David Hart - Hart of the Matter

New church shows the way to make the most of redevelopment opportunities 03/02/12

The building of new homes in Haverhill may have slowed up in the last few years, according to the latest planning document, but the townscape is still changing nevertheless.

Just one statistic in a growing catalogue of local burglaries 27/01/12

There have been a variety of issues raised about Haverhill over the last few days but, in reality, there is only one major talking point all around the town and that is the fear of being burgled.

Re-vamped high street had better be good to make up for all the hassle 20/01/12

From next Friday you’ll be able to take a careful look at the latest plans for traffic management in and around Haverhill town centre – what we blithely call ‘pedestrianisation’.

New health managers have revealed another level of failings

And there was me thinking things might have improved in the management of primary health care around here over the last few years! When I wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago about the shambles...

Changing methods of celebration could have serious effects 06/01/12

Changing habits often pass us by almost unnoticed until they start to have more far-reaching effects than initially seemed likely, so it was curious to have one underlined over the holidays.

2011 may have been more significant than it looked 31/12/11

Just a few hours left of 2011 now, so perhaps it’s time to look back over the year and think about what it has brought for Haverhill, good or bad.

Wait until you see the benefits of Haverhill's mystery Christmas present 23/12/11

I suppose everyone has, from time to time, received a Christmas present which they don’t quite understand.

Health centre was a costly experiment that seems to have failed 16/11/12

Over the past few months there have been rumours circulating about the Crown Health Centre in Haverhill, otherwise known as the walk-in surgery or the Darzi clinic.

Serious thoughts on a passenger link seem to be miles away 09/12/11

I never thought the day would come when I would be forced to admit that Suffolk County Council were taking one of Haverhill’s most important issues more seriously than Haverhill Town Council.

Community centres won't be viable without a community 05/12/11

There are going to be a lot of houses built in Haverhill – maybe delayed a little by the economic climate, but inevitable eventually – and over the next few years we shall see more detailed plans for...

Yet another survey, but do it anyway to see if you agree with me 25/11/11

Not for the first time, the impression surfaces this week that Haverhill must be the most surveyed town in Britain.

What broadcasting model should we be looking at for Haverhill? 18/11/11

All of a sudden, local broadcasting seems to be on the Haverhill agenda for the first time for the best part of 20 years.

Torch has the potential to put our town in a new light 11/11/11

So Haverhill has finally gained acceptance as part of the real world, betokened by the promise of the Olympic Torch visiting us, among the other 1,000-odd places on the map announced this week.

What should we sign up to in the way of promotion? 04/11/11

The move to replace Haverhill’s welcome signs on the entrance roads should provide plenty of food for discussion, it appears from the first part of the process when the proposal was put to the area working party last week.

In the current High Street conundrum there may be a bigger question 27/10/11

Last week’s special meeting devoted to the issue of how to take forward improvements to Haverhill High Street was unusual in many ways.

Public concern means its time for joined-up thinking on Hamlet Road 10/10/11

To be honest, Haverhill Town Council meetings nowadays are usually quite quiet affairs – a mixture of information and low-level debate, witnessed by few, if any, residents other than us pen-pushers.

Our politicians should own up to their clear mistakes 03/10/11

All this good weather has been a bit rough on children, parents and teachers, who have just knuckled down to a new term after a summer holiday of the usual damp, changeable climate.

Prettiness is Haverhill's best-kept secret - unfortunately 23/09/11

If you have had the chance to comment on what services you think St Edmundsbury Borough Council could save money on, I wonder where such activities as marketing and promotion figured in you deliberations.

Whatever the anomalies, it's time to make pedestrianisation happen 17/09/11

As the potential ramifications of Suffolk County Council’s latest ideas for traffic management in Haverhill town centre begin to unfold, I expect there will be all sorts of anomalies floating to the surface.

High Street conundrum results from years of compromise 10/09/11

If you were trying to drag something out as long as possible you couldn’t make a much better job of it than Suffolk County Council have done with Haverhill High Street’s traffic regulations.

Have your say about Haverhill next week - if they'll let you 02/09/11

So what bugs you most about Haverhill? Traffic, shops, parking, facilities, transport, crime – any of those? If so, you can get it off your chest at a public meeting next week.

