By Geoff Fisher 
Thank you Broadland District Council planners. The Broomhill Lane housing development has dragged on far too long and at least a decision has been made.
The Nimbys, of course, don’t like it – they are more concerned with the value of their property and their views being spoiled.
The UK clearly needs more housing, including retirement villages and care homes – and more green energy, which means more solar and wind farms, both onshore and offshore.
There will always be issues with traffic, roadworks and a lack of infrastructure but these problems won’t be solved by the anti-development brigade, who’d be happy to see such development somewhere else, rather than in their backyards.
It is time we stopped treating the British countryside as a museum piece and started seeing it as a living, breathing part of our nation’s future.
For too long, rural areas have been caught between nostalgia and neglect − beautiful landscapes, yes, but also dwindling populations, unaffordable housing and underinvestment in the infrastructure that could make them thrive.
We need more homes in our villages and market towns, not fewer. Young families are being priced out, local workers are forced to commute long distances and communities risk hollowing out as older generations dominate.
Sensitive, well-planned housebuilding, using local materials, sympathetic design and proper consultation, can breathe new life into rural Britain. It can keep schools open, sustain shops and pubs, and ensure that the countryside remains a place where people live, not just visit.
The alternative is stagnation: villages that become dormitories for the wealthy, landscapes that fail to contribute to the fight against climate change and communities that slowly fade away.
By embracing both housebuilding and green energy, we can secure a countryside that is vibrant, sustainable and fair.
B. Fulton, Wood Dalling
Image: Reepham Community Press