A sad day

As I watched this JCB digging up this field with a very heavy heart, a lady at the bus stop asked me "have they started building the new shop?"

I told her that an application was in for hundreds of houses, a school, a shop and a health centre. But so far the health centre was the only thing that had permission, so I assumed that's what they had started to build.

"Ah. I'd heard they were building a shop", she said hopefully.

She wasn't an elderly lady. We were less than 100 yards from a corner shop and not terribly far from the town centre. But the fact that her view is about to be ruined, what used to be a small friendly town is to have hundreds more households-worth of people parachuted in (this is one of many developments being built onto the edge of the town), more green fields are being concreted over and more hedges dug up, all seemed to matter not a jot compared to the convenience of a shorter walk to get her fags.

I despair. And I don't want to live any longer in the rapidly-growing Ashby de la Zouch.

Ivanhoe Way blocked south of Ashby

I live in Ashby and it's been very difficult watching North West Leics council grant permission for one major development after another to be built on the green land around the town.

I could have a real rant, but local democracy [or rather, lack of] aside, there are implications for our paths. Today was the first time that I tried to use the Ivanhoe Way path leaving Ashby to the south-west since work started there. From the Moira Road you used to head across fields at around SK346166. Here's what that field looks like now:

There are new houses standing on the spot that you used to enter the field. It would be fab to discover that you have the right to walk through one or more of those houses in muddy boots but I expect Leicestershire County have done the necessary legal stuff with the path.

I don't know whether it'll eventually be possible to get through this development and join the Ivanhoe Way just beyond - as I write this on 1 Jan 2015, half of this site is still a building site and therefore fenced off with no signs giving information or a detour. So the IW is blocked.

There's nothing on LCC's Ivanhoe Way page, I've written to them asking about this and will post the reply here.

[edit 2 Jan] Leics council are visiting the site, I'm very pleased, having been expecting just a quick answer.

In the mean time, I suggest continuing out of town on the Moira road and picking up the footpath that heads off at Shellbrook and joins the Ivanhoe Way.

It's gutting to see so much green land being built on, especially when the local people are strongly opposed to it. It's also a shame that it further spoils this long distance walk. There are already too many housing estates to walk through on this route and there will be more; there's another one imminent on the other side of Ashby (the 'Money Hill' site).