Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Building new houses and do we really need so many?


June 28



I got up this morning to find a leaflet stuffed through the letter box inviting us to a viewing of a proposed housing development off Higham Lane, which looks as though it’s an increase in the building that’s already going on there. On the reverse is and map of the area to be developed and it’s a huge site. I’ve just been looking at my A-Z of the town looking for brown field sites, and yes I’ve found some, but not as many as I thought there was. On the map you get the wrong impression of the sites in that they don’t look all that extensive. In reality they are really large areas.



The way things are going our town will run along the length of the A5, taking all the green belt land with it, well almost all of it. The block of land involved here is about 2/3rds of a block with boundaries along Higham Lane to the A5, north along the A5 as far as a disused railway line, then back along that line to Weddington Road. The current proposed site swallows up Top Farm and if things go how I expect them to, then Lower Farm will be next to go.



Another are that looks to be in their sights is the land bordering to left of The Long Shoot where building is already going on. Should that development be allowed to continue to grow, along the length of the A5, it won’t be long before the A5/The Long Shoot/Higham Lane will be one massive housing estate. But I wonder … how many local people will be able to afford these houses? For some time now Dorktown has been a dormitory town for Coventry, Birmingham and other larger cities.



Another concern is the local infrastructure and whether it can handle such large developments. As it is our medical and education provision is bursting at the seams. All this added housing will add to an already struggling system. As for the roads in the proposed areas, they are already very busy roads and the addition of so many new houses, with at least one car per house will just add to the overall congestion that the whole town struggles with.



All of these points can be applied to every planning application submitted within the UK as a whole of course, and indeed, have been raised many times, with the same rejected decision being made. But hang on a mow; last Thursday we vote to leave the EU. Once that decision is fully implemented, are we going to need so many new houses? Our population is rising, we know that, but that is mainly down to people living longer as well as the birth rate increasing, and without the influx from Europe. When that stops, I ask again, ‘Will we need so many new houses?’ Builders will always find reasons to build even more, after all, that’s their living isn’t it? However, it does seem that we are being held to ransom by them at times.



Oh dear, the kids are upset because they didn’t get their own way in the voting last weekend, so now they throwing a mardy-arse and want it run again. I’m wondering though if this is part of the way that youngsters (and from what I’ve seen its mainly youngsters who are kicking up the most), have been brought up. These days it seems that they not being told, ‘No!’ when they start demanding stuff from their parents. Perhaps that is why so many are not happy now, they have been given a firm ‘No’ from a lot people. The tantrum will die down at some point … I hope!





Today’s photo is …

A flower I snapped at Twycross. All the photos for the next few days will be from there anyway.


Today’s funny …



 Bob had been out diving off the Florida Keys for days looking for sunken treasure, but had had no luck. One day, while wading back onto the beach, he tripped over a chest filled with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds! Bob was heard to say as he carried the chest away, "Well it just goes to show you that booty is only shin deep!"                            

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