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| Constance on guard duty |
The Welsh terriers are gentle souls with strangers but Bulldogs and Scottish terriers are terribly territorial if they need to be, and once locked on to an intruder, can inflict some considerable damage ( here here!)
So if the scroat who stole Chris' bike is actually reading this ( and I suspect they may have some trouble doing so, as occasionally I can use BIG LONG WORDS)...well then you have been warned...if you ever return then.you will be savaged by several house dogs and then would have to face the wrath of a very pissed off and hypertensive gay queen with murderous intent...
I don't think your chances of survival would be very high.
Anyhow, I have been giving the subject of affordable housing in rural settings a big think this week. A year or so ago a survey was passed around the village to ascertain if there was a local need for an affordable house project to be implemented. The project caused some unhappiness as it proposed the building of a small estate "outside" of the village envelope. There were some that said it was a good idea , there were many that were against it (fearful of where the development may lead) and although I am against any building inside greenbelt land, some sort of initiative that may utilise derelict and unused village dwellings for affordable housing for local people in need of a step on the property ladder, could, I thought be a way forward.
As it has turned out, I have been informed today by our local counsellor, that the original survey quite clearly stated that there was no local need for cheaper housing on a scale outlined ( there being several low priced properties in the village) , and that no building work of any sort will be implemented on the land "outside" of the village........
The ground work of needed for two surveys as well as the planning of the small estate was considerable and I suspect costly (yes another was sent out recently in what looks like a rather stupid mistake) ...and all I keep thinking of is why didn't the local housing association just buy the two derelict properties in the centre of the village..do them up into 4 flats and offer them to local families at a subsidised rate rather then to embark on a huge and as we know now, ineffectual project?
The village would have supported and welcomed this smaller initiative I am sure. No backs would have be put out and a few families would have been housed as the local need would have been assessed albeit in a more manageable way.
But that, I guess, is just common sense.....
Common sense just ain't that common!
ReplyDeleteCommon sense and municipal government? What?
ReplyDeleteIf there are derelict properties to be restored, then of course they should be done first. If there is still a need afterwards, then think again. Is there a queue outside Trelawnyd?
ReplyDeleteI think the common rule of some governments is, if it works well and makes sense, it will not be done.
ReplyDeleteI would pay for a picture of your bulldog's jaws locked on the thief's rear end!
Hey, the derelict property could be your next project...raise money with games like Dunk The Thief, Sorting Out The Pig, and other fun games that are unique to your locality.
Chick blog are not, I truly enjoy visiting your world.
the villages outside trelawnyd cro were given the questionnaire too...so the need is low generally locally. I suspect the waiting list my be higher in the local towns.... but care needs to be taken when bringing people in to a village with no shop now and a pub that may close and hardly any bus routes....
ReplyDeleteI haven't lived in a village, John, but I'd have thought to be cohesive, any village should have space available for any resident facing hard times. That's what a village community is about, isn't it? Otherwise it's not really a village, but a collaection of people living in proximity to one another.
ReplyDeleteWith a face like that I would think anybody would think twice about returning!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they do the reasonable thing? Because it would have made sense? I swear that the minute anyone becomes an "official" they lose any common sense that they once had.
ReplyDeleteSorry about Chris' bike, I would have thought that in a quiet place like yours, there wouldn't be any theft. He'll get his in the end, I hope, in the form of Constance.
ReplyDeleteIf putting up multiple housing makes sense, the town fathers will never go for such a thing. Just seems like that is the way things go....
Hey, John, glad you found me!
"a village with no shop now and a pub that may close and hardly any bus routes"
ReplyDelete... A village needs to have people in order to maintain a business in that village. If housing is too high priced, you will sentence the town to death.
Best of luck with the thief.
agreed stew
ReplyDeletethere are 12 empty properties in the village.....they need exploiting before a new build..... these difficult economic times..perhaps the brits should be thinking of renting much more than they do now
So sorry John that you didn't win the give away but let me know when your next village 'do' is on and I will send you some handmade bits and bobs. Sorry to hear about the bike, it makes you mad doesn't it? Like Gail I would love a picture of Constance with her jaws locked onto said thiefs derriere!
ReplyDeleteJo xx
It's not just in Trelawnyd but throughout the country there are villages where young adults from long-standing village families find themselves unable to get on the housing ladder and so are driven away from the communities where they belong. Any initiative to create affordable homes for local rural people is good and it seems to me that surveys are often conducted after the conclusion has been devised. They hear what they want to hear. I speak as someone who was born and raised in a Yorkshire farming village.
ReplyDeleteYP
ReplyDeleteand with all those village properties empty too!!!
mind you when I interviewed the older people of the village... most of them rented their houses they never bought until relatively recently
we have this need to buy in this country which has been proven to be a disaster for some
Common sense...never works when it comes to governments. They should get a committee to oversee the committee and think about that. Go get em, Constance!
ReplyDeleteI'd rather face the dogs and a pecking from the 413 foul than the hypertensive gay queen any day
ReplyDeleteCareful what you wish for John...
ReplyDelete...I work on marketing and planning for sites like this all the time and many a lovely village has become a sprawl of of identikit housing amidst a warren of cul-de-sacs via bolt-on housing developments.
Once a train like that gets moving there's no stopping it...
oh chris
ReplyDeletedont get me wrong
I dont want a new build outside the village envelope
no way! I think that is openeing up a whole can of worms
but the empty houses I would like to be developed and changed if at all possible
The powers that be seldom have common sense!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your answer to my (blog) cloud question...you are indeed correct it is a CLOUD and I'm still ROFLMAO at your answer! Good one!
