The group were served with an eviction notice this week – but have sought legal advice over their position.

The group of anti-capitalism protesters are part of the worldwide Occupy movement which has seen camps erected in cities across the world. Occupy Norwich moved onto Haymarket in October 2011 supported by a core group of around a hundred members, some camping overnight.

The group have sought legal advice since being served with a letter from Norwich City Council on Wednesday, which stated: “The council recognises the right to peaceful protest and acknowledges that this has very much been the spirit of this protest.  However, it is not acceptable for you to remain in occupation indefinitely. Hay Hill is for everybody’s use and the council cannot allow it to be occupied by one group in a way which is inconsistent with its wider general use and excludes others.”

The letter warns: “If you remain in occupation after this time, then the city council reserves the right to take the necessary action to gain possession of the Land and remove the structures and tents.”

One of the members, Chris Keene said: “The ones who are living there intend to stay and are not going to move anytime soon.”

Members of the group have asked for a meeting with the council, which should take place on Monday. They’ve also asked for the council to consider an alternative location for them, such as an empty building in the city centre.

The step is seen as a victory for those who want to see more empty homes brought back into use. Almost 500 homes in Norwich are currently classed as empty.

Commenting following Tuesday’s full council meeting, Cllr Alan Waters (Crome, Lab), deputy leader of the council said: “We hope this decision[..] will encourage owners of homes that are sitting unoccupied to rent those properties out or put them back onto the market. Removing any incentive to hang onto an empty home is clearly a positive step with the potential to benefit home seekers.”

Opposition councillors pushed for this tax loophole to be removed. Cllr James Wright (Eaton, Lib Dem) commented:“The 10% council tax discount on empty homes incentivizes people to keep homes vacant. At a time when we have a housing shortage in Norwich and a stubbornly high housing waiting list this makes no sense”.

He added: “I hope that ending this discount will help the process and it will bring nearly £60,000 into public coffers, as councils will gain from its closure. In the long term we should be looking at ending the council tax discount given to 342 second homes as well.”

Photo of the Turin Shroud © Barrie M Schwortz. 1978 All rights reserved

A replica of the Turin Shroud, believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus, goes on display at the Roman Catholic cathedral later this month.

The controversial shroud has sparked debate amongst scientists, historians and archaeologists as well as within the church, raising questions about how the image was formed.

For the full story, see Keith Morris’ report for Network Norwich and Norfolk.

The exhibition at St John the Baptist Cathedral runs from Tuesday 28th February – Saturday 3rd March and from Monday 5th March – Saturday 10th March 2012.

While cold enough for the lake at the UEA to freeze, a solo otter appeared in front of volunteers, as a new nature trail was officially opened this lunchtime.

According to a recent UEA survey, the otter is one of 2000 species found along the 5km trail around the UEA estate.

July’s performance will co-incide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Norwich.

The performance – called Pulse – will bring together people from all backgrounds – athletes, dancers and percussionists for a one-off outdoor show in Chapelfield Gardens.

“Pulse will be a feast of rhythm and movement.  We’re looking for excellent percussion musicians along with people who have great physical skills, whether it be in martial arts, dance, circus, gymnastics or any sporting field,” said Pulse Project manager, Carrie Mansfield.

It’ll be choreographed by Norfolk dancer, Aaron Sillis who has worked with big names such as Kylie Minogue and Take That. He’ll host four master classes for 11-25 year olds at venues in and around Norwich during the February halfterm. The master classes will be followed by auditions at The Garage in March, open to everyone, of any age. Thirty performers will be picked to attend a ‘bootcamp’ followed by rehearsals throughout May, June and July.

The show comes about as a partnership between Norwich City Council, The Garage and Norwich and Norfolk Community Arts (NORCA).

The master classes are free but places are limited.

MASTER CLASSES:

Tue 14 Feb, 10am – 1pm: Norfolk Academy of Gymnastics, Besthorpe, Attleborough

Wed 15 Feb, 10am – 4pm: The Garage

Thu 16 Feb, 10am – 4pm: Norwich Academy of Martial Arts, King Street, Norwich

Fri 17 Feb, 10am – 4pm: UEA Sports Park, Norwich

Places for The Pulse auditions will be available to book via The Garage website from Tuesday 7th February.

To join in with The Pulse, you’ll need to be available on the following dates:

AUDITIONS: Sun 4 Mar: The Garage

BOOTCAMP: Sun 11 Mar: The Garage

REHEARSALS: 15, 29 April / 6, 13, 20, 27 May / 3, 10, 17, 24 June

PERFORMANCES: Wed 4 Jul: Olympic Torch Event / Fri 6, Sat 7 & Sun 8 Jul: Lord Mayor’s Procession

For further information, look up The Pulse at The Garage.

For further information, visit www.thegarage.org.uk.

Two new galleries, with brand new exhibitions open this weekend at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.

One of the free exhibitions focuses on Japanese cartoon art in Japan: Kingdom of Characters.

Mansize 3D models of characters such as Ultraman, Pokémon and Pikachu welcome you into the show which includes over eighty graphics, photographs and films which trace the history of cartoon characters by decade.

