60 NEW HOUSES ON BROOK STREET? ...from Gossip (Sept 6th 2001) "Rumours are circulating that 60 new houses are to be built along, or on land near, Brook Street. One tells of a new development on the left hand side of the road on Brook Street (going towards Norwich), just after The Dell. The alternative site is behind the houses on the right, (opposite rumour number 1 site) with access via that little scrubbly patch. " Fact or Fiction? We don't know. (See Note below) But we do know that Brook Street is a already a nightmare, with cars speeding from and to Norwich at all times, but getting quite dangerous for pedestrians at 5 o'clockish. Adding a new junction/access road will only make this situation worse. Best wait to see if anything crops up in the Council's planning applications. Also, I would like to see what sort of housing it will be. Personally I think that any developments should be geared towards the more affordable end of the market. As Norfolk is rapidly becoming a suburb of London, the houseprices are getting higher, and therefore making the young indiginous population of Buxton unable to buy there own home. For example, I understand that this problem is extreme for Southwold, with the young having to find homes elsewhere, leaving the town full of non local London types. The very heart can be ripped out of a community this way. But then again, cheap housing does not automatically mean that the locals will buy them... Note: This rumour has since been squished. DEATH THREATS AT LONDIS SHOP. ...from News (July 2001) "The Londis shop which closed at the end of the June is to be turned into a funeral parlour. Apparently, Mr Roger Rice has accepted a bid for the shop, despite his son Robert denying all. A concerned resident who lives close to the shop has rasied a petition of over 400(?) signatures to protest against the scheme." I agree that the old Londis shop is a bad choice of location for a full scale funeral parlour, but is that what is planned? I know of some funeral establishments that are merely offices, the 'other duties' being performed elsewhere. Is this so bad? With a local office run by a local and respected man, surely this would be advantageous for the relatives: to have an undertaker who possibly knew the deceased, and probably knows many of the mourners. So, before we charge forward, lets try to ascertain what is planned. Will there be bodies there, or just offices/coffin showroom?