The Developers' Dream

By luigi_pagano

Sun, 29 Mar 2020
  • 813 reads
4 comments
 
They are building houses
on a green field near us
although our objections
they would not discuss.
 
To construct a new road
they chopped down trees
and have gone ahead
despite desperate pleas.
 
A diversion was made
to our beautiful stream;
for us it's a nightmare,
for the builders a dream.
 
I don't need to be a sleuth,
like Sherlock Holmes,
to know they will be
only luxury homes.
 
The rich will be exultant
and expressing great joy
but it won't be the same
for the homeless hoi polloi.
 
Each dwelling will have
the use of one car
as by public transport
one can't go very far.
 
Multiply that by hundred
and we'll get such a fleet
that with a great weight
will batter the street.
 
The roads will weaken,
and the reason is clear:
the surface is damaged
and potholes will appear.
 
What if there are kids
in each new household?
We'll need new schools
and teachers, we're told.
 
This new development
will create a huge mess
and the poor inhabitants
will suffer distress.
 
 
© Luigi Pagano 2020
Certificate U
Poem
Mutevoli pensieri
Rant
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

A good old fashioned rant from before the sky started falling on our heads - thank you Luigi. Hope you're keeping well!

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

The work was still going on about five days ago. Now there is a hiatus due to the corona virus but once this is over it will restart with a vengeance and we shall have a procession of heavy lorries with building material going up and down our road. 
We are fit and able, Claudine. Thanks for asking.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

You make lots of good points in your poem Luigi. I think it is all wrong to be cutting down trees to build more houses, when we should be preserving those we have and planting more! It seems no thought is given to what the land should be used for, just if nothing is built there already it's nice and easy, a clean slate. Around where I grew up they are putting up lots of houses on the water meadows, which will be aweful for the homebuyers as it is sad for those who miss seeing the lovely lush grass and geese in Winter

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi Di. Thanks very much for reading and for your relevant comments.
These and many other points highlighting all the consequences (i.e. the loss of a green site, the deterioration of roads due to increased vehicle traffic and the need for more infrastructure and services etc. etc.) were made at a public consultation meeting but were overruled and the plan to build an extra 250 houses went ahead. Unfortunately, as I said, some trees had to be sacrificed to prepare the site to start construction. The animal habitat will also be affected, I believe, as nearby woods are the nesting grounds of foxes.

Luigi x