Lichfield's first-time buyers might just run to a wartime pillbox

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/06/lichfield-too-expensive-for-first-time-buyers

Version 0 of 1.

The lead story in last week's local newspaper was about a young lad whose short back and sides was considered an extreme hairstyle by his school. It sometimes gets more dramatic than that around here, but Lichfield is certainly a nice, safe place to bring up your (sensibly coiffed) children.

In recent years, the population has increased considerably as thousands of families have moved into the mock-Georgian new builds, complete with their mock bricked-in windows, that have grown up on the outskirts of the city and further house building is imminent. Lichfield's population has nearly tripled since the 1950s, when the council agreed to provide 1,200 "overspill" houses for families from Birmingham.

There is a token amount of social housing on these new estates, but we don't have much else in the way of affordable housing. Sadly, anything anywhere close to the price range of a first-time buyer is usually also marketed as ideal for an "investor purchaser". 

House prices locally are on the way up again. Given the current trend for renovating the town's historic buildings and turning them into apartments, perhaps those struggling to get on to the property ladder should consider one of the Second World War pillboxes a friend was telling me about recently.

These small, concrete structures were built along rivers and canals as a last line of defence against an invasion that we now know never happened. Apparently, in more recent years, their function has been less about war and more about love (or, at least, lust) based on the evidence he had found within. A historic, waterfront property with views of the canal. Ideal for couples.

From Bronze Age to HS2

Since the 21st Earl of Shrewsbury sold off his estate at Ingestre in Staffordshire in the early 60s, the hall and much of the surrounding grounds have been owned by Sandwell metropolitan borough council. It's now used as a residential arts centre for schools and community groups, with a sideline in fairytale weddings. Last year, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the building of the hall, a Sharing Heritage grant enabled volunteers to explore and record Ingestre's history and heritage.

The resulting booklet tells you that the landscape here shows evidence of activity dating back to the Bronze Age. But the community that produced it will tell you that they are fighting to save it from HS2. The proposed high-speed rail network route passes within a stone axe's throw from the hall and St Mary the Virgin, the only church outside London to be attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. Future generations who come to stay at Ingestre Hall will probably have high-speed trains whizzing past their bedroom windows. Let's hope that they will view this as the right decision.

Power struggle

A recent appeal by a farmer against a decision to prevent him from placing two wind turbines on his land near to the Roman remains at Wall has been rejected. Whenever such planning permission is applied for, there is talk of "threat to communities", fears about the impact on nearby heritage assets and visual amenities, and, in extreme cases, worries about the safety of the gliding club!

The county council has a statement on Wind Energy in Staffordshire on its website, in which it echoes these concerns, on the basis that large-scale wind energy proposals may result in the industrialisation and urbanisation of this rural place.

Large-scale wind energy is defined as a single turbine with – bear with me – a hub of less than 50 metres, two turbines in excess of 30 metres, or any development of 10 or more turbines, regardless of height. At the end of the statement, a helpful diagram is included, which compares the height of turbines relative to other structures, including the spires of Lichfield Cathedral. Appropriately, or otherwise, they've also included Rugeley power station on the diagram, which towers over everything.

Kate Gomez runs the Lichfield Lore blog, lichfieldlore.co.uk