Page 9 - April 2016 Issue 302

APRIL 2016
THE NEW COUNTESTHORPE HERALD 9
Dear Editor,
I read with dismay that the Parish Council are having discussions regarding reverting back to the old parking system at the shops on The Bank. This would in my view be a backward step. With the old system there was very rarely a parking spot available, this meant I avoided my local shops and drove to Blaby or Wigston for a paper shop or take away. Also we now have a disabled parking spot (my partner is disabled) which we would no doubt lose if we reverted back to the old system. (Don`t get me started on the disabled spot at Tesco – which always seems to be occupied by cars not displaying a disabled badge).
I appreciate it is sometimes difficult to reverse out of the parking spots but, in my experience you only need to wait a couple of minutes at the most for a gap.
If some readers are finding it impossible to reverse out maybe they shouldn`t be driving.
Kind regards, Paul Cox
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor,
As most of the customers of Countesthorpe Local are aware I, Manjula, have sold the shop and have moved back to London after recently getting married. ☺
I would like to thank everyone who supported the shop during the two and a half years that I was the owner, in that time I met many lovely and amazing people. I’d like to apologise for not saying goodbye to everyone personally as I was behind the scenes for a few months prior to the sale. I would like to also Thank my staff for their hard work and commitment to me.
My time at the shop has been one of the best few years of my life and I feel I was privileged to be part of the community.
I will miss you all dearly and wish everyone all the very best in the future. Manjula Odedra - Taylor
RAIL ROUTE LOST
I found the front page article in the last Herald featuring the Countesthorpe railway connection very interesting but would point out one small inaccuracy – the train did not run to Lutterworth. Going south from Countesthorpe, the stations were Broughton Astley, Leire Halt and Ullesthorpe after which the line skirted around Lutterworth and went on to the next station – Rugby.
The extent of the rail network is not generally known but some idea can be gained from the number of stations in the locality. Up until the early 1960’s within a 3 mile radius of Countesthorpe there were 6 stations namely Narborough, Blaby, Whetstone (this line did run to Lutterworth), Wigston Glen Parva, South Wigston and Wigston Magna.
David Thomas
Dear Editor,
I was amused to read in the minutes of the Parish Council meeting of November last that Mr Alflat, Director of Place (who dreamt that title up) thought the Country Park ponds were safe and no one could drown in them!
Ask the young boys who swim there, ask the grown up men who fish there (Google ‘Countesthorpe Lakes’) and ask those of us who watched them being created. We knew they were over engineered at the
time, then when Persimmons found out they could just dump their waste on the fields there instead of taking it away and dumping it properly at some
costs to them, the ponds got bigger and bigger. Meanwhile the Planning Officers and Enforcement Officers at Blaby District did nothing that has stopped our ponds growing.
So those of us who chose to live in Countesthorpe have to be aware of the dangers of living close to large expanses of deep water, and incidentally have to be aware of the quality and effectiveness of District Council Officers.
Name and address supplied
JUST DO IT!
There has been some response to the Parish Council’s announced intention in the last issue to consult with village residents about improving facilities. Improvements to Notice Boards, a Trim Trail sited at Willoughby Road playing fields, the Library and the Country Park have all been mentioned.
Sadly the suggestions, admirable though they are, were submitted anonymously and should rightly have been made directly to the Parish Council if they are to be acted upon. Editor