New school year starts with a new educational landscape 30/08/11

When the schools re-start next week we shall see the beginning of a new educational landscape in the Haverhill area.

As more pubs bite the dust, who is to blame? 16/11/08

A few years ago – the last time I was in Nottingham – I took the opportunity to visit The Trip To Jerusalem, the pub in the city centre which dates, as a far as I remember, from 1154.

From a joke to a world-beater in 20 years - can we do the same? 12/08/11

After a week when two highly unlikely things happened on top of each other – children rampaging and looting city streets for four nights running, and England becoming world number one at test cricket...

Who is making money out of Haverhill staying as it is? 05/08/11

Despite Haverhill probably being the most surveyed and consulted town in Britain in recent years, the end results of all that analysis have been hard to discern.

It's time to pull together to keep town centre traffic-free 02/08/11

Either the blitz on illegal parking in Haverhill town centre has worked, or else the police have got fed up with imposing it, because there were only three fixed penalty notices issued to vehicles over the past week.

Whatever next on the Haverhill retail merry-go-round? 25/07/11

The Haverhill retail merry-go-round is certainly spinning at the moment, if everything one hears is to be believed.

Town councillors need to be careful about bandying around 'elitist' tag 15/07/11

The spending of public money has become a much more closely scrutinised process than it ever used to be, thanks to a variety of influences – the Freedom of Information Act, the rise of the Internet, the financial crash, etc.

How much are the council moguls costing us? 09/07/11

As weeks go in the media world this has been a seismic one nationally, but there has been a curious parallel to national events at a more local level.

Fun in the streets, but should community be looking at the far horizon? 04/07/11

Anyone who stubbornly retains the old tendencies to knock Haverhill in general would have done well to get out and about in the town over the last week or so to see several aspects of a positive community in action.

It's summertime, so why haven't we got any tourists? 24/06/11

Well, it’s Midsummer Day and the weather isn’t too bad, although a bit changeable, but where are the tourists? I have to admit to being one of those people who is surprised to see a tourist in Haverhill.

We are starting to decide priorities by who shouts loudest 17/06/11

Two or three things have occurred this week that have made me wonder about the way we – the public – can get the things done in our community which we want doing.

Feedback shows how people find the town centre colourless 10/06/11

Do you remember Vision 2031? Earlier this year there was a lot about it because it’s the fancy name for the consultation about the development framework for Haverhill.

When the public complains about the public, what do the police do? 07/06/11

Consulting the public is a dangerous enterprise, as Haverhill’s police found out again last night, when the public told them something which, I suspect, they didn’t want to hear.

Retail departures require thought but not panic 27/05/11

It’s always the same in this plate-spinning life – the minute you get one thing balanced right, something else wobbles off and goes wrong, and Haverhill is no exception.

How are our NEETS going to mingle with our entrepreneurs? 20/05/11

Two contrasting Haverhill events over the past week served to bring into focus one of the most pressing problems the town faces at the moment – its young unemployed people.

Under-played drama of annual meetings produces new scenery 13/05/11

Anyone unfamiliar with local government who attended Haverhill Town Council’s annual meetings at Haverhill Arts Centre on Tuesday evening would have left rather mystified.

Did anyone see any signs of Royal Wedding fever? 02/15/11

Did you enjoy it, then? All that pomp and ceremony? Or did you just enjoy having a day off work? Or did you moan about it being a bank holiday at all? I think you’d have to be a hard-hearted c...

Whose rules and regulations are we playing by now? 22/04/11

It’s hard to find anyone with a good word to say for ‘Elf An Safety’ nowadays, but it was not always so.

Changing views of public sector have come very late in the day 15/04/11

If you want to get a better insight into the changing world of employment and how different life is going to be for public sector workers forced into the private sector, you could not do better than listen to current planning debates in Haverhill.

It's time for everyone to give the Rec some TLC 08/04/11

Lovely weather we’re having for the time of year - but it brings out one of my old gripes which never seems to be addressed.

There's no quick fix likely for Haverhill's town centre shoppers 01/04/11

So what, in the end, did the town centre shopping survey tell us? It said shoppers want a wider range of non-food products, and would like to see big national chains like Marks and Spencer in town.

