Editing King's Lynn (section)

===Recent changes===
[[File:Kings-lynn-river-great-ouse.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|right|King's Lynn, as viewed from across the [[River Great Ouse]]]]
Since 2004, work has been under way to [[Urban renewal|regenerate]] the town under a multi-million-pound scheme. The 1960s Vancouver Shopping Centre (now the Vancouver Quarter) was refurbished in 2005 under the scheme, but was expected to last only 25 years, according to the construction firm, even with a planned extension.{{when|date=May 2019}} An award-winning £6 million [[multi-storey car park]] was built.

To the south of the town, residential housing appeared on a large area of [[brownfield land]]. Plans for another housing estate alongside the [[River Nar]] were opposed locally and halted by the economic situation. There is also a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road in a £300 million-plus scheme.

In 2006, King's Lynn became the United Kingdom's first member of The Hanse (''Die Hanse''), a network of towns across Europe that belonged historically to the [[Hanseatic League]]. The league was an influential medieval [[Trade association|trading association]] of merchant towns around the [[Baltic Sea]] and the [[North Sea]], which contributed to Lynn's development.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=23286 |title=King's Lynn, a Hanse League Member |publisher=King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council Website |access-date=15 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201703/http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=23286 |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Dow Chemical works - geograph.org.uk - 650287.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Dow Chemical Company]] works in King's Lynn.]]
The Borough Council commissioned and accepted a 2008 report by DTZ that dubbed King's Lynn's workforce as "low-value" with a "low skills base" and the town as having a "poor lifestyle offer". The quality of services and amenities was "unattractive to higher-value inward investors and professional employees with higher disposable incomes". Average earnings were well below regional and national levels, and many jobs in tourism, leisure and hotels were subject to seasonal fluctuations and likewise poorly paid. Education and workforce skills were described as below the national average. The borough ranked 150th out of 354 for social deprivation.<ref name="marina-report">{{Cite web |url=http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/pdf/The%20Economic%20Impact%20Assessment.pdf |title=Economic Impact Assessment of King's Lynn Marina |date=June 2007 |access-date=22 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721225727/http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/pdf/The%20Economic%20Impact%20Assessment.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2009, a proposal was made for the Campbell's Meadow factory site to be redeveloped as a {{convert|5|ha|acre|adj=on}} employment and business park. In June 2011 Tesco gained a permit for a superstore.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.campbellsmeadow.co.uk/01_01_investment.html |title=Welcome to Campbells Meadow |publisher=[[Tesco]] |year=2009 |access-date=25 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123172649/http://www.campbellsmeadow.co.uk/01_01_investment.html |archive-date=23 January 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 8 June 2010, it unveiled regeneration plans that would cost £32 million and were billed to bring 900 new jobs.<ref name="store wars">{{Cite news |title=Supermarket giants battle it out for Hardwick contract |url=http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/features/supermarket_giants_battle_it_out_for_hardwick_contract_1_648674 |publisher=[[Lynn News]] |date=8 June 2010 |access-date =8 June 2010}}</ref> Tesco pledged £4 million of improvements in other areas of the town. While it planned to spend £1.6 million widening Hardwick Road, the Sainsbury's bid was preferred by the Council as offering the town more benefits.<ref name="store wars"/>

[[File:Kings-lynn-campbells-soup-tower.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|right|Campbell's tower in 2006, prior to its demolition in 2012]]
Sainsbury's £40 million plans for a superstore opposite Tesco on the Pinguin Foods site yielded an estimated 300 jobs. This was the key to securing the future of Pinguin Foods in King's Lynn.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sainsburys-kingslynn.co.uk/ |title=A New Sainsbury's for King's Lynn |publisher=[[Sainsbury's]] |year=2009 |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303213433/http://sainsburys-kingslynn.co.uk/ |archive-date= 3 March 2009}}</ref> Pinguin Foods released {{convert|12|acre|ha|0}} of its {{convert|44|acre|ha|adj=on}} site to accommodate the proposed store. Mortson Assets' and Sainsbury's plan included a link road between Scania Way and Queen Elizabeth Way to improve access and allow the industrial estate to attract new employers, while Sainsbury's maintains its store in the town centre. It has pledged £1.75 million for highways improvements and a further £7 million to invest in the Pinguin Foods factory.<ref name="store wars"/>

At 8 am on 15 January 2012, the landmark Campbell's Tower was demolished – competition winner Sarah Griffiths pulled the switch. Her father, Mick Locke, had died in 1995 aged 52 after being scalded by steam at the factory. It was Campbell's first UK factory when it opened in the 1950s. At its peak in the early 1990s it employed over 700.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/video_thousands_gather_to_watch_campbell_s_tower_demolished_in_king_s_lynn_1_1177765 |title=Video: Thousands gather to watch Campbell's tower demolished in King's Lynn – News – Eastern Daily Press |date=14 January 2012 |publisher=Edp24.co.uk |access-date=9 August 2012}}</ref>

A [[fire station]] was opened by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in February 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Winchester |first1=Levi |title=Queen and Duke of Edinburgh brave the cold to open new fire station in King's Lynn |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/555728/Queen-Duke-of-Edinburgh-open-new-fire-station-King-s-Lynn |work=Daily Express |date=2 February 2015}}</ref>