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Saturday 5th June 2004
The battle to prevent houses being built in meadowland
alongside The Croft, a large house in North Road, may well have been lost in the
light of new planning regulations issued by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime
Minister, officially classifying back gardens as brownfield sites.
The government guidelines designate them as “previously developed land”, so
enabling builders buy older properties with mature gardens and replace them with
houses or blocks of flats. The Croft falls within this category and as the
refusal of planning permission for 37 new homes on the site is due to go to
appeal in November, and a second application for 51 new homes is now before
South Kesteven District Council, it appears that one or the other will succeed.
The change of policy, revealed by the Sunday Telegraph, comes as local
authorities struggle to meet Mr Prescott’s plans for building 200,000 extra
homes in the Midlands and South East by 2016. Several cases similar to The Croft
are already causing some controversy in various parts of the Home Counties where
large gardens around Victorian and Edwardian houses will be replaced with high
density developments and the promise of “affordable homes”, despite lively
opposition from local residents and various action groups.
Councils now admit that government targets for new housing in certain areas is
putting them under increasing pressure when considering planning applications
and some see themselves as sitting ducks for appeals from developers who are
likely to quote central government policy to planning inspectors who are all too
aware of the spectre of Mr Prescott’s guidelines looming over them with his
office having the final say.
Opposition to housing development at The Croft will no doubt continue but in the
view of these latest revelations, it would appear to be all but lost. The voice
of the people has been raised against this development but it is, as I said last
week, to no avail because we are beginning to realise that the electorate is
powerless to act against the juggernaut of local authorities that are mainly
rubber stamping wider policies formulated in Whitehall.
Many people in Bourne have misgivings about building the town’s proposed
skateboard park on the site of the old watercress beds alongside the Wellhead
Park. This is an environmentally sensitive location within the conservation area
with no proper access and is also perhaps too near the Wellhead Cottage and
Baldock’s Mill, both Grade II listed buildings that must be protected from
undesirable developments in the vicinity.
Youngsters behind the £190,000 scheme have made out their case for the
establishment of a skateboard park in the town and no organisation, not least
Bourne United Charities who own the proposed site, wishes to be seen opposing it
but no doubt the trustees will subject the plans to the closest scrutiny before
giving their full approval.
The mere fact that this issue is being raised here without giving it 100 per
cent support will invite criticism but we must keep a sense of proportion rather
than approve a site that may in the long run prove to be totally unsuitable.
There is also the matter of who will look after it and a report from the
Stamford Mercury last week (Friday 28th May) sounds a note of warning with
an account that the new skateboard park opened earlier this year on the
recreation ground at Oundle in Northamptonshire at a cost of £60,000 is causing
major problems for the area.
Town councillors were told that the recreation ground was in a terrible state at
times. Discarded bottles and cans were strewn across the area and there was
particular concern about the possible danger from broken glass. Pallets and
tyres were also found at the ground. Extra litter picking had been organised and
more litter bins ordered and the council was also considering placing a
recycling unit near to the skatepark to encourage youngsters recycle their cans.
Councillors also want them to take responsibility for the area and to
encourage others to do the same.
There is no doubt that the skatepark at Oundle has been a success and continues
to attract large crowds, including families. But then it is sited at the
recreation ground that would seem to be a far more suitable place than enclosed
land alongside the town park. This does not mean that the recreation ground in
Bourne would be suitable as a permanent site for the skateboard park but
experience would suggest that other alternatives should be explored.
If by some mischance the old watercress beds did become a skateboard park, then
who would maintain it? Certainly not the town council because it is outside
their jurisdiction and BUC are likely resist such a commitment because this area
has been neglected for many years and as a result, the river which flows through
from its source has become choked with weeds and filled with rubbish in various
places while the pathway leading to South Street is overgrown, slippery and even
dangerous underfoot and a rubbish tip of ever increasing proportions rises on
the south side. If BUC do not maintain the site while it is under their care,
they are unlikely to do so if someone else takes over.
A further factor is that a planning application to build a skateboard park there
is unlikely to meet with the approval of the South Kesteven District Council
planners because the site lies within the conservation area and existing
legislation insists that both inward and outward views are protected and that
any new activity and movement created by proposed development does not impair
its character. The location of the skateboard park is not therefore a done deal
and it is essential that these issues are settled before final plans are drawn
up and the organisers commit themselves further.
What the local newspapers are saying: Another round of
increases in petrol prices is on the way, according to The Local which
carries a report on how the present world oil crisis might affect us here in
Bourne (June 4th). The AA in Lincolnshire is quoted as suggesting a possible
price of 90p a litre, equivalent to £4 a gallon, and it is only when we see the
probable cost of the old and familiar imperial measure that we realise the
seriousness of the situation. The report also includes a revealing list of
prices currently being charged by local garages, ranging from 81.9p to 85.9p a
litre and that surely is an indication that some companies may already be taking
advantage of the situation.
