More houses for Gretton?

Another week, another planning application.  This time for 120 homes on agricultural land behind existing homes in Gretton, with access down a narrow road that usually has cars parked both sides of it.

In fact, so bad is the on-street car parking in Gretton now it's been reported that the service bus - soon to be axed, incidentally - couldn't access its normal route last week and had to leave some passengers behind.

What if that had been a fire engine or ambulance trying to respond to an emergency call?

The applicant for this particular housing development, just off Southfield Road, is Gladman, as featured on BBC Countryfile recently.

They of course won't be building the actual houses - they will simply try to get the planning approved and sell the land on to a house builder.

So the talk in their glossy brochure sent to every Gretton resident of leisure areas, sympathetic architecture and at least 40% affordable houses is just that - talk.  They might as well promise each existing villager a pet Unicorn.

Over the last few months Gretton has lost its fantastic Post Office and Shop, the heart of the community; The Talbot Public House has had to close its doors for the final time too, and is for sale as a private house.

The Number 67 bus to Corby - a vital lifeline for those in the village who don't drive - is being axed due to NCC cutbacks.  This bus service makes numerous appearances in the developers' documentation, used as an example to highlight how well Gretton is served by public transport and how new residents will be able to use the bus to access employment, schooling and leisure facilities in Corby and Market Harborough.

The roads through Gretton are riddled with potholes that, despite being reported numerous times, just don't get fixed.

The broadband speed is woefully inadequate at times, mobile phone signal is limited, the sewerage system struggles to cope and villagers complain about lack of water pressure.  On top of this, the primary school and nursery are at full capacity.

How on earth is this village supposed to cope with another 120 houses, potentially 240 cars, and about 500 more residents when its existing facilities cannot serve the current population?

If you wish to object to this scheme, please write by 3rd May to Corby Borough Council, Planning and Environmental Services, Deene House, Corby, Northants, NN17 1GD, quoting planning reference number 18/00271/DPA

Where's Cromer pier?!

I know a family who used to regularly holiday in a remote part of Donegal in the Irish Republic, visiting family and friends.

This particular area is beautiful, relatively unspoilt, and has a sandy beach which stretches for miles, with a magnificent mountain in the background to give additional atmosphere.

Yet this stretch of coast with its immaculate, clean beach has very few visitors - and that's because it rains most of the time.

On each and every visit, as the family sat in their relatives' houses listening to the rain pounding on the roof, watching the puddles getting larger and seeing the mountain shrouded in mist and cloud, the refrain would always be 'Ah, sure you should have been here last week - the sun was splitting the stones!  It was too hot to work!'

I was reminded of this scenario as I sat in my holiday accommodation, over the Easter break, except it was the other way round, with the television weather presenter gleefully telling me that next week I would have temperatures of up to 24 degrees and warm sunshine from the Mediterranean.

Not much comfort I'm afraid when you're sitting in the fog in North Norfolk to hear that the following week - when the children have of course gone back to school - is going to be glorious!

We put a brave face on it of course - there's no such thing as bad weather, just incorrect clothing, or so I kept telling myself.

But when I stood on a cliff top in Cromer and couldn't see the Pier, let alone the sea which was just feet below me, I was struggling to stay positive about the great British weather!

It was cold, it was damp, and visibility was down to arm's length in places.  I've never seen fog like it.

Luckily, it wasn't my first visit to the area so I knew what it should look like.

We met a coach load of Japanese tourists in Sheringham, also shrouded in the same thick fog; I did wonder what they made of it all.

Reduce, reuse, recycle - and get some money back

Back to the future - not the 1980s classic film with Marty McFly, hover boards and self-tying shoe laces - but the way we're heading in a bit to save our planet.

The deposit scheme for glass, plastic and tin cans is a step in the right direction, but it is in fact borrowing from how we used to live.

Yes, I'm old enough to remember when you could return your glass Corona lemonade bottles to the pub and get 5p back.

I have heard it said, but can neither confirm or deny, some youngsters discovered where the bottles were kept out the back of a local pub and used to gather them up and deliver them via the front door to the landlady to collect 5p deposits.  I expect those individuals are now either multi-millionaire entrepreneurs or staying at Her Majesty's pleasure!

I also remember the Alpine drinks delivery van bringing its range of soft beverages - dandelion and burdock included - down our way. 

I've always got milk from the milkman in glass bottles, a trend that is also increasing, so I hear.  It's good to know that seemingly going retro is in fact going forward! 

I'd bring back the use of paper bags for groceries etc too.  Fruit and veg keeps far better in paper than in plastic, and paper bags can be recycled.

Of course, any scheme to reduce waste, recycle and reuse resources should be applauded.

However, the proposed deposit scheme needs proper consideration and consultation, and Government or industry funding to assist in its implementation.

For example, small shops and cafés don't necessarily have the resources to buy in large recycling machines like the ones they showed on the news bulletins that are in use in Norway.  They may not have the space to accommodate them either.

So while I very much welcome the news that people are actually listening to Sir David Attenborough and the Blue Planet effect is taking hold, I think some more thought and investment is needed to make this a successful solution.