Bid to name road after former Beccles mayor and May Centre founder

Suffolk County councillor Mark Bee has put in a request to rename the road which the May Centre, Beccles is on to Ken Markland Way who founded the May Centre. (Image: © Archant 2015)

Ken Markland was mayor of Beccles twice between the 1970s and 1990s when he served on the town council and also founded the May Centre in Beccles - a day centre for adults with disabilities.

A proposal to name a road leading to the centre after him has been put forward by Suffolk county councillor Mark Bee, as a way of honouring all he did for the town.

Mr Bee said: 'Ken Markland did so much for Beccles and the May Centre is his greatest legacy.

'I knew him very well and served on Beccles Town Council in the early 1990s with him and we both sang in the St Michael's church choir together. I found him to be a great mentor and learnt much from him.'

The road where the May Centre is based currently has no name, and Mr Bee hopes this can be changed to Ken Markland Way.

He added: 'To name the road that the May Centre is located on seems a fitting tribute and I know his family and friends share this view.'

Mr Markland was a long serving member of the town council, and built the May Centre in 1982 after realising the need for such a service in the town.

The centre is entirely funded by donations and fundraising events and offers a meeting place with a range of activities for local people.

He was chairman of the centre until he died in 2006 aged 89.

His son David is due to take over as chairman in the next few weeks, just a month after the centre celebrated its 33rd birthday with the unveiling of a new £55,000 minibus.

Dermot Wesley Smith, the current chairman of the centre, said: 'We wanted to name the centre after him but he was a very shy man.

'It's ideal to have the road the May Centre sits on named after him.

'The May Centre has been in existence now for some 33 years and has become a feature of the town and is valued by those who attend and help at the centre.

'It's a brilliant idea because it is appropriate but it would help people to find the centre too.'

The idea will now be put to Beccles Town Council, and is due to be discussed at Tuesday's meeting.

•What do you think about the road being named after Ken Markland? Send your letters to bbj.letters@archant.co.uk or write to Beccles and Bungay Journal Letters, 20 Blyburgate, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9TB.