The Local also devotes a whole page to the European
elections which tells as that the chaos and panic we were warned to expect over the
new system of postal voting has not materialised (June 4th). Malcolm Hall,
election officer for South Kesteven District Council, which is in one of the
four areas of England chosen to pilot the postal-only ballot, told the newspaper
that they were 24 hours ahead of the deadline for delivering ballot papers and
he also carried out random checks to ensure that all forms were correctly
addressed. “Clearly, the system is working”, he said, “although people have been
worried as to whether they were going to receive their forms on time.”
My own experience also gives the lie to another scare story
circulated by some sections of the press that the forms were too complicated and
filling them in would be difficult and problematic for most people. Accordingly, my
wife and I settled down at the kitchen table with our paperwork, expecting a
long battle to complete them, yet the task of filling them in turned out to be
simplicity itself and was finished in minutes before our votes were sent off by
mail. Our experience, therefore, is that the system is quite satisfactory and it
is to be hoped that postal voting becomes the accepted practice for all major
elections in the future because it has proved to be so convenient.
A suggestion that Bourne Town Council may have to hold its
meetings at somewhere rather than the Town Hall is explored by the Stamford
Mercury in a report about access for the disabled (June 4th). The early 19th
century building is also used as the magistrates’ court but does not meet the
latest requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act that comes into force
in October. There is no lift and so everyone must use the stairs and this is
difficult for anyone who is physically handicapped. Arrangements are in hand to
transfer court cases elsewhere if defendants and witnesses are so impaired but
there are no such arrangements for council meetings and there have been
suggestions that they should be switched to another building. This would seem to
be a drastic solution before finding out exactly how many disabled people
actually attend council meetings and how often. The Town Hall is the focal point
of our local administration and it would be ridiculous to send the town council
elsewhere merely to comply with an obscure regulation, however well intentioned.
A discussion on whether Bourne is a safe place to live is underway in the
Forum and the consensus appears to be that it is. Theft, muggings and personal
injury are comparatively rare. The streets are safe, provided you do not venture
into the town late on a Friday or Saturday night where you are likely to
encounter drunken yobs intent on causing mischief, and the prospect of your
house being broken into or your parked car being damaged is not particularly
great.
The crime rate is about the same as in most market towns of a comparative size
throughout Britain but some contributors were of the opinion that the new
housing estates now springing up might prove to be an attraction for criminals,
not to commit burglaries but to live there as respectable citizens. One even
suggested that when the 2,000 homes were completed at Elsea Park, the crime rate
would increase because most of its residents would be coming from London and the
South East, areas where the Kray twins were regarded as folk heroes, although I
think this is rather a fanciful idea and as another correspondent suggested,
criminals tend to live in quiet neighbourhoods while their villainy is done
elsewhere and the crime that usually hits the headlines in a rural community is
the crime passionnel, an opportunist sex attack or an unexpected murder
for domestic reasons.
John Morfee, a regular contributor who can always be relied on to supply a
little common sense, hit the nail on the head when he wrote:
It may well be correct that people moving to
Elsea Park from London will increase the crime rate but not for the reason
given. The fact is that in order to afford the exorbitant prices demanded for
the houses on the estate, the couples living in them will almost certainly be
working full time. Therefore, most of the estate will be empty during the
working day, leaving it wide open for our local criminals, few though they may
be, or those visiting on the bus from Peterborough to steal what they can.
One of the more likely reasons for Londoners moving to Bourne
was graphically described by Matt Willson in a thought provoking contribution
that should be read by everyone who gets the urge to flit to the metropolis:
I would be surprised if those moving into
Bourne from the South East were of a type to cause anyone concern. I have just
left London after a fair few years and am probably being decried by local people
for taking up local housing, forcing up house prices, not respecting local
traditions etc. I have not moved here with any negative intentions but I could
understand being seen in this way and would accept this criticism. But we moved
out of London because we were fed up with the fear of crime or physical assault
using whichever form of private or public transport we dare brave. I am
confident that I speak for my immediate peer group on that subject.
I agree that it would not take long to work out that my girlfriend and I are out
most of the day and we would make a good target for anyone after the stereo from
my car or house. That is the main worry a neighbourhood should have from us
newcomers: attracting the petty thief and so I have spent the last few days
putting in window locks all over the house so it seems the previous residents
did not have the same fear of crime as we do. It might even be an argument that
people like us moving in is a good thing because our attitude to crime means we
make it harder for the opportunistic criminals. And we are pretty good at
spotting suspicious goings on. You get used to it after a few years of living in
the Brixton and Kings Cross area of London.
Geoff Wright agreed totally with these sentiments. He wrote:
My wife and I spent 27 years living in what
was regarded as the best part of the West Midlands before moving back to Bourne
to live. Whilst there, we had three cars stolen in addition to having cars
broken into on seven occasions. We lost many thousands of pounds worth of
possessions in two house break-ins and my wife had her shop broken into twice
with, again, many thousands of pounds worth of stock taken. All this was despite
taking every conceivable means of security, including bricking up windows at the
shop. Yes, we find life very boring in Bourne, but at least we feel safe, living
in a town where real crime is virtually non-existent.
