Page 211 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

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To move away into the 21 Century for a moment, we see the same attitude in town
planners with the same lack of understanding and their inability to look at real needs.
Building of new residential property is now restricted to locations were there are existing
facilities.
Requests to build starter homes and low cost properties in rural villages so that the local
population can be maintained and small communities thrive without having to move to
urban areas, are being refused out of hand.
There is another ulterior motive in their decisions. Those services that are already
established in the towns where development is allowed are left to struggle and try to cope
with even larger numbers of population without any re development of those facilities
themselves. It can be covered up in a town where “facilities” already exist. It can not be
covered up where facilities do not exist but are badly needed.
The cost to provide the facilities per head, wherever they are needed is the same.
The answer today is political and it should not be!

THE FIGHT
We eventually found out that the attack on William Lovell School was political. But that will
come further on.
Once we at the school realised the determination of the education committee we began to
plan our argument. We had only a few short weeks to fight the now proposed closure.

Their main excuse was that role numbers were projected to fall in coming years and the
school would not be viable. The governing body were fortunately unanimous in their
determination to fight.
We had a small amount of money in the school funds and decided to spend it all on a
professionally printed document.
“Our presentation of the school, its achievements and its future”.
After all we had nothing to loose. If we failed in our fight, there would be no William Lovell
School any more.

Picture of
Lincolnshire County Council, HQ
Lincoln.

Through our various contacts we lobbied the County Council in general and all its
councillors. We used local newspapers and television, in fact anywhere we could obtain a
hearing for our powerful argument.
Members of the Governing body formed an action group that travelled to Lincoln and
protested on the steps of County Hall. The more we investigated the excuses of the

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