Morston Quay needs your help urgently

Where is Morston Quay?

Morston is a small, picturesque village on the North Norfolk coast that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086.

Morston Quay is a popular destination for hundreds of coastal residents to sail their boats, paddle their kayaks, walk their dogs, and generally enjoy the tranquility of a coastal nature reserve.

Morston Quay is also the departure points for seal trips to Blakeney Point, which are run by the local community.

National Trust developments

Morston Quay car park is owned by the National Trust, who have recently submitted aggressive plans for a large visitor centre and new parking facilities.

The local community and residents along the coast are horrified by the plans, which are driven purely by commercial interests. The proposed development will destroy the special character of Morston Quay and will cause extensive problems for local communities.

What are the proposed plans?

The Morston Quay car park currently contains a “temporary” toilet block that provides more than 7 toilets (including one for disabled visitors).

The National Trust wants to build an entirely new visitor centre that would be x5-6 times larger than the current toilet facilities (approx 180m2 vs approx 30m2).

The new visitor centre would contain twice as many toilets, plus new office space for National Trust staff and areas that could be used for selling memberships, books, and souvenirs.

(Full planning application here).

The new visitor centre would be in addition to the existing National Trust building that provides cafe services and the existing National Trust burger van (which looks as awful as it sounds in a nature reserve). There are also plans to turn parts of the existing building into a space selling books, souvenirs, etc.

Meanwhile, the National Trust also want to reduce the amount of parking spaces available (in order to make room for the new visitor centre and offices) but add white parking bay lines and more extensive signage.

Why are they doing this?

The National Trust says that their current site at Morston Quay fails to meet “standards of accessibility, visitor welcome, and staff/volunteer welfare that we should be providing.“

This is a disingenuous argument for several reasons:

1. The National Trust have promised the local community for many years that they would upgrade the existing toilets.

• However, the current toilet block provides adequate facilities for the current number of visitors (including a disabled toilet).

• Meanwhile, instead of replacing or upgrading the existing toilets, the National Trust have unilaterally decided to build a much larger visitor centre (x5-6 times larger).

2. The National Trust provides no benefits or facilities to visitors apart from their cafe, the burger van, and the toilets.

• Visitors come to Morston Quay in order take a seal trip to Blakeney Point (the car park is empty at low tides) or to walk along the coastal path.

• The Blakeney Point seal trips are provided by the local community, who provide any “welcome” and help necessary.

• The National Trust “welcome teams” have most recently been focused on selling membership packs to visitors.

3. The National Trust already has an over-large office space a few miles away at Blakeney. It does not need any new office space or welcome space at Morston.

• The existing cafe building already provides any facilities required for “staff/volunteer welfare”.

• The National Trust have no active involvement in the running of Morston Quay or the seal trips to Blakeney Point.

What about planning guidelines?

As part of the pre-planning process, the North Norfolk District Council required the National Trust to:

1. Demonstrate why development other than the replacement toilets is necessary for the management of the site.
2. Ensure that any development does not have the potential to draw more visitors to the site
3. Address concerns regarding suburbanisation of a wild natural landscape
4. Gain the support of the local community

The National Trust have failed to do any of the above. Instead, they have acted in a high-handed and defensive manner with the local community (that stretches far beyond Morston village).

Sadly, the National Trust seems to be far more interested in imposing their standardised (and highly commercial) vision on Morston Quay instead of keeping it special and unique.

How can I help?

There are three things that you can do:

1. Send an email objecting to the planning application (before the closing deadline of August 30th)
2. Send an email to the National Trust Director of Operations
3. Share this page on social media to inform others

1. Send an email objecting to the planning application

If you only do one thing, please do this and do it before August 30th.

The local planning officers don’t welcome public petitions but they do welcome individual objections and comments from any members of the public. (You don't have to be a local resident and you're not limited to one opinion per household).

👉 Click here to send your email 👈

We’ve included the planning application details and some suggested feedback comments. Please personalise these comments to reflect your own views and add your name/address at the top. The planning office won't accept your email without a name/address.

You can see the full planning application (including public objections) here.

2. Send an email to the National Trust Director of Operations

Sue.Simpson@NationalTrust.org.uk is the National Trust Director of Operations.

In addition to sending an email to the planning office (see #1 above), you can also express your views directly to the National Trust in an email.

3. Share this page on social media to inform others

If you feel strongly about this development issue and the need to protect local communities, please share this page on social media to inform others.

Thank you for your support 🙏