So there you have it. Be watchful and be aware and Bourne is as
safe as it gets in Britain. We should also welcome the newcomers with open arms
because they will bring with them new skills, new experiences and, hopefully, a
breath of fresh air to some of our local institutions. After all, much of the
voluntary work in the town today is done by people who have moved here in years
past and our community is the richer for it.
Thought for the week: The highest intellects, like the tops of mountains,
are the first to catch and reflect the dawn. – Thomas Macaulay, British
writer, historian and M P (1800-59), best remembered for his five-volume History
of England.
Saturday 12th June 2004
Churches need money to survive. Faith is not enough and
the challenge to meet financial targets to ensure its future now faces the Abbey
Church in Bourne.
This ancient building, founded as an act of dedication by Baldwin Fitzgilbert,
was never large or wealthy but it has perpetuated the Christian belief for a
thousand years. Its origins date back to the great revival in religious thought
and action in England during the early part of the 12th century as a result of
the preaching by Bernhard of Clairvaux. The revival took many forms, expressed
by many in preaching and in prayer, or by entering monasteries while others, in
their enthusiasm and fervour, anxious to do something to further their faith,
built churches and Baldwin, wishing to demonstrate his devotion, decided to
erect a new church on the site of the old Saxon building which was then showing
signs of decay.
He started the task in 1138 but owing to political troubles, he never completed
the work as he intended. He was also wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of
Lincoln on 2nd February 1141 and, according to the custom of the time, had to
pay a large ransom for his release and this seriously depleted his financial
resources. The building programme was therefore cut back and it is safe to
assume that the church was not finished at this time, only the nave, with a low
roof, and the bottom portion of the tower being completed. The west front, the
upper part of the tower and the clerestory, were not finished until the 14th
century and it would be another 200 years before the building that we see today
was finally completed.
Those who came before have faced perpetual difficulties for its upkeep and to
maintain the ministry and the requirement over the next four years is estimated
at almost £100,000 a year. Routine running costs for such items as heating,
lighting, insurance, local administration, day to day expenses, organ and music,
account for almost one quarter of this and there are other large bills for the
repairs and maintenance of the building while a hefty £66,000 is the parish
contribution towards the Church of England’s liability for the stipends of our
clergy, housing, training and the provision of pensions. The money to meet these
commitments comes from a variety of sources such as parish events and
activities, fees for weddings and funerals, income from a small sum invested as
a result of careful budgeting in the past, the sale of the parish magazine and
regular giving such as collections at services. This money is insufficient and
so the bulk of the church’s income comes from regular planned giving, promises
through gift aid, tax refunds and pledges.
Church workers are currently trying to increase this area of their income by
asking parishioners to contribute what they can through gift aid and pledges in
the coming year from which the church benefits additionally because every £100
given by a tax payer can actually be worth more than £128 because the basic
income tax rate of 22% is refunded to the church.
It matters not how these contributions are arrived at because history has proved
that giving is usually desultory, often reluctant and always the province of the
few. The Abbey Church has been a focal point of religious devotion in this town
for the past millennium and badly needs additional income to survive. But you do
not need to be a Christian to support the future of a building which is also the
only one in Bourne that is Grade I listed and therefore worthy of preservation.
Prayers from the faithful are not always answered. Stones need to be maintained
and without generous and continued financial support, they will crumble.
A small miracle of construction work has occurred in Bourne involving
another of the town’s religious organisations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have
built their new church in the space of six working days spread over the past two
weekends. The £150,000 Kingdom Hall in Victor Way was erected from flat slab to
roof by 250 workers including bricklayers, plasterers, carpenters, electricians
and labourers, from the town and around the country, and once interior
decoration and carpeting has been completed, there will be an open day for the
public followed by the first Sunday meeting for the local congregation on July
18th. A remarkable achievement.
The sect does not enjoy a popular public image and has become a target of
ridicule and even abuse because of their habit of unannounced doorstep calling,
usually in pairs, and an insistence on reading long extracts of the bible to
support their beliefs. Their activities in Bourne have been both widespread and
regular in recent years and this method of proselytising has made them extremely
unpopular with many people. All members are expected to participate in this
house to house calling and there are no clergy.
The movement originated in the United States in 1872 under Charles Taze Russell
(1852-1916), attaching great importance to Christ's second coming which he
predicted would occur in 1914 and which Witnesses still consider to be imminent.
Members believe that after the second coming, the ensuing Armageddon and Last
Judgement, which would entail the destruction of all except the faithful, will
give way to the Theocratic Kingdom. Earth will continue to exist as the home of
humanity, apart from 144,000 chosen believers who will reign with Christ in
heaven. Witnesses also believe that they should not become involved in the
affairs of this world and their tenets, including rejection of obligations such
as military service, have often brought them into conflict with authority.
