Miscellaneous News Items

WARM HOME - LOCAL GRANTS

I wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of the Warm Homes:Local Grant scheme which is now open for applications to residents of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk.

Letters have been landing at various properties across the borough over the last few days, so I wanted to ensure that all parish councils are provided with the necessary reassurance around the legitimacy of this grant.

The Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk has been working as part of the Norfolk Warm Homes consortium since 2022 to facilitate the implementation of domestic energy efficiency grants across the borough. These grants typically accommodate the replacement of central heating with air source heating, insulation measures and solar PV where appropriate.

Previous grants have included LAD & HUG, however these have now both been replaced by the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) which is now open for applications.

Any interested or concerned residents are advised to contact myself through either Jacob.Medlock@West-Norfolk.gov.uk or on 01553 616227 for details. Alternatively, households that wish to make an application should visit the following link - Norfolk Warm Homes

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries regarding this correspondence.

Many thanks,

Jacob Medlock, Housing Standards Officer (Energy Efficiency)

Tel: 01553 616227

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Dear Parish Council / Community Team,

I hope this message finds you well.

Passenger Assist Cambridgeshire Ltd.                       

My name is Mohammed Bashir, Director of Passenger Assist Cambridgeshire Ltd. We are a small, specialist transport provider based near Peterborough — built with one mission - 

to make sure that no elderly or disabled person is left stranded or isolated simply because they can’t drive or access public transport.

 The reality we see every day

 Across our rural villages — from Stamford to St Neots, along the A15 and A47 to King’s Lynn — many vulnerable residents are quietly struggling. Buses are gone. Taxis won’t travel out that far or do not have accessible vehicles. Family members are working full-time or living miles away.

We speak to people who haven’t left their homes for weeks.

 Some miss vital hospital appointments. Others skip social clubs or coffee mornings because there’s simply no one to help them get there.

 It’s heartbreaking — and entirely preventable.

 What Passenger Assist does

 Passenger Assist is a licensed, fully insured, wheelchair-accessible transport service that provides door-to-door assisted journeys for disabled and elderly passengers.

 Our drivers are DBS-checked, trained in mobility and care assistance, and provide true human support — not just a lift.

We help with:

– Hospital, GP and therapy appointments

– Care home and family visits

– Shopping, day centres, community clubs and faith gatherings

– Short social trips: park walks, coffee mornings, even lunch with friends

Every journey is handled with dignity, patience and personal care.

 We wait with passengers, help them into clinics, carry bags, and ensure they’re safely home again. This isn’t a taxi — it’s companion transport.

 When one person finds out about Passenger Assist, it often leads to a chain of impact — family relief, improved wellbeing, and restored independence.

 Why this matters

Loneliness is quietly becoming one of the biggest challenges in rural Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

When mobility ends, so does connection.

 We believe accessibility isn’t just about ramps and lifts — it’s about giving people a reason to smile again, to get out, to belong.

Mohammed Bashir

Director – Passenger Assist Cambridgeshire Ltd

 01733 208208

 accounts@passengerassistcambs.co.uk

 www.passengerassistcambs.co.uk

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REVIEW OF SUBSIDISED LOCAL BUS SERVICES

The Transport Team at County Hall will be undertaking a review of subsidised Local bus services in your area, focussing mainly on Swaffham. Not all these services will operate in your area, but some do and I am sure you have had feedback about bus services in your area at some point.

At present, we are really looking at 3 services 

A) 10: Swaffham Town Service:     B) 32: Mileham ,Castle Acre, Swaffham, Kings Lynn :     and C) The Swaffham Flexibus.

There is a possibility that we may look to make some changes at Easter next year, but more likely any changes could be later in the year. We want to continue and hopefully improve these services and I am really asking for your input as part of this review.

I have attached a copy of these services above and a link to the details of the Swaffham Flexibus below so you can familiarise yourself with these services and how it impacts on your residents. Added to this, if there are any other bus services you wish to comment on or discuss in your area , then please feel free to raise them.

Swaffham Flexibus+ - Travel Norfolk

The Swaffham Flexibus operates with a booking app and is in its 4th year since we won Government funding to start it. Though the booking app and the flexibility of this service have worked well, older users do struggle with the technology, but it does appeal to younger users. It also covers a very large area which does hamper efficiencies at times and passenger numbers have stagnated. The Swaffham Town service does struggle for passengers too and maybe it can be repurposed around Swaffham, or combine it with Flexibus as both do struggle to be sustainable?

It also maybe that certain villages where usage on the Swaffham Flexibus has been poor are removed, especially those that have other transport options to Thetford and Kings Lynn.

If you have had any feedback from residents, or you have any comments/suggestions you would like to make about the services above then I would like to hear them as part of this review. At this stage, we are just working through what options we have. Though funding and sustainability are always an important factor, no suggestions are at present is out of scope. For example, we could stick with the same, or do you wish to see an increased frequencies from certain villages, better access to specific GP Surgeries, villages added that are not served or served well by public transport. Also, on a larger scale, are there other places we should consider linkages too from villages, such as Downham and rail, or even from Swaffham?

I appreciate that you may not necessarily have a detailed working knowledge of the services, so please feel to get in touch to discuss issues or raise questions and queries you may have for transport in these areas and where residents may wish to visit, relative to your Parish. Myself and colleagues are happy to discuss options and ideas and suggestions you have.

Please email me or call me on the numbers below.

Kind Regards

Sean Asplin, Passenger Transport Manager

Travel & Transport Services, Highways, Transport and Waste

Tel: 01603 224361

County Hall

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