Danielle Champ

Norwich City Council has approved later opening hours for three JD Wetherspoon pubs: the Queen of Iceni and the Glasshouse can open until 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, while the Bell Hotel can stay open later from Sunday to Thursday and for an additional hour on Fridays and Saturdays. Wetherspoon said the pubs are popular and that extended hours are appropriate, while planning submissions stated the changes would not negatively affect the surrounding area.

Anglian Water is helping the Environment Agency remove hundreds of dead fish from the River Wensum near Cow Tower in Norwich. The deaths followed heavy rainfall after a prolonged hot, dry period, with low dissolved oxygen and a “first flush” of accumulated pollutants entering the river. Anglian Water says its infrastructure operated as expected and that water-quality tests and operational checks were satisfactory. The Environment Agency is treating the incident as a wider weather-related environmental event rather than a pollution incident caused by Anglian Water, while monitoring and testing of the river continues.

Carrow Bridge in Norwich will close overnight from 7pm to 5am for five nights between August 17 and August 22 while contractors carry out routine inspection, repair and maintenance work for Norfolk County Council. The £15,000 project may be postponed to September 21–26 if weather disrupts the schedule. A separate closure on nearby Carrow Road, caused by carriageway subsidence, remains subject to investigation and repairs, with traffic diverted via Thorpe Road.

Pret A Manger is set to open its second Norwich cafe at the Morrisons petrol station on Albion Way at Riverside Retail Park. Motor Fuel Group has received approval to more than double the size of the kiosk by removing the recycling area and jet washes, creating space for the cafe and new electric-vehicle charging points. The development will add Pret to a retail park already hosting Starbucks, Greggs and Costa. Pret has more than 500 UK stores and an expanding international presence.

Oishii Street Kitchen in Distillery Square, Norwich, has extended its Sunday hours from 5pm to noon–9pm in response to strong demand and advance customer orders. Co-owner and head chef Danielle Wadsworth runs the restaurant with Abigail Turner-Evans, retaining much of the previous team. The Asian-fusion burger and fried-chicken concept, which began as a residency before moving to its current operations, was named Best Burger and American Restaurant for South England and Wales at the 2025 Deliveroo Restaurant Awards.

A proposal by Luxury Leisure to allow the Admiral casino on St Stephens Street to operate 24 hours a day is under review, following earlier restrictions limiting opening times to 7am to 2am. Norwich City Council previously rejected an hours extension over concerns about neighbourhood impact, prompting an appeal to the UK Planning Inspectorate, which found the potential noise impact would be low but supported limiting operations between 2am and 7am to protect residents and reduce crime risks. The council is expected to make a final decision by the end of August.

South Norfolk Council approved an outline application from Bullen Group Limited to develop a new facility on vacant farmland within the Norwich Research Park. The proposed Zone 3A site is intended to extend space for science, IT, medical and hospital‑related businesses and aligns with the broader masterplan for the area. Planning officers deemed the design and landscape impact acceptable, with no significant adverse effects. The developers will submit a reserved matters application later. The project follows a separate proposal for Zone 5, aimed at expanding research and development capacity within the park, which already hosts around 50 companies and 3,000 researchers.

The longtime owners of PW Sears newsagent in Norwich's Golden Triangle are retiring after 53 years, with Peter and Barbara Sears stepping down along with assistant Alan Crouch. The shop, originally a circulating library before the Sears family purchased it in 1973, will be taken over by local store owner Rajasingam Kajanthan. Peter Sears reflects on the changes along the street, his continued use of traditional tools like a cash register and ledger, and the loyalty of long‑standing customers, while expressing mixed emotions about retirement.

Drivers faced long delays near Longwater Retail Park after cones were mistakenly placed early, closing lanes intended for overnight work on William Frost Way. Residents and local councillors criticised the disruption and urged Anglian Water to suspend daytime closures, while Norfolk County Council said the error came from a traffic management contractor and is under investigation. Anglian Water expects repairs to finish by Tuesday and apologised for the inconvenience. Concerns persist in Queen’s Hills over recurring congestion and future strain from ongoing local development, including a new TK Maxx store.