The sect has maintained a presence in Bourne for the past 50 years, holding its
first meetings in 1950 at the old Co-operative Hall on the upper floor of No 17
North Street (now occupied by the Paper Chain newsagents and the Nationwide
Building Society) and then moving to find more space each time their
congregation expanded, latterly to a late 18th century converted barn in a yard
off Burghley Street at the rear of No 35 North Street that was once used as a
pigsty and which they renamed the Kingdom Hall, the traditional name for all
meeting places used by the Witnesses. They leased the red brick and tiled
property for 20 years but in 2002 plans were drawn up to build their own Kingdom
Hall although the planning application was submitted to South Kesteven District
Council simply as "a Christian meeting hall" because of fears that identifying
the sect would influence the planning decision, an acceptance by them that they
do not enjoy a widespread popularity.
It became apparent that more space was needed when the congregation of around 50
began to grow and this made meetings in the old barn rather cramped. Once the
plans were announced, they raised £70,000 themselves while donations came from
other congregations sympathetic to the cause because Bourne was one of only ten
in England without its own Kingdom Hall
Work on clearing the site began in December 2002 with people of all ages digging
the foundations to bring them up to the damp course stage. Then the qualified
tradesmen moved in to complete the work during two weekends of
concerted voluntary effort and when finally fitted out, the building will have
air conditioning and central heating with facilities for the disabled and a
mother's room and a block-paved car park while the design provides a maximum
capacity for around 150 people, compared with fewer than a hundred at the
previous premises.
Simon Hall, one of the five members on the project committee, could not conceal
his pleasure. “We are swapping a pigsty for a palace”, he said. “It will mean a
great deal to the congregation because for the first time in their history, the
Witnesses in Bourne will have their very own place of worship. The congregation
has worked hard for this day and they have proved what people can achieve when
they pull together.” He added: “People imagine that there are just a few of us
in Bourne but there are currently more than 70 members in the congregation and
it is growing all the time with attendances at meetings regularly reaching over
100.”
But what of the financial considerations? “It is something we think about but it
is not a major problem”, said Ken Walker, another member of the project
committee. “Not only do our own congregation give freely and willingly but
members of other congregations do so too and that is our strength.”
The Church of England has the advantage of tradition behind its establishment
but it is perceived by many to continue in the old ways and these are not always
the best and the new religions may well offer alternative and more successful
ways of doing things, rather than being dismissed out of hand. The Jehovah’s
Witnesses, for instance, despite their apparent rejection of worldly affairs,
embrace the problems of the age and tackle them accordingly. Their
resourcefulness in inviting and receiving investment from their congregation,
which is given without question, is a particularly appealing one while
participation of professional and manual labour on such a grand scale is the
ultimate manifestation of loyalty and faith in the cause. Perhaps this is a heaven
sent opportunity for those who run the affairs of the Abbey Church to learn
something from them.
What the local newspapers are saying:
The human interest story of the week was carried by the Lincolnshire Free
Press with excellent coverage by Victoria Fear and a first class photograph
of the building of the Kingdom Hall in Victor Way in six days by the Jehovah’s
Witnesses (June 8th). This is local reporting at its very best and the
accompanying picture, showing the bulk of the voluntary workforce wearing hard hats in front of the scaffolded
building as it neared completion, was an ingenious idea that must have taken
some time to set up but the result was extremely effective because it exudes the
energy and zeal being put into the project by those involved.
The wave of house building in Bourne continues to occupy the time of the town
council and The Local carries a report of the latest proposed development of 14
new homes on the site of Woodview Nursery in South Road which was discussed on
Tuesday by the highways and planning committee (June 11th). There are fears that
it may jeopardise the future of the ambulance station that is tucked away in a
corner of the adjoining residential estate now going up on the old hospital site
and Councillor John Kirkman sought to ensure that its future was secure. “New
residents might be disturbed by ambulances leaving the station at all hours and
this could lead to its closure”, he said. “If the development control committee
[of South Kesteven District Council] approves this application, we need
assurances over the future of the station”.
This also raises another interesting point. If the new planning application has
not yet been approved, why then is the Woodview Nursery closing down? When I
called in this week, all but a few of the plants and stock had been sold off,
the plastic tunnels were being dismantled and the family who run it were
preparing to move out shortly. In other words, the site has changed hands and
surely the deal would not have gone ahead without the developers having some
assurance that their expectations would be fulfilled.
Vandalism continues to occupy many column inches and The Local relates an
interesting incident on Monday night when intruders broke into the outdoor
swimming pool (June 11th). Some damage was caused before the law was alerted by
the neighbours and then, as Becky Jarman reports, “the culprits decided to moon
at the police officers before making their escape.” Mooning is modern parlance for the act of exposing one’s buttocks in a
public place with the aim of shocking or as a sign of disrespect and involves
dropping the trousers and accompanying underwear, if so worn, and it is
therefore difficult to understand why they were not apprehended because such a
state of dishabille would have made it impossible to run away with any speed.
But the newspaper reports that they were not caught - with or without their
trousers down.