Organised by the Japan Foundation, the exhibition takes you inside the world of Japanese characters. Astro Boy, who turns 60 this year, was conceived in the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Installations, including a fully furnished Hello Kitty bedroom, show how the characters have become commodities in a now billion-dollar industry.

“In the UK we tend to associate Manga and Anime with young people. In Japan though the culture associated with Manga is also embraced by adults to the extent that it forms a realm, or as suggested by this exhibition, a ’Kingdom’ in its own right. ” said Harriet McKay, curator at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.

Also new in 2012: The First Moderns: Art Nouveau from Nature to Abstraction; There is Here – photographs from Avi Gupta and Thomas Houseago’s Hemaphoradite is the first in a series of displays in the Sainsbury Centre’s new west end sculpture garden.

Photos: LSI Architects

The £5m Clinical Imaging and Research Centre at the hospital will house two brand new scanners – CT and MRI – improving the scanning capacity for hospital patients.

In February they’ll perform their classic 1983 debut album, The Crossing, live and in full at the UEA.

For a chance to win tickets to the gig, enter our competition.

With The Crossing an international best seller, it sold over 2 million copies in the UK, spawning 2 Top Ten hits, Big Country’s tour will coincide with Universal Music’s deluxe re-issue of the album today, which is expected to include previously unreleased recordings and footage of the band.

In announcing the ‘Crossing The Country Tour’, bassist Tony Butler said, “This tour will give us the chance to play songs never performed before alongside the well-known ones, songs that were written but didn’t make it on to the album, and the associated ‘b side’ material. We can’t wait.”

Big Country will perform at the UEA on Monday 13th February 2012.

Competition question: Who now sings lead vocals for the band in place of the late Stuart Adamson?

Email your competition answer to editor@southnorwichnews.co.uk. Closing date Monday 6th February 2012.

This weekend, a local clinic will be raising money for the unit, by offering cut-price therapy sessions at The Forum.

Almost 6,000 babies were born at the N&N in 2012, up from 4,855 in 2003/4. In response, the hospital opened a new midwifery-led birthing unit in August 2011 to cater for 4 more pregnant women at a time on Blakeney Ward.

The idea of the new unit is to allow women with straightforward births to have a natural delivery in a more homely and less medical setting. The hospital provides a midwife service from its 12-bed delivery suite, and a home birth service from the hospital’s community midwives.

Baby Hattie Rose was born in the unit in January making her the 500th baby born there. Mum Aisha Heward, who is a bar-maid in Norwich, said: “It’s such a lovely tranquil unit, it really helped my to relax and be at ease. The whole positive experience of having both my children at the NNUH has led me to want to train as a midwife when my children are older.”

This Saturday (4th February 2012), The Orange Grove Clinic in Norwich will be raising money for the unit. They’ll offer a range of 15 minute taster sessions at The Forum including massage, reflexology and acupuncture for £5, with all money going towards buying more equipment for the unit.

With a summer of sporting events around the corner, details of which events will be screened at Chapelfield have been announced.

Take a seat for Wimbledon, the Olympics or the Queen’s Jubilee.

Coming up in 2012:

February
Tuesday 14th: Send your loved one a Valentine’s Day text message to be displayed on the Big Screen.

March
Sunday 25th: Coverage of the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief mile

April
Wednesday 18th: Local talent on display in celebration of 100 days until the 2012 Olympic Games
Friday 20th to Sunday 22th: The Live Site will be supporting the national Face Britain arts project.

Monday 30th: The Big Dribble record breaking hockey attempt.

May
Thursday 10th: BBC live broadcast coverage of the Olympic Torch Lighting ceremony from Greece
Thursday 17th: Screening of La Bohème from the Royal Opera House
Friday 18th: Live coverage of the Olympic Torch arriving in the UK
Saturday 19th: BBC live broadcast of the start of the Olympic Torch Relay
Monday 21th: Local talent on display in celebration of 100 days until the 2012 Paralympic Games
Wednesday 30th: Screening of Falstaff from the Royal Opera House.

June
Sunday 3rd: 12noon – 2pm. A Big Lunch to mark the Diamond Jubilee along with the rest of the country.

Monday 4th: BBC live broadcast coverage of the Diamond Jubilee music concert in London
Tuesday 5th: BBC live broadcast coverage of the Thanksgiving service from St Paul’s Cathedral
Thursday 21th: Join in a free aerobics session from 12noon-2pm to mark the start of the Olympic Festival
Monday 25th: Join the Live Site celebration of World Sports Day. Further in formation and activities to follow
Monday 25th June to Tuesday 3th July: Wimbledon coverage

July
Wednesday 4th: Live coverage of the Olympic Torch Relay arriving in Norfolk and making its way through Norwich to the celebration in Chapelfield Gardens, where the Torch will light the cauldron

Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th: Semis and finals from Wimbledon
Monday 16th: Screening of Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 from the Royal Opera House
Wednesday 25th July to Sunday 12th August: Get a front row seat to the long-anticipated London 2012 Olympic Games.

Friday 27th: Watch the Olympic Games kick off with London 2012 Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium

August
Wednesday 29th August to Sunday 9th September: Coverage of 2012 Paralympic Games.