It seems the people who make these decisions have no concept of what it is to struggle by. It doesn't effect them, so they don't care. They've got their own agendas. That's too bad, eh, John. When they could have kept it in line with existing architecture. After I left England they turned the derelict buildings of Salts Mills, where I used to play as a kid, into very expensive, fancy flats. The people they could have helped house...
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bike. All kinds of crap used to get done to my poor Mini, living near to Bradford. I definitely wouldn't expect that in the country. Hope there was no damage. I think you've got the perfect solution there!
I work for small developers too, sometimes it all escalates to bigger things...
ReplyDeleteIf you want to make some money John, and help out with housing then consider buying them and doing them up yourself to sell on.
You'd be amazed how easy it is to do.
I blame all this openness and transparency nonsense. We need a return to the traditional values of backhanders and unscrupulous developers. At least you knew where you stood with Rachman.
ReplyDeleteI love my country, but I have come to dispise all government. No logic, no reason and no money yet they continue to suck up MY money to fund thier idiot plans. Can't wait to be on our tiny farm of the future with income SO LOW we won't have to pay any in income taxes.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, how much for one of the derelict homes in your village.? I need a retreat
I am afraid that the NIMBY attitude applies up here as well John, where there is a definite need for affordable housing. More and more retired people are moving in and buying the houses and young people are either renting at exorbitant rents or moving to cheaper areas.
ReplyDeleteMy step-grandson is renting at £500 a month - at that rate he will never be in a position to buy anything up here and yet he wishes to stay as he has lived most of his life up here.
Burglary is on the increase up here too with friends being burgled last week in the couple of hours they were out - which makes them think that the burglars were there watching for them to go, which is very unsettling.
As for that bulldog - well I wouldn't like to meet one on a dark night! How is she coping with this hot weather - it used to devastate my pug.
It would appear that to a certain extent, even politicians in an idyllic village such as yours have concerns about covering their posteriors. Common sense and implementing the most sensible plan doesn't provide as much "coverage" as conducting surveys and referendums. Because, after all, to most politicians, it's more about getting reelected than it is about solving the problem. Although money is tight in our county, there was a report today that more than a million (a MILLION!) dollars is about to be spent on yet another committee to "conduct studies" on how best to improve transportation within our area. Congestion has been continuously growing over the years, but the best they can ever muster is more studies and questionnaires. It's maddening.
ReplyDeleteThese days is seems like common sense never wins, John.
ReplyDeleteI do love the picture of Constance though! :)
I like that idea of reusing derelict properties. We have the same problem in the states. Instead of reusing old buildings they are torn down for new ones. I just don't understand. Precious materials are being wasted and filling landfills. The majority of humans are so wasteful.
ReplyDeleteGaz thought it was hilarious on Prestatyn 2nd Hand market on Sunday morning when people had clearly marked the boxes of DVD's as "Copies". Perhaps the low life who took the bike didnt realise that it was a crime! xxx
ReplyDeleteThere is obviously a need for a 'bind-house' in your village. Let's hope they come off at the next bend.
ReplyDeleteYour security team is obviously a more professional unit than mine... I fear intruders would be met with a full body wiggle and some licks.
ReplyDeleteCommon sense would say to develop the derelict properties, but then they wouldn’t be able to produce a study no one has any need or interest in. Seems everything these days needs a study!
thomas
ReplyDeletewhat is a bind-house?
Your description of yourself and Constance terrifies me. I quake. I tremble. Should I ever come to Trelawnyd I PROMISE I will be very, very good.
ReplyDeleteRefurbishing old flats is not particularly sexy now, is it? Yes, it can be done more easily (and cheaply and efficiently and be of more service and help and generate far more public support) but it's not as shiny and controversial and interesting and important as an "estate" on forbidden land; things which are a high priority to housing association boards on both sides of the Atlantic.
Silly.
I'll show you, Johnny.
ReplyDeleteI served on my local planning commission for a number of years, and we visited the issue of affordable, lower cost housing a few times. Our little berg was very rural when i first arrived and then got 'discovered.' Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI was in favour of having lower cost housing options as there weren't many available places for rent. The member on the board of supervisors who most strenuously objected to our proposal was a real estate agent. I asked if perhaps she had a conflict of interest and suggested that she recuse herself. It was one of the numerous occasions where i was reminded that my position was an appointed one, and that i served at the pleasure of the board of supervisors. By the end of my last term, i think it safe to say there was displeasure on both sides.
As to the joyrider...Margie may also join Constance in a chase, which would be something to behold.
megan
Hey . . . you don't think the bugger who stole Chris' bike could have been DAVE?
ReplyDeleteI would not put it past him
ReplyDeletesneaky bugger
Oh Constance! Don't get stuck!
ReplyDelete"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense."
ReplyDeleteGertrude Stein (1874 - 1946)
I just love Constance!
ReplyDeleteI love that photo of Constance.
ReplyDeleteYou should put it as a header on your
blog
Sue
Britain is full of villages and towns that have been disfigured by hideous oversized all-the-same housing developments on the outskirts. Such schemes should be resisted at all costs. Doing up the existing derelict properties sounds much more sensible.
ReplyDeleteThanks John. All a bit mad around me right now. Got a ton of stuff in draft. just can't get a decent run at finishing any. Hoping to do a G&T theme over weekend. Phil.
ReplyDeleteImpressive Doggy there. Bet he's sunk his gnashers into a few unwelcome butts. Gooood Boyyye...Niiiice Dogggggy.
umm wouls seem that common sense has gone.
ReplyDeleteJust love the photo of constance !
I love the way you phrase! The first part of your post reminds me of the sign: "Never mind the dog, beware of the owner!"
ReplyDeleteYou go John!
Have a GREAT weekend!
meggs.xx
Affordable Village Housing! If that is true in 4 years, I'm moving!
ReplyDelete