The Stamford
Mercury appears to have either printing or distribution problems because
several times in recent months it has not been available in Bourne on a Friday
morning and this week it did not appear until today. This is not a good sign
for a local newspaper that purports to cover the town for although it remains on
sale throughout the week, there are people out there who like to collect it when
they buy their daily paper and may opt for the opposition by picking up a copy of
The Local instead. There is speculation in the town that the Mercury
is planning to extend its coverage by opening an office in Bourne and if so, the
first thing they must do is to ensure that the newspaper is available on the
morning of publication to maintain its circulation and its credibility.
Thought for the week: The church exists for the sake of those outside it.
- William Temple (1881-1944), headmaster of Repton public school who became
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Saturday 19th June 2004
The drainage of the fens has been a major accomplishment
in the history of British agriculture, making South Lincolnshire one of the most
productive farming areas in the country with rich, black soil that produces high
yield crops year after year.
We now take the dykes and ditches that crisscross the landscape for granted and
tend to forget the ingenuity of those who designed the system, the money and the
labour involved in bringing the various schemes to fruition, although now and
again we come across relics from the past and Bourne resident Peter Sharpe has
sent me two photographs that remind us of their labours.
The first is of several huge stone blocks that can be found alongside the River
Glen near Tongue End, an area which was pivotal in this great engineering scheme
from past times but he is not sure of their purpose. The licences issued by the
Bourne Angling Association, he says, once mentioned them in outlining the
upstream boundary of their waters which were marked by “the great stone that
lies on the bank at the south end of Bourne South Fen”, a short distance from
where a tunnel passes under the river bed which is the subject of his second
photograph. “It looks as if at one time they supported a substantial structure
but I can find no mention of it”, writes Peter. “Perhaps it could have been some
kind of water pump.”
To find the explanation, we have to go back to the 19th century when wealthy
landowners known as Adventurers were investing large sums in improving drainage
to this part of the fens and so protecting their land and increasing crop yields
and one of their projects covered Bourne South Fen, an area of 850 acres on the
west side of the River Glen, bounded on the north by the Bourne Eau and on the
south by the Bourne and Thurlby Pastures and on the west by the Car Dyke. It was
first reclaimed by Sir Thomas Lovell for the Adventurers of Deeping Fen in the
17th century and the drainage system included a culvert under the Glen which was
maintained by the owner, John Heathcote, and then by his successors, and by the
mid-19th century, this work was the responsibility of a descendent who gave his
name to the culvert which is known today as Sir Gilbert Heathcote’s tunnel.
Each area reclaimed by fen drainage was interdependent on those adjacent and so
all new schemes were closely scrutinised to ensure that one did not have a
detrimental effect on the other, such safeguards being maintained by successive
Acts of Parliament. Up to 1871, the land was imperfectly drained, partly by
gravitation and partly by scoop wheels worked by horses in different parts of
the fen. In that year, a board was formed to carry out drainage works and a
centrifugal pump driven by an 8 hp portable engine was erected at the lower
end of the fen and the water lifted over a dam into the main drain which carried
it away through the culvert under the Glen into the Counter Drain which can be
seen today at Tongue End, and then by way of Vernatt’s Drain to the River
Welland.
The project to install the pump was opposed by the Deeping Fen Trustees who
issued an injunction in Chancery on the grounds that the lifting of water by
steam power would send unwanted supplies of water into the Deeping Fen drainage
system but the action was abandoned and the engine continued in use although
records of its final years are hard to find. Engines such as this never
fulfilled their potential and many became dilapidated and decayed and some, such
as this one, were removed entirely and until modern drainage methods were
introduced, with electrically powered pumping stations, the land became liable
to severe flooding which occurred many times during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, inundating large tracts of arable land in the locality. The stones
that we see today are most probably the remains of that pumping installation.
They do not include the one referred to by the Bourne Angling Association that
Peter quotes because that has a far more historic significance. The actual
reference relating to fisheries in the locality, including both the rivers Eau
and the Glen, comes from the will of Edward Presgrave as the water from St
Peter's Pool to Eastcoate to the Cross of Goodroom Coate and the water of
Eastcoate or Glen to the Great Stone on the bank at the south east end of the
South Fen of Bourne. But that was in 1753, well before the pumping
installation was erected. The Great Stone must therefore remain a mystery for
the time being.
The town centre is to be uprooted this summer to install new traffic
lights. The decision has been taken by Lincolnshire County Council which is
responsible for our roads and although the project may be a necessary one, the
height of the holiday season may not be considered by everyone to be the best
time to cause so much disruption to the busiest place in Bourne.
This is a small market town where shops, hotels and public houses live a
precarious existence but summertime does bring a boost to business and it is the
one time in the year that we do attract visitors, most likely merely driving
through but often stopping for a while and even staying overnight. Nothing is
more disconcerting to the traveller than seeing road works ahead and a journey
delayed by red lights and stop signs is the sure indicator that the foot will be
pressed firmly down on the accelerator as soon as possible and stay there until
the next suitable and more welcoming place is reached.
