Dear Sir,
If anyone wants to see the devastating impact of ‘development’, in my opinion they need look no further than Heighington Village, previously voted Britains perfect village by the BBC in 2006, and a location that one would assume is subject to appropriate planning protections.
The village is feeling the impact of two – currently, massive residential developments, on previous farmland lined by hedgerows, trees and woodland; One on Beech Crescent and one on Walworth Road that are making the location, whilst still charming, at its heart, feel more small town like by the day.
The developers, I refer to Esh in this article on Beech Crescent, appear to have adopted an approach of nibbling away at the remaining trees, until at present just a few large beech trunks remain, largely stripped of their branches and roots and looking like giant drinking staws. The priority for the developer, clearly being to display the surprisingly densly packed houses for sale to the passing cars with a token acknowledgement of what was once a rural setting.
What remains of the hedgerow will, I imagine, be easy to maintain by the local authority with their policy of liberal herbicide use in the village.
The impact on the wildlife is still visible if you look. A few tattered feathers that mark what was once an owl, another a blackbird. The kestrels nesting near the corner are long gone. The small remnants of a hare, feather and moss nest, is tangled into some building insulation in the verge.
Adjacent to the development on Heighington Lane, a field that was one of the precious few, previously open for recreational use is ominously fenced off with wire fencing and displays a private property keep out sign, forcing walkers to attempt a crossing of the dangerously busy A6072 on a bend.
Conservation feels very out of fashion at the moment, but does no one have any regard for the loss of the greenery and amenity space which is essential for our well being and ultimately the survival not only of our native plants and animals but also people who need to breath clean air and eat uncontaminated food.
Name & address supplied
