Compromise is needed

VILLAGERS in the historic twin Trimley villages are fighting for the future of their rural communities - but seem set to be sacrificed to provide the housing needed for Felixstowe's future.

But what is most disturbing about the six proposals for the area is the complete lack of compromise - no middle ground which people might be prepared to accept.

It is either 2,200-plus homes - or nil. In between these extremes there is little room for movement.

The two villages' hopes of seeing 50 or so new homes might also seem unreasonable. But if there was an option which provided 400 to 500 spread on three or four sites, there would be room for discussion and a solution might be possible.

Planners will insist no decisions have yet been made and very few of the 2,200 homes needed may actually end up in the Trimleys. But it is hard to see where this number of homes could be put in Felixstowe.

The resort definitely needs more homes. The trend for smaller households means without 1,700 extra homes, its population will drop by more than 3,000, and young families with children will move away.

There is a need, too, for new homes for those who will work at the port when it expands.

But people in Trimley - communities which have already suffered the expansion of port quays and business parks, and are sandwiched between an increasingly busy railway line and A14 - do not want the resort's housing dumped on their fields.

The Trimley villages have already seen huge amounts of house building, and some would argue that they are really suburbs of Felixstowe already.

But the truth is that these are still close-knit communities. They are still rural villages, with fields, pretty lanes, and tracks and paths to the river and other nearby settlements. People live there because they are villages - and they don't want that destroyed.

JOHN Inman was one of the most popular television comedy stars of the 1970s and early 1980s after creating the character of Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served.

As one of Britain's best-known camp comedy actors he brought a great deal of pleasure to millions of viewers and deserves to be credited with helping in the long struggle to change attitudes towards the gay community.

Viewers may have laughed at the character, but they were basically sympathetic towards him and certainly did not see him as a threat to their own way of life.

When news of his death was revealed today, there was a great deal of genuine sadness around the country.

WHAT a triumph the Vicky Hall pavilion is proving.

Vicky's parents Graham and Lorinda firmly believed a projected which benefited young people would be the best memorial to their murdered daughter - and that would have been her wish, too.

Hundreds of young footballers now have better facilities because of the pavilion built in Vicky's name, a mini-soccer academy has been set up, and it is also a building for community activities.

It is a legacy which will go on and on providing for the children of the village, showing that good can come out of tragedy.