At Sheringham town community newspaper. North Norfolk England UK.

PRIORY MAZE HEDGEROW

Why do some people grub out natural and attractive hedgerows?
Early last week a short section of this hedgerow bordering the Sheringham to Cromer road went missing under the attention of a digger. By the end of the next day the remainder had gone and the whole lot had been replaced with a stark fence of post and rails together with a view of what seems to the makings of a car- park.

I am at a loss to understand the reasoning behind this act. Maybe the owner simply doesn't like hedges. Unlikely in this instance as he has produced an attractive garden on other parts of the site and the hedges there give a superb backdrop to his planting scheme. Perhaps the hedge took too much effort to maintain properly. Again unlikely as he seems to have access to the required machinery for carrying out this maintenance quickly and effectively at the correct time of the year. Might it be that he wants to show off the general vista if the gardens to attract passing potential customers as they cruise past. There must be many potential reasons that his actions, none of which alter the fact that the area has lost yet another old hedgerow. Apart from the temporary / permanent eyesore which been created, the habitat for bugs, birds and animals has gone and will take many years to recapture even if the hedge is replaced. This, coupled with the fact that the hedgerow was an attractive feature for locals and visitors alike as they entered Sheringham from the east, makes the whole sorry escapade reprehensible and why government has been able to afflict us with copious amounts of unnecessary and unworkable legislation.

Although the Priory Maze is in an area designated as 'high landscape value' and a 'conservation area' it would appear that in some instances there is nothing to stop this type of localised vandalism. Speaking of which, if it is the security of his land against vandals that the owner is hoping to achieve, then he has got it wrong again. I would suggest to him that, given the choice of a full-grown and properly trimmed and thick hawthorn hedge or a post and rail fence, I know which one I would choose - every time.

The current legislation (Hedgerows Act 1997) rushed through the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (OPDM) would seem very poorly thought through and almost inoperable in this instance. Rather than government trying to patch it up why not scrap them completely and replace them with an effective and workable set of rules which carry a hefty penalty for the minority who either don't know or don't care the true value of hedgerows to our local landscape.
Peter Fitch. Beeston Regis

READERS LETTER

Dear Madam
Supermarket supporters like Mr Spong are right, but only up to a point. It is where they are misleading that dangers arise.
Yes, Tesco stores are well run, though not alone in that. Staff are trained to be pleasantly helpful, and are soon sacked if they let management down. However, that doesn't mean the employees all have secure, well-paid employment.
Tesco shelves do indeed suit customers, who rarely notice the "loss leader" cheating and other tricks to induce them to buy more than they need.

Most misleading are arguments that "the consumer is king" and it is just a question of "free" trade. Superstore chains exist to satisfy not everyone but the majority - especially car-owners. When they deliberately drive smaller outlets out of business, they then disadvantage other customers - particularly in localities with elderly or young people without cars.
The playing field is not level, because of rate, rent and parking disparities, access to overseas sweatshops, cartel-style pressure on farmers and other suppliers, and cornering giant chunks of real estate — Tesco alone has over 180 land banks in reserve.

Take a Tesco-invaded Scottish town, not quite as close as to the seashore as Sheringham whose town-centre should remain a holiday-maker attraction, but where a Highland councillor warns: "Some parts of Inverness are now derelict" (Sunday Times, Feb. 19). "Not many other shopkeepers can survive."
Similar stories pour in from all over Britain. "Many town centres are likely to turn into alcohol-dominated neighbourhoods," writes independent journalist Jack Grimston on supermarket empire-building "while in the poorest areas even charity shops may not be able to compete" (op.cit.).

Tesco trading has become neither fair - NOR FREE. No "scare-mongering", just facts and figures.
Marianna Robinson

Embarrassing Stories

Sheringham Community Paper

I was potty training my three year old son but were having problems. We stopped at McDonalds for lunch and while enjoying my burger, I smelled something funny. Then I realised my son had not asked to go on his potty in a while, so I asked him and he said, "No. " I kept thinking, he has had an accident. So I asked him again and he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled.... "See, Mum, it's just a trump!" While 100 people nearly choked on their burgers, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down to eat his food as if nothing happened. I was mortified! Some kind elderly people made me feel a lot better, when they came over and thanked me for the best laugh in ages! Another old gentleman came over to my son and said, "Don't worry son, my wife accuses me of the same thing all the time...I just never had the nerve to make the point like you did."

THE PICNIC CAMPAIGNERS

North Norfolk has won 'blue flags for it's beaches, let us have some 'green flags' for our countryside. It would be nice to be able to picnic on Spout Hills near Letheringsett without the fear of dogs running around. Please write to Holt Town Council or the Environment Department at the District Council Offices in Cromer to campaign for picnic sites without dogs or the all too common red poop bins.
Lynn Jackson

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