If you can't make developers pay, who's going to build the roads? 25/03/11

I suppose it is in the nature of responses to crisis that measures proposed for dealing with it will often contradict each other.

Factory fire highlights good and bad about fire service cuts 18/03/11

In a week when momentous world news has resonated locally – How good are the sea defences at Sizewell? How much more expensive can diesel and petrol get? – Haverhill’s mini-drama of last weekend may well pass almost unnoticed.

This level of disorder is so new we don't know what to call it 11/03/11

Anyone who has ever been to a public meeting will know that the ability to express yourself clearly and, preferably, succinctly is very advantageous.

In a changing world we may find ouselves back where we started 04/03/11

Over the years there have been several occasions when the cyclical nature of things is brought home to us, at local, national and even international levels.

How much is a degree of local independence worth? 25/02/11

Amid all the controversy of Haverhill Town Council agreeing a 20 per cent rise in their fraction of our council tax for the coming year, there was one word which will have struck a chord with anyone...

Vision has got to mean more than parking, street furniture and low crime 18/02/11

So here we are at last – welcome to my long-awaited efforts to wrestle with the question of why anyone would want to come to Haverhill now, or at any time over the next 20 years.

Planning summit scores five out of ten from sceptical observer 11/02/11

If you have been waiting with bated breath for the continuation of last week’s cavalcade of ideas for Haverhill’s future success, you’ll have to wait another seven days, I’m afraid.

Forward-looking or a backwater? Maybe it depends on your age 04/02/11

On Tuesday those of us who attended the first consultation event about the next Haverhill Masterplan had the chance to stick post-it labels with our ideas for the town’s future onto blank spaces under various headings.

Tiny signs of change must grow to encourage the private sector 28/01/11

In a week when Andy Gray and Richard Keys discovered painfully what happens to you when you don’t adapt to changing times, it was encouraging to notice the odd crack appearing in some of the rigid cou...

You can make all the decisions except where the money comes from 21/01/11

Wherever I go at the moment it seems there is only one fundamental issue everyone is talking about – change due to financial cuts.

Please stop asking me questions and just implement some answers 14/01/11

Am I alone in becoming rather confused about my status with regard to local and national government and our many service providers? I used to be a ratepayer and a taxpayer.

Upside down world may be good for cricket but can leave politics in ashes 07/01/11

It doesn’t seem possible that a decade has already gone by since we celebrated the Millennium, but Haverhill Local History Group’s latest exhibition proves that to be the case.

Does this new year deserve the traditional welcome? 31/12/10

As we roll on into another year, I imagine there may be many people who view the prospect with trepidation rather than the more traditional anticipation.

Surveying Haverhill from the air on a whistlestop tour 24/12/10

Christmas Eve is just such a tiring day - I’m still working away at analysing this survey, and I haven’t even started to write Hart Of The Matter for this week.

What type of housing shall we cover our countryside with? 17/12/10

So now it’s official. The location for the next big wave of housing development is to be north-east Haverhill, between the Chalkstone and Calford Green. St Edmundsbury Borough Council agreed the core...

As council strips off, we'll have to pick up the underwear 10/12/10

Regular readers of this column will know that I like to raise your awareness of new words which are going to become important as they appear over the horizon of local government jargonese.

Come to Haverhill, where at least the weather won't disrupt your business 03/12/10

There must have been quite a few disappointed children around this week, as schools all over the country from Scotland to Cornwall were closed due to the weather conditions and yet the snow stubbornly...

Railway renewal must be completely barmy... or is it? 26/11/10

Over the years I have attended quite a few pressure group meetings at Haverhill Town Hall, now the arts centre, but none quite so hopelessly utopian, on the face of it, as those of the Cambridge to Sudbury Rail Renewal Association.

Not enough signs of continuing council commitment 19/11/10

Finding fault with council planners can be a bit of a turkey shoot from time to time, but we should always put it into context by asking what we would have done in the same situation if we had been in charge.

There's only One Haverhill... but whose going to carry the can? 12/11/10

Here’s a new phrase to get familiar with – and remember, you read it here first – because it may well become much-used and/or abused in the near future: One Haverhill.

It's time to blow apart the water company's little scheme 05/11/10

The rapid growth of Halloween has tended to eclipse the importance of this particular date in the calendar.

