Re the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019).
We feel the first hour should be allowed free; then charges should apply, increasing with the length of stay.
If charging is introduced, an effective system of policing would be required to prevent abuse.
Ian and Vanessa Sinclair, The Moor, Reepham
Re the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019).
This is another effect of the earlier austerity measures on the fabric of our lives.
As someone who has to use a car to get into Reepham – no footpath or cycleway, except to double the journey – I object to having to pay to visit my own shopping centre.
Certainly restrictions could be used without affecting a basic facility.
Our shops could be quite badly affected.
David Kiddell, Pettywell
Re the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019)
I feel parking charges will be detrimental to the footfall of the town.
We are very fortunate to have high-quality businesses operating in Reepham, which draw in visitors from all over.
One of the perks of visiting our lovely town is the free parking. It allows people to visit and park without the fear of incurring fines for overstaying. Public transport is also limited to the town, requiring the need to bring a car.
Parking charges will also negatively impact people working in the town who will see their take-home pay squeezed.
My view is that we need to be realistic about the world we live in now and welcome people who wish to visit and work in Reepham. They will spend their hard-earned money in our town, growing its business and creating prosperity.
Guppy Kular, Motts Pharmacy, Market Place, Reepham
Re the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019).
It is proposed to build a Co-op supermarket at the Reepham Station site. People will park here for free and shop there. This will have a detrimental effect on local shops in Reepham if shoppers have to pay in the Station Road car park.
Brenda Green, Cawston Road, Reepham
Re the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019).
Charging for car parking in small rural towns like Reepham should be strongly resisted as it drives more and more customers away from local shops into the hands of online sellers and edge-of-city superstores and will be one more nail in the coffin of local shops.
Maybe some research is needed into finding out where the drivers of all the cars currently parking in the Market Place and in the Station Road car park during the daytime are going to? They certainly don’t appear to be in any of the shops.
Having a restricted parking time of 1½ to 2 hours might be a good idea, but only if it was enforced.
Bryan Gostling, Bircham Road, Reepham
Regarding the introduction of parking charges (Reepham Life, 10 August 2019), I rarely use the [Station Road] car park, except for using the bottle bank, but will this just increase the on-street parking, creating potential congestion in our lovely town?
Steve Jenkins, Richmond Rise Reepham
I am devastated to read the news item Badger poisoning suspected on field planned for housing (Reepham Life, 11 July 2019) regarding the field opposite the cemetery.
I am a member of the newly formed Norfolk Badger Trust, and our chairman checked and recorded the presence of this badger sett earlier this year. It was obviously very active and quite extensive.
As Helen Lindsay says, it is a criminal offence to interfere, trap or poison badgers, and there is a wildlife crime officer in Norfolk to whom any suspicions should be forwarded.
Brenda R Palmer, Chapel Close, Reepham
In answer to the letter “The real danger of the ‘yellow peril’ to horses” (11 June 2019), I well know the damage ragwort can do, particularly when concealed in hay.
I had a horse that died as a result of eating ragwort. I bought a mare and foal from the Thetford area (light, sandy land and particularly liked by ragwort) and within three weeks the mare died.
I thought her poor condition when I bought her was due only to foaling, but it turned out that she had been so hungry, living and feeding her young foal on poor grass, that she had been eating ragwort as it grew with the grass in the field.
I know this is unusual. When I returned to look at the field after only a few weeks the ragwort was high and obvious, which was certainly not the case when I bought the mare.
With regard to being concealed in hay, avoiding this danger depends on careful husbandry on the part of haymaker and horseman.
Good hay is a rare thing. I think Shakespeare put these words into the mouth of one of his characters: “good hath no fellow”. Historically, good hay would have been of huge importance to anyone keeping stock before the advent of haylage, silage and the many alternative, storable feeds we now have available.
The way I coped with this potential problem was to feed good barley straw and hydroponically grown barley “grass”, instead of hay.
I too have tutted over the sight of fields of ragwort, but I now believe that looking at the bigger picture, we humans have to be a bit cleverer about our stockmanship than to just say “exterminate the ragwort”.
Victoria Plum, Up the Garden Path
In a way the article “The truth about the yellow peril” is correct. But Isabella Tree has an estate in Sussex that is very large.
The fact remains that the “yellow peril” is indeed a peril to horses, causing extensive liver damage and usually death.
On the whole horses won’t eat it when it’s growing, but the real danger is when it grows in hayfields and is cut.
Horses then eat it as part of their hay ration and this is when the real damage occurs.
Jacinth Rogers, Oulton
Thanks to the King’s Arms for their continued support and generous donation to Reepham Town Bowls Club again this year.
We greatly appreciate their assistance in helping us to provide new equipment for the coming season.
The new season is fast approaching, so if you are interested, please contact me for further information.
We would also appreciate any donations if you can help.
Barry Barker, Reepham Town Bowls Club Email
