SIR - How green is our council — and how green will our valley be?
There are some green fields in the west
Much loved by all us Sidmouth folk
(To us, we thought, the past’s bequest) —
They could be gone, though, at a stroke:
The Government has now decreed
That green fields can be built upon
“To satisfy the housing need”;
So, soon, the green could all be gone
(To satisfy the builders’ greed).
AONBs, we understand,
Are now called “undeveloped land”,
A signal to Persimmon to
Build more houses, block the view.
The council, too, wants to embark
On selling Knowle off with its park.
Before you know it they’ll agree
To cut down every blessed tree;
The rabbits and the badgers will
No longer sport there on the hill;
No longer will the children play,
Nor dogs be walked there every day
And we will lose our right of way.
They’ll fill the place with houses and
Spoil our green and pleasant land.
Michael Temple
The Pippins, Knowle Drive, Sidmouth
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