Remembrance is also about the survivors whose inheritance we have squandered 29/10/10

Every year, as poppies got on sale, I wonder whether this Remembrance thing will go on for ever, or whether succeeding generations will begin to tire of it and lose interest.

Was it fear or apathy which prevented debate on the Project site scheme? 22/10/10

On the street and on the message boards of this site, yesterday’s decision by the council to refuse permission for development of the former Project site for shops and business units seems to have been an extremely unpopular one.

In the Project Cup final between planners and developers, who's the hero and who's the villain? 15/10/10

It looks as though the scheme to redevelop the former Project site in Haverhill is going to come to an exciting climax worthy of a Victorian melodrama next week.

New homes will only benefit town if there is a growth in economic fairness 08/10/10

The ongoing debate about how much Haverhill should grow, how quickly and in what locations, takes it for granted that growth in some form would be beneficial.

If councils have nothing to do, why would we need them at all? 01/10/10

Around a decade ago the leader of a newly-elected council somewhere in England was doing a tour of the departments which provided its various services.

Enjoy the build-up as another survey whizzes past 24/09/10

For a town which mostly seems not to register on national radar at all, Haverhill certainly gets examined enough by experts.

If we are all going to be working, who's left to volunteer? 17/09/10

So we are all going to have to work until we drop.

If we're in charge, we'd better take some responsibility 10/09/10

If you’re as old as me you may remember a comedy series of the 1970s in which Robert Lindsay made his name, called Citizen Smith.

Reason suggests the arts centre's grant should continue 03/09/10

I hope I am right in thinking that the panic button has been pushed a little early about Haverhill Arts Centre.

Even an old cricket fan enjoys the new football stadium 27/08/10

Have you been along to support your local football team yet this season? No? Shame on you! Well, perhaps not, because I can’t say I have been a regular follower of Haverhill Rovers through the years, other than through the medium of print.

We all need each other's skills - so what's wrong with paying for them? 20/08/10

Sadly it does seem as though the ominous sound of belt-tightening up in the spheres of Government is beginning to produce squeals of pain down here on earth in Haverhill.

If they give up on traffic ban - off with their heads! 06/08/10

For all that they are supposed to be surrealistic nonsense, Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking-Glass have an uncanny habit of proving a lot closer to the truth in our upside-down world.

What will fill the habitat of each extinct quango? 31/07/10

When I first heard of quangos I thought they were animals.

Let's hope the vanishing care home doesn't end up somewhere else 24/07/10

Well, that just shows how wrong you can be! Back in March, I wrote in this column about the plan to redevelop the site of Chalkstone Middle School as a state-of-the-art care home, and said of Suffolk...

Nice paving and lampposts - but where's the gratitude? 16/07/10

You have to hand it to St Edmundsbury Council in recent years – they do try very hard to get people to like them and show some gratitude for all the great things they have done.

Learning greater consideration could save a lot more than axing school buildings 09/07/10

All we seem to hear about at the moment is cutbacks of one kind or another.

Are we downhearted? No, probably not enough, yet 02/07/10

You might think that after Sunday afternoon’s sporting debacle in South Africa, and George Osborne’s doom-laden budget, people would be feeling a bit down.

Now is the moment to make a plea for sport in hard times 25/06/10

If, like me, you are struggling to keep up with the wave of sporting excitement which has engulfed us in recent days, perhaps it is time to sit back, draw breath and think of something else.

Is Haverhill set for another house-building tsunami? 18/06/10

Whether or not you believe in ‘new politics’, you have to admit that you do not always get what you expect from the people you elect nowadays, even if it’s your choice that gets in.

It's time to hit the cheap alcohol not the kids who drink it 11/06/10

Every month various agencies in Haverhill, led by the police, get together to sort out any particular problems which have arisen anywhere in the town which could threaten people’s safety in any way.

What's in a name? Sometimes, a bit too much 04/06/10

It is often said - and I should know because I’ve often said it – that one of Haverhill’s problems is that it does not have a particular image to conjure up in the mind of visitors.

New politics filters down but still has a long way to go 28/05/10

Now we are all settling down to the ‘new politics’ of coalition Government, the dust is also beginning to settle on some of its new policies and how they might affect Haverhill.