The work will start in July and last for an indeterminate period but certainly
well into the autumn when the usual flow of tourist traffic through the town is
but a memory. This upheaval might even be excused if were it to be of lasting
benefit but history has proved that tinkering with the current system of
crossroads and traffic lights is not the solution to a problem that started when
the motor car began increasing in numbers during the early years of the 20th
century. The difficulties were apparent when the first traffic lights were
installed in 1973 and there have been continual complaints ever since yet the
only solution the experts can come up with is to fiddle around the edges. It may
be an improvement on the old but it will not solve the problem for the future.
Only a north-south bypass will do that and that was first mooted almost 100
years ago yet is not even on the drawing board.
Work is also expected to resume soon on the long awaited south-west relief road.
One section of this carriageway, to connect the A151 West Road and the A15 South
Road, has already been completed but the project was halted months ago while the
financial package with the local authorities was reassessed and the first
stretch of pristine carriageway has been gated and unused ever since. This
scheme, and that involving the new traffic lights, is dependent on money coming
in from the developers building the 2,000-home Elsea Park estate as part of the
planning gain. In other words, both of these road improvements rely for
financial support from house building and not on our rising level of council
tax, the bulk of which foots the bill to keep council staff in their jobs rather
than maintaining public services and is one of the reasons why Bourne will not
be getting that much needed bypass for the foreseeable future.
When I was a young reporter more than half a century ago, one of my tasks
was to cycle around the cemeteries each week to find out who was about to be
buried and I would then go and see the relatives and write an obituary of the
departed. Although my newspaper would be informed if someone of note had died,
this was often the only way we could find out if lesser mortals had shuttled off
this mortal coil. But all were given editorial space for a record of their
lives, however unimportant that may have seemed to some.
The obituary columns are among the most widely read sections of our newspapers
and therefore editors should nurture them and ensure that the passing of
everyone from their circulation area is remembered in some detail, not only as a
mark of respect for the dead but also as a memorial for the future because as
time passes, the newspapers become an archive to be consulted by social
historians and even descendants tracing their family trees in years to come.
Death is always with us but unfortunately, some editors do not recognise this
wealth of material that is within their grasp every week yet is largely ignored.
The Local, for instance, has given no editorial coverage to the deaths of
several well-known people from the Bourne area in recent weeks and the only
mention we have had is in brief paid notices from grieving relatives. The
Stamford Mercury does carry a full page of obituaries most weeks but as we
in Bourne get their slip edition, they are usually of people from other
districts in their circulation area.
Local newspapers are meant to serve the town in which they are published.
Coverage of births, marriages and deaths were once considered to be of paramount
interest to their readers and although the hatches may not merit much column
space, matches do while the despatches from this life are most worthy of
publication because a well written obituary encapsulates someone’s entire
existence on this earth and we hope that when we too depart, there will be also
space for us to be remembered for posterity, no matter how small our
contribution to the community may have been.
What the local newspapers are saying:
The controversial
planning application to build 51 new homes on meadowland adjoining The Croft, a
large house in North Road, was thrown out by members of South Kesteven District
Council on Tuesday. The Stamford Mercury reports (June 18th) that the
opposition was formidable with letters of objections from 60 people, a petition
with 45 signatures and the thumbs down from both Bourne Town Council and the
Civic Society. A previous application to build 37 homes on the site was refused
in December and is now the subject of an appeal that is likely to be heard in
November.
The main thrust of the opposition is firstly that the amount of additional
traffic likely to be generated on to the A15 trunk road which runs past the site
will be unacceptable and secondly that the new estate will mean the loss of
valuable green space in an urban area but both objections are now on shaky
ground. A report on the meeting by The Local sounds a warning note by
quoting Richard Edwards of the district council’s planning department who said
that the land did have scope for development and he urged caution over using
traffic safety as a basis for rejection because Lincolnshire County Council’s
highways authority considered that North Road was able to cope with the increase
in vehicles. “If this application goes to appeal, you will have no support from
the county highways authority,” he said.
Secondly, the argument over the loss of green space may not be supportable under
the new planning guidelines recently announced by the government classifying
back gardens as brownfield sites and if applied to the Croft, it is only a
matter of time before residential development is given official approval.
Shop watch: Shopping at Morrisons supermarket in Stamford is becoming an
increasingly dispiriting experience because of the lengthening wait at the
checkouts, even at off-peak times. Monday mornings are usually a quiet period
yet in recent months there have been long delays and some customers report that
they have shopped in two minutes and then had to wait twenty minutes to pay. On
Monday this week at around midday, there were hordes of harassed shoppers
queuing up with their weekly groceries for between fifteen and twenty minutes
yet thirteen of the checkouts were closed. The management should address this
problem with some urgency and not take their customers for granted because
patience does tend to wear thin when you have a trolley full of goods and the
prospect of a long wait to pay and although some might be prepared to put up
with it, others might well vote with their feet and go elsewhere.
