LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the Editor Want to reply? Read something you feel needs commenting on? Our postbag is open! Please send emails to letters@theblackmorevale.co.uk The slow painful death-byvisitor It is particularly apparent in winter when driving through villages after dark, just how much of our housing stock is used for second homes and holiday lets. I understand Tim Farron MP has outlined some simple steps for his Yorkshire constituency which could work equally well nationwide to prevent the slow painful death-by-visitor of our village life. A way of life which can only thrive when residents live and work in the same community? Shouldn’t we make second homes and holiday-lets new and separate class categories of planning use? This would mean that councils could monitor and control numbers and tax effectively. Also give councils the power to increase council tax by up to 100 per cent on second homes in the worst affected communities. This would protect communities and generate revenue to improve infrastructure and provide new affordable housing for local families. And let’s ensure all holiday-let owners pay council tax, rather than avoiding paying anything at all if they are deemed a small business. Lastly, give councils the power to ensure that new builds are genuinely affordable. Mr P Thomas, Shaftesbury *** Can Aldi mend a town? Further to AP’s points on Aldi coming to Sturminster Newton (Dec 22 issue), I don’t wholly disagree - anything which brings
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people to a town can only be a good thing. However, I do feel the geography of Sturminster Newton in particular will work against it - in this case the supermarket will be easily accessible from the main road, with little reason for people to drive on and work through the traffic lights over the bridge and find parking. It will of course be a useful alternative for the people of Stur, but I am yet to be convinced that visitors from outside the town, coming solely to find the cheaper supermarket prices, will be lured across the bridge purely by what Sturminster Newton has to offer - unless of course the town is newly motivated to up its game. John Collins, Sherborne
I have to strongly agree with AP (Dec issue) - the arrival of Aldi in Sturminster Newton can only be a great thing for many in Stur. Though if I’m honest, this is purely from self-interest; I’m admittedly less concerned about how well it will work for the small businesses currently trading in the town. If you are struggling to feed your family, access to affordable shopping is an urgent necessity - and yet with a car so old and broken down it was finally resigned to a scrap heap, I have to rely on public transport or kind friends. A return trip to Blandford’s supermarket by bus is £9 out of my weekly food budget, even were they to run at useful times. And let’s not discuss the loss of three hours on the round trip (no, not everyone’s 24hrs are the same Molly-Mae). Instead I have to rely heavily on the utterly wonderful Vale Pantry in order
to keep my bills paid and stay out of debt. The arrival of a reasonablypriced, well-stocked supermarket within walking distance is an absolute blessing. Hopefuly I will be able to stop relying on the charity of strangers, plan my meals in advance and finally hold my head up. Please hurry up Aldi. Name withheld *** Generosity for refugees Dear Editor, can I use your magazine to thank wonderful locals for their generosity. When the news reports showed the desperate situation at Kabul airport during the evacuation from Afghanistan, many of us were deeply moved. These were people in urgent fear, escaping with nothing more than their lives. A Salisbury pub began a collection of clothing, but it was all going to Care4Calais where the warehouses were already full, with no means of distribution. Eventually, we found a small group in Wiltshire with direct access to the Afghan families, who were glad to receive anything we could gather. We had to wait for phone calls to be told where to meet - each different rendezvous an hour’s drive away - as security for the Afghan translators’ families was paramount. We were amazed to fill a whole carload - our family and our kind Iwerne neighbours gave warm coats, men’s and women’s jumpers, men’s shoes, and shirts, and socks. We’d heard that having lost everything, it meant so much to be given even a toothbrush which was their own - so we bought 100 toothbrushes from Amazon, and our dentist gave three boxes of toothpaste samples. Then more people gave more
