It lies in an unforgiving landscape, home to a tough breed of people and more than a few horses. But those are not the only reasons Walton Highway has been likened to the Wild West.
The councillor for the village has sent the tumbleweed flying by claiming the area has become so lawless there are now “no go” areas for the forces of law and order and that it resembles the raucous and unruly American frontier of the 19th century.
Julian Kirk, who also represents the neighbouring villages of Walpole Highway and West Walton, made the comparison in a West Norfolk Council (WNC) meeting discussing a local planning application. “Members living in the leafy suburbs will have no idea what it is like out there.”
Kirk, who is also a Norfolk county councillor, was speaking out in opposition to a planning application to install a static and mobile caravan on a patch of land on the outskirts of the village. He claimed the occupants of such sites – which are dotted across the area – are contributing to a rise in ‘wild behaviour’ in the community.
“There are ‘no go areas’ for police,” he added. “I have seen police chases down my road. Looking out the window is better than watching TV.”
Other locals have complained to WNC that people are racing horses and carts along the surrounding roads. Mr Kirk urged councillors to visit the area to see the “wild west” for themselves, which they did last week before approving the scheme.
Talk of trouble, life as usual
But while the dust has settled on that issue, the metaphorical fists are still flying in the village over Cllr Kirk’s characterisation of the neighbourhood, which has gone down like an overflowing spittoon among some. “This area has become known as the wicked wild west, and it is,” he told fellow councillors.
Vanessa Norris, 56, who has lived in the area for 11 years on a nearby farm, says: “We’ve never had any problems, it is very quiet. “You get rubbish being dumped here and there, but that is it. There are definitely not any no-go areas here.”
Nicky, 48, who declined to give her surname, has lived at her home in Walton Highway for four years. “It feels like a safe area,” she says. “We have just had positive experiences. At the end of the day, people need to learn to live with each other.”
However, there were a few voices concerned about law and order in this corner of the Fens. One local, 72, said it was prone to feuding and vengeance. “It’s as safe as anywhere to be truthful, but if you upset someone, you may have a problem. I don’t think it’s the wild west. But the way people talk sounds like the police won’t go to some places.”
Another villager, who did not wish to be named but has lived nearby for 73 years, adds: “No one talks to each other anymore. It is sad. I’ve lived here all my life and have known everyone but it hasn’t got much community spirit anymore.”
Tensions beneath the surface
And there certainly are tensions in the village. The planning application for new caravans that prompted the “wild west” comments was for land designated as a gypsy and traveller site by WNC.
Kirk had said villagers had complained they have seen their properties devalued since the site’s designation while others were struggling to sell up. But Freddie Brazil, the applicant, was frustrated at the response and questioned whether prejudices against the gypsy and traveller community have played a part.
Photos of fly-tipped rubbish were sent to the council by one objector, claiming it was on Brazil’s land. But he insists the images are from elsewhere. The 49-year-old, who has lived in the area all his life, says: “Anyone with common knowledge knows it’s not here.
“I feel they did it as they don’t want me here, but I’m not doing any harm to anyone. The person who sent the pictures to the council should apologise; it feels like discrimination.”
As well as this land in Common Road South, there are a number of other traveller and gypsy sites in the area. There is a large one nearby in Wheatley Bank, another in Burrett Road near Walsoken and there are about eight caravans on land behind Mr Brazil’s. The idea of no-go areas appears to stem from suggestions in the village that police are reluctant to visit some of these larger sites.
For its part, Norfolk Police has said Marshland North – the district covering the villages – is not a high crime area. Statistics from the last three years appear to support this, with 998 crimes reported in the last 12 months. Police crime maps do not show any crimes recorded at these traveller sites in Walton Highway in recent months.
Comparatively, there were 1,094 crimes in the nearby Suttons in Lincolnshire and 1,863 in Downham Market and surrounding villages. Violent and sexual offences are the biggest number of crimes reported in these areas, followed by antisocial behaviour and criminal damage – a situation common in most areas.
New sheriff in town?
Kirk, who is no stranger to political gunslinging, faces a fight to hang on to his Norfolk County Council seat. He was recently expelled from the Conservative group at West Norfolk Council after joining Reform. His defection has triggered a County Hall by-election for Marshland North in which he is standing. His opponents have seized on his comments.
Richard Blunt, the deputy leader of the Conservative group at WNC who also represents the area, is standing against him in the county by-election. “It’s terrible to make such comments,” he says. “It does not do anything for the area.”
Matt Hannay, the Labour candidate, says: “It’s disappointing he would use such language to describe the village where he lives. What he said is unfounded.”
Alan Holmes, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats, adds: “I understand there are a few who unfortunately get up to mischief, that is a fact of life in rural and urban communities. But in three weeks of speaking to people on the doorstep, I cannot remember anyone mentioning their concerns about crime.”
Kirk is also running against Rob Archer for the Greens and 18-year-old Michael Squire as an Independent.
East Anglia’s Wild West?
Perhaps the reason Kirk’s comments have stung so much is that they have some resonance. The area is certainly west. It sits on Norfolk’s furthest frontier, close to the spot where it borders both Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. And the villages around here also have a wild reputation.
The Walpoles and surrounding villages once served as the final staging posts of civilisation before entering the vast and forbidding marshes beyond. Like many a Wild West town, they developed because of their strategic location on a major transport route through the wilds that lay further to the west. Walton and Walpole Highway take their names from this crucial link.
The A47 has now bypassed the villages, giving them a slight backwater feel. But their location certainly gave them a lawless past. Never mind unruly cowboys, the area was once renowned for other fearsome figures on horseback – highwaymen, who preyed on those brave enough to head further west. Even the notorious Dick Turpin is said to have laid low here after fleeing Epping Forest, having committed murder, and the remaining pub is called the Highwaymen. Other gangs also operated in the district, including one led by Thomas Easter – another renowned roadside criminal.
Whether it’s frontier myth-making or just electioneering in spurs, the wild west label looks set to stick – at least until the next by-election. Walton Highway may not have outlaws or saloon brawls, but it has its fair share of tall tales, political duels and the occasional runaway horse and cart. If nothing else, it proves one thing: out here on Norfolk’s edge, the spirit of the east is anything but tame.