Message from abroad: A link with the past was severed with the death of
my ancestor William Bullock on 19th October 1900, aged 92. He was born at
Ridlington in Rutland in 1808 and was seven years old when the Battle of
Waterloo was fought, twelve years old when George III died and almost 30 when
Queen Victoria was crowned. As a young man, he took a farm at Stow, near Bourne,
and had many lively recollections from those days when cock fighting and bull
baiting were in vogue and he well remembered the latter sport at Stamford and
was wont to relate how, on one occasion, a ferocious bull played great havoc in
the streets there and eventually jumped into the river. Long before the police
force was formed, he was a parish constable, although I do not know where, but
this was a post of honour in the village in his day and he would humorously say
that when called out to a village fight, and there were many prize mills in his
younger days, he never hurried and generally saw a round or two himself before
he stretched forth the arm of the law. He moved to Thorney in Cambridgeshire in
1867 and took some 400 acres at Knarr Fen where he had two farms, becoming the
oldest tenant farmer on the Duke of Bedford's estate at Thorney. – email from
Jeanette Bullock, Woodlands, Manitoba, Canada, Sunday 6th June 2004.
Thought for the week: No one can kill Americans and brag about it. No
one. – Ronald Reagan, President of the United States (1981-89), who died last
week, aged 93.
Saturday 26th June 2004
Wild roses can be found in profusion at this time of the
year, along the roadside verges and particularly in Bourne Wood.
The actual number of wild roses indigenous to Britain is a subject of dispute
among botanists as most species have variations but it is generally accepted
that there are only five distinct types, the dog rose, field rose, sweet briar,
burnet rose and downy rose. The most familiar is the dog rose (Rosa canina),
the rose of early summer, expanding in the first days of June and rarely found
after the middle of July. The flowers vary considerably in colour from almost
white to a very deep pink and they have a delicate but refreshing fragrance
while the stems arch and scramble in the hedgerows and twine their way around
the trees in the wood. They look so fragile and attractive but it is unwise to
pick them because it is not only illegal but they are also protected by
razor-sharp, hooked prickles that can tear into the skin of the unwary.
This wild ancestor of the garden rose was the symbol of the Tudor kings of
England and the name dog rose has many possible derivations, the most popular
being the ancient Greek tradition that the root would cure a bite from a mad dog
but the other more probable theory is that the word “dog” is actually “dag”
being a dagger, a reference to the thorns that protect the plant.
When the petals fall, red berry-like fruit or hips form and these can be made
into jelly and syrup because they are rich in Vitamin C. They are still used to
make an ordinary preserve in Germany and in Russia and Sweden a kind of wine is
produced from them by fermenting the fruit. For many years they were known for
their refrigerant and astringent properties and concoctions were prepared to
treat stomach disorders such as diarrhoea and dysentery, allaying thirst and for
its pectoral properties in soothing coughs and throat irritations. In past
times, the leaves of the dog rose have also been dried and infused in boiling
water and used as a substitute for tea.
During World War Two, when nourishing food was scarce, the government sent us
kids out into the hedgerows to collect them and in 1943 alone, some 500 tons of
rose hips were amassed in this way and processed to provide children with rose
hip syrup as a supplement to the meagre diet that resulted from food rationing.
Today, this vast natural commodity is left largely to the birds. Even if the
authorities decreed that rose hips were necessary for the nation, it is doubtful
if they could persuade many youngsters to get out into the countryside and pick
them.
Someone emailed me this week to suggest that I had spelled fuchsia
wrongly in the captions for the flowers I photographed for the picture feature
In a Summer Garden and that it should be fuschia. This is a common mistake,
often made by national publications, but my spelling is correct and there is a
mnemonic you can use to ensure that you always get it right because it was named
in 1703 after the German botanist Leonhard Fuchs (1501-1566).
The name now applies to any shrub or herbaceous plant of the genus Fuchsia
of the evening primrose family Onagraceae. The species is native to South
and Central America and New Zealand and bear red, purple or pink bell-shaped
flowers that hang downwards. When raised from small plants, they are not
difficult to grow and have therefore become a best seller at our garden centres
in May and June which is why they have appeared in my garden at this time. The
summer flower feature can be accessed from the front page.
Two people who have done more than most for the town were honoured by the
Rotary Cub of Bourne this week. Jim and Brenda Jones, custodians of the Heritage
Centre at Baldock’s Mill on behalf of the Civic Society of which she is
chairman, were presented with the Silver Rose Bowl Award for their services to
the community. The presentation, during a celebratory lunch at the Angel Hotel
on Tuesday, was a well deserved recognition because their work to keep this
project going is known only to a few but all acknowledge that without their
enthusiasm and dedicated effort, the centre would have difficulty surviving.
