Economic Portrait of the North Norfolk Area

North Norfolk District is a large rural area of some 96,547 hectares (373 square miles) situated on the northern periphery of the East of England Region. It is bounded by some 73 kilometres (45 miles) of North Sea coastline between Holkham in the west and Horsey in the south-east.

Most of the District benefits from attractive coastal and rural landscapes, some of which are nationally recognised in the designation of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Norfolk Heritage Coast and the Broads. The District is also important for its biodiversity and areas of nature conservation interest. In particular, its north coast stretching from Weybourne in the east along to the boundary with the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in the west is of international importance for its wildlife habitats. However, whilst the coastal area plays a major role in creating North Norfolk’s distinctive environment, it also presents two significant challenges. The first emanates from the fact that North Norfolk’s cliffed coastline between Kelling Hard (near Weybourne) and Cart Gap (near Happisburgh), which is made of soft glacial deposits, has been eroding since the last ice age. The second concerns the low-lying coastline either side of the cliffs, which is at risk from tidal flooding.

The varied landscape and geology of North Norfolk has led to the development of local architectural styles and traditions which are still prevalent today. The quality and distinctive character of the built environment derived from these architectural styles and traditions is particularly apparent in the District’s town centres, small villages and older farm buildings; this has been recognised in the large number of Listed Building and Conservation Area designations.

The District had an estimated resident population of 99,800 in mid-2004. The principal settlements in the District are its seven towns and three large villages (i.e. villages with populations greater than 1,500), distributed more or less evenly across it, and which accommodate half its population (see diagram). The other half lives in the large number of smaller villages, hamlets and scattered dwellings that are dispersed throughout the rural area. The principal settlements are:

As well as underpinning a strong and diverse tourism industry, North Norfolk’s attractive and distinctive coastal and rural environments have proved popular retirement locations. This was reflected in the findings of the 2001 Census, which revealed that 25.4% of the District’s population was aged 65 or over, compared with 20% and16% for Norfolk and England and Wales respectively. Indeed, retirement has been a major cause of the net inward migration which has fuelled population growth in the District over the last thirty years or so (in spite of the fact that deaths have exceeded births in the area during this period). Over the years, North Norfolk’s environment has also attracted a large number of people to acquire second homes in the area, often placing local people at a disadvantage and the housing market close to the low wage levels present around the district.

The economy of North Norfolk remains relatively narrow with an overdependence upon employment in the agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors all of which face significant structural change and operate in a global context.  The local economy is particularly characterised by the fact that the majority of employees (84%) work in small businesses.  Whilst there has been a change in the business base of the manufacturing sector with business closures/rationalisations in the food processing and engineering sectors in recent years, there has also been a growth in employment in the manufacture of plastic and timber products and marine engineering/boatbuilding.

Today, significant numbers of employees are engaged in the provision of education, health and social care, public administration, retailing and tourism.  The tourism sector has enjoyed growth through investment in quality accommodation and attractions, and a move to year-round operations capturing short breaks and specialist markets in addition to the traditional summer holiday.

Whilst most of the District’s principal settlements have small industrial estates, the main concentration of manufacturing employment is in Fakenham and North Walsham. In addition, Cromer, Mundesley, Sheringham and Wells are traditional seaside resorts, and Hoveton acts as an important centre for Broads-based tourism.

The nearby urban area and major economic, social and cultural centre of Norwich (approximate population 200,000), situated some twenty miles to the south of Cromer, exerts a considerable influence over the District. The towns of King’s Lynn (pop. 33,730), situated nineteen miles to the west of Fakenham and  Great Yarmouth  (pop. 46,780), sixteen miles to the south-east of Stalham, are the other principal neighbouring settlements, but their impact is  more limited.

Over the last fifteen years or so, the traditional role of North Norfolk’s seven market towns as local employment and service centres has been subject to increasing competition from Norwich (which, amongst other attractions, happens to be the largest and highest ranking retail centre in the region) and, to a more limited extent, the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. The retail competition provided by these centres has been mitigated to some extent by new supermarket, DIY store and other retail developments, primarily in Cromer, Fakenham and North Walsham. However, the Council has for some years recognised that additional measures are necessary to sustain the viability and secure the revitalisation of North Norfolk’s towns, and thereby form the basis for a more sustainable District-wide community. Accordingly, Cromer, Fakenham, North Walsham and Sheringham have been the subject of regeneration programmes that have resulted in a number of initiatives to promote the economic, environmental and social well-being of these settlements, including town centre environmental enhancement schemes financed by the District and County Council with support from the Regional Development Agency, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Union. Also arising out of the regeneration programmes has been the decision to set up individual Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) for Cromer, Fakenham, North Walsham, Sheringham, Holt, Stalham and Wells in order to foster wider community involvement in decisions on regeneration initiatives in these towns.

North Norfolk’s peripheral location is reflected in the fact that it has no trunk roads or motorways. Only the A140 (Cromer to Norwich), the A148 (Cromer to King’s Lynn - via Holt and Fakenham but also serving Sheringham) and the A1065 (Fakenham to Mildenhall) are regarded as part of the national ‘primary route network’. Other important routes are the A1067 (Fakenham to Norwich), the A149 (Cromer to Great Yarmouth – via North Walsham and Stalham) and the A1151 (linking the A149 at Smallburgh to Norwich via Hoveton). The only public rail service is the ‘Bittern Line’, operated by One, linking Sheringham with Norwich. This is part of the regional rail network and includes stations at Cromer, North Walsham and Hoveton as well as several rural halts. Most of North Norfolk’s villages benefit only from very limited public bus services and two of the seven towns, Holt and Stalham, are deemed by the County Council not to benefit from the desired level of service for their respective populations. Related to the level of public transport services across the District is the finding from the 2001 Census that 82% of households in North Norfolk owned at least one car, compared with the Norfolk average of 79%.