Footpath at the Station

I am afraid I have rather ignored the matter of this footpath on the website. Not because I do not think it important but because I have been unable to keep up with the various twists and turns of the plot. I believe it is now officially a footpath albeit one waiting for a public inquiry. It is also a closed footpath, the previous owner saying that the land was unsafe but apparently not being in a great hurry to rectify it. There are now, I believe, new owners, Belway Homes, and maybe matters will improve.

The Echo is visiting the site today(Monday 27th March) so perhaps their ace reporters will be able to get to the bottom of it all. It is a great shame that this very useful path has remained blocked for so long.

New development at the end of Stanstead Road

The development at the end of Stanstead Road has been passed despite a record number of objections to it from just about everyone in Stanstead Road and, unaccountably, someone on the Isle of Wight. I have copied below a few comments posted elsewhere.
It is a Magna Housing development and therefore will provide relatively low cost housing for the village. It has certainly been a concern that all the recent development has been for very expensive properties - Manor Farm, Harvey's Close and the Corn Stores. This proposal and the other one next to Hill View will redress the balance a little. Of course this is of little comfort to those living nearby.

Here are some earlier posts from Tuesday 21st March:

Anonymous said...

I see the housing has got through even though there was a lot of people against it.I want to build a house so my children can live in the village do you think i would be able too,I doubt it i'm not a builder or magna and there is not enough money in it for the council(i wonder who got what out of it)it's the same in Frampton how on earth could those awful things get through obviously some one got something

2:12 PM

Anonymous said...

I wonder when the local council will allow people who actually live in MN/FV to build houses for thier families rather than outsiders,our children can't afford to live in our own villages and the council just isn't helping.We should be allowed to have propertis built to help our own but it is always decided by people who DO NOT live here H

2:17 PM

Anonymous said...

Yet more houses going up but the roads are not ready for all the extra traffic no thought as usual when will they learn,MN the new Poundbury.S

2:20 PM

How Responsive are our Councillors.

I have had a request to start a thread regarding the responsiveness of councillors at County and District level (or any other level, if you like). What experiences have you had with the people who represent us? Have they always come back quickly with a response, helpful or otherwise?

Note: there is such a thing as "fair comment" which allows people to express, sometimes quite challenging, views about a person. There is also libel. So please be careful!

Footpath in FV

It is a shame that the dangerous walk past Natalia Terrace is taking so long to be addressed. Anon posted that it was low priority. Apparently DCC has spoken to Mr Denty recently about a possible plan or two. It is hoped that a display will be mounted in FV showing the proposed scheme to all interested parties. This may happen quite soon.
The footpath scheme will involve land purchase and this could take just a few months but it could take years. The project is budgeted for "after 2008/9". This is a very long way away but if everything falls into place sooner it could be brought forward.
I had very, very narrow escapes twice with my two daughters when they were younger at this deadly location so I have every sympathy with FV on this matter.

War Memorial

Very good to see Maiden Newton and Frome Vauchurch War Memorial restored, more or less, to its former glory. The lettering had become illegible and irrepairable. New plaques had to be placed in front of the old ones.

MNPC had tried to get a grant for the work but in the end have had to pay for the work out of parish funds.

The Maiden Newton/Frome Vauchurch divide

I have republished all the sensible posts as a single comment.

My position on this divide is that, at some levels, there is one; that there shouldn't be one; that a joint parish council would fix the (relatively) important parts of the problem. I doubt if it would remove all of the rivalry but it would take away most of the bad feeling (and I do not wish to overstate this - it is more a case of minor irritation). However problems over when and where things happened in the two villages such as road improvements and facilities for our children would mostly disappear or a least the decisions about such things would involve both villages and be open to scrutiny.
My essay on the subject, a couple of years ago, gave the argument for such a joint parish council. The argument was presented in good faith and it is a pity it was viewed by some as an outright attack on FV, which it never was.
The argument for the status quo is understandable and honorable. It is simply a case of FV wishing to retain its independence. However it is my belief that this comes at too high a cost.
I will finish this by reminding the reader that the views expressed above are entirely my own.

Possible permanent Traveller's site at Whitesheet Quarry

I have re-posted original comments as a single comment below.

If you haven't seen it already the letter I received from DCC regarding the total lack of information on this subject is on the web site.

It seems we will have to wait until June to here whether or not Whitesheet Quarry will be put forward as a possible permanent site. Then all the planning, environmental etc agencies will be consulted and local opinion sought (though the latter is unlkely to present any surprises). It is actually in Toller etc. Parish but I think MN Parish Council and perhaps FV Parish Meeting will be informed though I am sure they are keeping a close ear to the ground on this matter anyway.

I believe that the whole issue of WSQ being a potential site should have been kept secret, just as many other potential sites have been kept secret, but that it leaked out.

I know that one of the main concerns is that a "property blight" will settle on the village, well I can tell you that this has already happened.

Stuff moved about

I have moved some of the posts around so that they are in the correct threads. Hope I got it right. This blog is working like a forum so I am wondering if I should set up a proper forum instead. Can anyone recommend an easy, and free, forum host? In the meantime I will add a few topics to act as thread holders.

Dog's mess

A couple of people have mentioned that we need a thread on dog's mess, so here it is. I will post their comments in this thread as well. Dog's mess is a terrible feature of village life and for some reason it is in the villages that the biggest problem occurs. I spent three days with my family walking around London last year. We walked miles and never saw any. You can't walk 20 metres in Maiden Newton. According to my mate who lives in London it is simply not tolerated there. We must adopt the same attitude here.
Surprisingly my efforts of scrawling, in crayon, "Clean up your dog's mess!" near offending piles does actually work - for a while. Only the most sociopathic of personalities are completely immune from social censure.
Thanks to the person who offered photographic evidence! We could have a Dog S*** page under the Photos section of the website, complete with thumbnails. Perhaps Dog T*** of the Month.