The rose bowl has been presented for the past 17 years to individuals or
organisations that have made a significant contribution to the community or
environment and this year the award was accepted by them on behalf of the
Heritage Centre. For those who do not know the effort that both he and his wife
Brenda put in, I can tell you that she keeps the place spick and span with
constant cleaning and polishing at all hours while husband Jim is a jack of all
trades in keeping the fabric in good repair and last year he installed the new
mill wheels almost single handed. In addition, they are on permanent call if
anyone wants to visit the centre out of hours and are prepared to open up to
visitors who telephone to say they are sufficiently interested.
Ventures such as the Heritage Centre, and there are others equally worthy in
Bourne, depend on voluntary effort for their very survival and the Rotary Club
is to be congratulated on its visionary award over many years to recognise such
dedicated service without which community life here in Bourne would be the
poorer.
What the local newspapers are saying: The front page
headline and photograph in the Stamford Mercury says it all: “The road to
nowhere” while the editorial and an inside page story tell the sorry tale of the
long-awaited south-west relief road which according to all expectations, should
have been in use by now (June 25th). Instead, only one 700 metre section has
been completed and that has been gated and unused for several months with no
indication when work will be resumed. The new road is intended to connect the
A151 West Road and the A15 South Road although its construction depends on money
coming in from the developers building the 2,000 home Elsea Park estate as part
of the planning gain but there have been repeated delays in agreeing the
financial package. The report says that the road was originally due to open in
2002, then 2003, and Lincolnshire County Council now insists that it will be
finished a year’s time. The newspaper therefore has cause to be sceptical.
“Haven’t we heard that before?” asks their editorial. “One thing is certain, the
people of Bourne will continue to be dogged by congestion as its growing
population puts ever more strain on its present traffic system.”
Archaeologists have started unearthing Roman remains at the site of an £80,000
extension to the Willoughby School in South Road, Bourne. The Local
reports that pottery fragments and the jawbone of a cow dating back to the
second century AD have already been found (June 25th) and there are hopes of
uncovering further artefacts. The Romans occupied Britain from 43 AD until early in the
5th century and significant discoveries have been made in the town in the
past, notably pieces of a tessellated pavement in 1776 and a hoard of gold coins
in 1808, both in the area of the site of what is thought to have been Bourne
Castle. Land around Bourne Grammar School has also produced a number of finds
including coins and pottery and in view of the close proximity of the Willoughby
School, it was inevitable that further evidence of the Roman occupation would be
found. The dig is expected to continue for another week and although building
work has been slightly delayed, this is a small price to pay for proof of our
past heritage before the site is covered in concrete.
There have been some changes to the web site in the past two weeks to make
navigation simpler and at the same time I have discarded some of the old designs
that cluttered up the pages. They have stood us in good stead since our launch
in August 1998 but time teaches us new tricks and the result is now a simpler
and cleaner look with a main index leading to the various sections dealing with
the community, public services, schools and health care. Every change is a
difficult decision because most people prefer things the way they are and so I
have kept each one to a minimum while at the same time ensuring that the web
site remains accessible and easy for visitors to find their way around.
Many Internet sites are far too clever and cluttered for my taste and as I
favour a restrained approach, some visitors will not even notice that there have been
changes. Nevertheless, if you do find something that you do not like, or if you
have a better idea that we could put to advantage, please use the email facility
to let us know and it will be given serious consideration. The loss of some of
the Forum pages last weekend was entirely unconnected with this activity but I
was delighted by the response from some of our stalwart contributors who weighed
in with their controversial opinions to give the feature a kick start and it is
again running smoothly.
It is also gratifying to know that our work is likely to be remembered
for posterity. The history of this town is already recorded in some detail on
the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne
that has been
deposited with our local public libraries and the Lincolnshire county records
and now we hear that the web site may soon have a place in our national
archives. Millions of web pages covering all aspects of life in the United
Kingdom are to be recorded in a two-year project being launched by the British
Library in an attempt to capture the flavour of life in this country online. The
organisers say that although the Internet has become the information tool of
choice for many, little thought has been given to preserving web sites,
particularly those dealing with our social history. The archive will not only be
stored for future generations but is also due to go online in January 2005 and
hopefully, we will be part of it.
Message from abroad: I have fond memories of the Bourne area having visited
there in the autumn of 2002. I came to England via Euro Star from Brussels
having been working for a charity in Serbia. My friends who live in Morton, Dave
and Mandy Harris, were so kind as to give me a tour of the fens and I also got
to visit London and Lincoln. I went into Bourne to eat a few times and I did
some shopping there and bought my wife some lace. I took many pictures of your
area. I had a great time and can't wait to return for another visit. I found
everyone so friendly. I am a medieval historian and have written seven plays for
the local museum's fund raising events but to see the land that I have written
about was a dream come true. - email from Jon Loose, Tampa, Florida, USA, Sunday
13th June 2004.
Thought for the week: A study by the Motor Industry Research Association
suggested that motorists flying the flag of St George from cars and vans to
support the England football team during Euro 2004 will have cost the nation
£16,740,000 through the consumption of an additional 4.5 million gallons of fuel
as a result of the aero-dynamic drag caused by the flags.
– news report from The
Times, Saturday 19th June 2004.
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