Unpopular Stances

Countryside Column for 14 November 2014

All Things to All Villagers

The agreement for the lease of the land has been signed and building work is due to start in the Spring. Six new ‘affordable’ homes will emerge on a greenfield site at the edge of the village. Although they will largely be reserved for people with close local ties, I’m sure there will still be some people hereabouts who fundamentally oppose the scheme. There certainly were when the Parish Council held a public meeting to discuss it almost two years ago. I remember being shocked at the vehemence of the opposition.

It’s one of the dilemmas for local politicians.  You can’t please all of the people all of the time. 

And it’s arguably worse for parish councillors. We don’t stand under a political banner and we feel it’s our duty to try to represent everyone in the parish. But how on earth to do that when opinions are sharply divided?

I only joined the council as a result of such a division when half the former members resigned over a suitable site for a new primary school.

The fresh council wanted to heal the rifts but immediately faced the new row over the affordable housing on land we controlled.

I was aware that my stance in favour of the homes would make me unpopular with the objectors. This was extremely regrettable, but I felt I had to stand by what I believed. I could not be ‘all things to all men’.  If I were completely out of kilter with local opinion they could kick me out at the next local elections.

Then a letter from another resident was circulated to the council. It expressed concern about the activities of protestors and, in particular, a petition they had got up. The author said they did not in any way represent the feelings of everybody in the local community. And it made a powerful case for affordable housing being the “very best use that can be made of that land”.

It was extremely heartening. But, sadly, the letter was anonymous. The author explained they had lived in the village for a very long time and knew how words could come back to haunt you.

How awful, I thought, that someone should feel so intimidated over a local housing issue. But I predict that, once the houses are up and new neighbours have moved in, the initial opposition will soon fade.