Please see below for a statement by Graham Purkins on standing down as Chair of the King’s Lynn Town Deal Board.
“I live in King’s Lynn, I run a business here, and I am raising my family here. And so for me, the opportunity to get directly involved in my local area and help shape its future by joining the King’s Lynn Town Deal Board was very appealing.
The Town Deal Board is a truly collaborative body and brings together a wide cross-section of experience and expertise. It is this richness of expertise, diversity of view, and partnership working that has underpinned the progress that has been made over the last four years.
As Chair, my focus throughout has been ‘let’s make this happen’ and it was fantastic when the Town Investment Plan submission to Government – a plan shaped with feedback and insight from the local community – resulted in a £25M Towns Fund allocation for King’s Lynn. This was the maximum allocation possible.
It has been great to be part of the King’s Lynn Town Deal’s Board journey, being part of the Board as it has developed and grown into a cohesive and effective entity. The Towns Fund programme provided the initiative to establish the Board, and I hope the role of the Board can be leveraged in future to bring further benefit to the town.
The last few years have allowed me to get a greater understanding of how the public sector works, and I have been so impressed by the amount of work, dedication, and passion that I have seen first-hand from council officers, elected members and my fellow Board members. Their commitment to the town and the community is inspiring.
King’s Lynn is one of 101 towns which were selected to work towards a Town Deal. Not only have we benefited from funding, we have also received government support as we have developed our plans. And, being part of a network, we have also had the advantage of building connections and learning from other Town Deals as we all work towards delivering our ambitions for our towns.
I have been grateful for the opportunity to be Chair of King’s Lynn Town Deal Board for the last four years, but it’s now time to hand the baton over to someone else. While I am stepping back from the Board, my passion for King’s Lynn remains and I look forward to watching the continued progress of the projects, the building work coming out of the ground, and seeing all the efforts of the last few years by the Board and officers spring to life for King’s Lynn.”