There is now much publicity about the coming work at Peppermint Junction in Holbeach. At last we get the roundabout that should have been built there in the first place.
There seems to be a sudden spurt of activity and media coverage about our council portfolio holders. These people are appointed by the leaders of the Conservative ruling party. Our local councils have cabinet systems, not committee ones, so oppositions’ councillors have little influence over the way policy is formed.
We have heard so many promises from Tory administrations over the years, very few materialised. I recall huge claims about how much the new university developments would do for our town, in fact it was very little. With respect, when local politicians talk about South Holland, they mean Spalding, not Holbeach.
Local county councillors played a big part in cutting library funding but there was no mention of it before the last county election. We do now have a beautifully formed but very small new library, four years later. As a result we also have a large number of empty shops and a vastly reduced footfall in the top end of the High Street. I wonder what else Lincoln have in mind that they will keep quiet about before May.I have no idea what the Peppermint Junction development will do, or how long it will take to achieve anything. Holbeach can’t sit back and wait to see, another eight years, or even two or three and we will be reduced to a Spalding dormitory. Yes, the scheme was in the parish plan and the new homes were part of the price to be paid, we just did not expect similar massive developments nearby which were not in that plan (Manor Farm/Hallgate, Battlefields Lane etc.).
Depending on the market for new homes, we could very quickly find ourselves swamped without adequate educational, healthcare, parking, leisure services and with crumbling infrastructure. It’s bad enough even now.
We have heard so many promises from Tory administrations over the years, very few materialised. I recall huge claims about how much the new university developments would do for our town, in fact it was very little. With respect, when local politicians talk about South Holland, they mean Spalding, not Holbeach.
Local county councillors played a big part in cutting library funding but there was no mention of it before the last county election. We do now have a beautifully formed but very small new library, four years later. As a result we also have a large number of empty shops and a vastly reduced footfall in the top end of the High Street. I wonder what else Lincoln have in mind that they will keep quiet about before May.I have no idea what the Peppermint Junction development will do, or how long it will take to achieve anything. Holbeach can’t sit back and wait to see, another eight years, or even two or three and we will be reduced to a Spalding dormitory. Yes, the scheme was in the parish plan and the new homes were part of the price to be paid, we just did not expect similar massive developments nearby which were not in that plan (Manor Farm/Hallgate, Battlefields Lane etc.).
Depending on the market for new homes, we could very quickly find ourselves swamped without adequate educational, healthcare, parking, leisure services and with crumbling infrastructure. It’s bad enough even now.
Councillors with portfolios at both South Holland and Lincoln must take a wider view than just bothering about Holbeach. I understand that but it is their choice, though it’s of little help to the areas they claim to represent. It would be immoral to give preference to their own divisions.
Judging from the amount of material being put through letterboxes right now, a lot of trees are being felled to make all that paper. Local Tory politicians are seriously contributing to global warming, even without all the hot air they are generating.
Coun Paul Foyster
Holbeach
Holbeach
