war with National Trust by stopping 'abhorrent' building planned for internationally important nature reserve on Norfolk coast

Daily Mail​

03-06-2025

Plans for a massive visitor centre at a popular beauty spot have been withdrawn by the National Trust after it capitulated in the face of a huge public backlash over the 'abhorrent' building.
The charity had been accused of putting money over nature with the scheme at Morston Quay in north Norfolk, claiming it would provide much-needed facilities for visitors, staff and volunteers.
But more than 150 formal objections were lodged over the threat it posed to 'one of the few relatively untouched places remaining along the coast'. Only three people approved.
Locals argued it was intended to generate more income and act as an administrative hub by 'introducing office space and adding retail space' at the spot, which sits within Blakeney National Nature Reserve and is a vital haven for wildlife including ground-nesting birds and England's largest Grey Seal colony.
One objector said: 'Morston Quay and the marshes beyond are a precious natural resource which need protection, not exploitation.
'It is wild and beautiful and should not be regarded as an opportunity for the expansion of administrative facilities or opportunities for raising funds.'
Morston Parish Council also waded into the dispute, accusing the Trust of creating 'spurious' arguments in favour of the visitor centre when its aim was simply to commercialise the spot.
'There are no benefits to the residents of Morston from this plan,' it wrote.
'Almost everything about this proposal is abhorrent. It is the wrong building, in the wrong place, for the wrong purpose.'
Early last year, the Trust's application for a food truck at the beauty spot was blocked by councillors who questioned why it was needed when there was already a café in the Lookout.
The existing visitor centre is a modest grey and white wooden building with steps up to a viewing room topped by a weathervane.
Toilet facilities are provided in two portacabins, which would have been removed under the plans for the proposed structure - a huge single-storey building made from natural wood cladding with a glass side that would be 85ft long and 27ft wide.
This would house a new 'visitor welcome point' and space for 'staff and volunteer welfare', while the Lookout building would continue to offer food and drinks.
But the Trust has now confirmed it has cancelled the move, with a spokesman saying: 'We are grateful to everyone who engaged with our planning application for improved visitor facilities at Morston Quay.
'We have taken on board comments from the local community and have decided to withdraw our current planning application, with the intention of resubmitting a revised application to North Norfolk District Council by the autumn or winter.'
No further detail was given about the amended application but local media reported a 'well-placed source said it had abandoned the visitor centre and would now confine its proposals to upgrading toilet facilities at the site'.
The trust insisted the development would have created a more pleasant experience for the 100,000 people who visit Morston Quay every year.
But the parish council added in its objection: 'We have been presented with an enormous and unnecessary new development which will fundamentally change the character of Morston Quay and seems designed to create a full-time visitor and administrative hub for the National Trust as a priority, introducing office space and adding retail space, while also providing new toilets.'
Matthew Rice, a Norfolk painter, designer and writer to contributes to Country Life magazine, warned the introduction of a new centre with 'delineated parking spaces' and 'bonded surfaces' would place a 'barrier' between people and the area's natural beauty.
He said: 'There are no tall forests, craggy rocks or mountains to absorb the impact of new buildings or to dilute the suburbanising effect of 'bonded surfaces'.
'The whole appeal of this wild place is its lack of boundaries and its apparent unplanned layout. Imposing a one-size-fits-all National Trust solution can destroy all this at a stroke.
'The desire for neatness, street furniture and lighting in the name of safety is all around us and, if great care is not taken in delivering improvements, it can suddenly make Norfolk look like everywhere else.'
Another objector to the visitor centre plan said: 'The vast majority of visitor traffic is generated by the local, family-run businesses on Blakeney Point. These families offer a fantastic welcome and expertise on the local flora, fauna and history.
Other objections included: 'It promotes unnecessary overdevelopment of what is one of the few relatively untouched places remaining along the coast.
'But perhaps what is most important is the sheer contempt with which the community has been treated throughout the process.
'The Quay is not just a space from further afield but also for the local residents that live and work there.'
The Trust has also faced anger from locals at nearby Brancaster, who accused it of trying to 'monetise' the harbour there with new rules and charges, including £60 fees for mooring dinghies.
There has been another backlash a few miles away in Burnham Overy Staithe, near Wells, where the charity has been accused of neglecting an iconic windmill after it emerged plans to restore the building didn't include replacing the sails.
West Norfolk Council has told the Trust the sails must be replaced when the work is complete.
NT has faced a turbulent few years, amid complaints it adopted a 'woke' agenda by forcing staff to wear gay pride badges and listing nearly 100 properties with links to slavery and colonialism.