The art of debate is alive and well. Let's use it. 21/05/10

I went along to a debate in Haverhill yesterday, but it wasn’t between politicians opposed to or defending the new coalition, it was between schoolchildren about something very important to them – and very impressive it was, too.

Not everything fits together as neatly as a coalition 14/05/10

What a week! Although change is all around us and moving faster all the time, no one seems to have been ready for the political roller-coaster which ended in the almost fairytale optimism of the garden at 10 Downing Street.

A mystic utterance from democracy in action (mostly) 07/05/10

So, the country has spoken, but as I write this (around 10am) no one is quite sure what it has said, other than that it doesn’t really know its own mind.

The deluge must not wash important things away 30/04/10

The elephant in the room at the moment goes by the name of Cuts.

Achievements of dull councils will pass unnoticed 23/04/10

If you have never been to a council meeting – and I guess that’s pretty much everyone because virtually nobody other than councillors or reporters attends in Haverhill – it probably sounds very dull.

Surviving the the nightmare of getting elected 16/04/10

In case you were unaware of it, there is a certain event due to happen on May 6 and, until it does happen, in the interests of democracy, this column needs to remain unbiased and fair to all sides whi...

One size fits all doesn't work for town retail offer 09/04/10

The unexpected little retail and business park scheme which has come forward to revive the former Project site has brought into sharp focus again all the quirks which exist in the way we view how Haverhill should develop.

A vision of education for a changing world 02/04/10

Not that I believe any of this star signs rubbish, but Taureans like me are not supposed to be very keen on change, and I have to admit that is not a good starting point in the 21st century.

A wonderful opportunity that has nearly passed us by 26/03/10

It is not difficult to understand why people generally have a poor view of their public representatives nowadays – and not just because of the scandal of MPs’ expenses.

A place where people matter most can be tidy, too 19/03/10

When I first worked in Haverhill, and its reputation as a town was rather poor, it used to surprise me that so many people who moved away found themselves drawn back here, often saying they had not found anywhere else as nice.

Partnership should punch through the invisible wall 12/03/10

After perceiving some joined-up thinking at work within Suffolk County Council last week, in using the site of the soon-to-be-redundant Chalkstone Middle School for a replacement for Place Court care...

Chalkstone plan - joined-up thinking or railroading? 05/03/10

If the economic catastrophes of the last couple of years are going to produce anything positive, you would think it would be in the way they teach us to pay a bit more attention to what we spend money on.

Skeletal remains of a giant Haverhill institution 26/02/10

Anyone writing or filming a social history of Britain could do a lot worse than focus their attention on little old Haverhill.

Groups need people, not cash, to deal with bureaucracy 19/02/10

There have been all sorts of ideas put forward for a share in the Haverhill Community Partnership pot, and next week decisions will be made about which ones will get something – in fact you may get a chance to vote on it.

Relieved at Bury council's survival? Amazing! 12/02/10

It is a tribute to the work of councillors and officers of St Edmundsbury Borough Council in recent years that Haverhill people will probably be rather relieved to hear that the council is to continue...

Economic recovery never seems to apply to lost services

I suppose it is a natural result of the economic catastrophes of the last year or two that there will be cuts in services and rises in taxes, whether they be paid to local or national tiers of government.

We should talk about council tax more before it hits us 29/01/10

It’s that time of year again when the minds of councillors and officers turns to budgets and council tax (yawn).

Haverhill should not have to be afraid of car parking charges 22/01/10

There was the inevitable whimpering this week as car parking charges were raised in St Edmundsbury, including Haverhill.

Exhibition shows how much Haverhill has lost 15/01/10

If you get a chance over the next few weeks, pop in and take a look at Haverhill Local History Group’s exhibition about the lost commercial buildings of Haverhill.

Gurteen site could be the key to elusive 'civic pride' 08/01/10

The development brief for the Gurteen site in Haverhill is likely to provoke a good deal of interest, argument and controversy over the next however many years it is until a scheme finally comes to fruition.

One decade of progress needs to usher in another 31/12/09

So we have come to the end of another year – indeed, another decade, which always makes it seem more significant – but the most astonishing thing to me is that it is now ten years since the Millennium.

Change is at hand, but is it the right amount? 24/12/09

After nearly a week of slithering around on the white stuff, one might be forgiven for thinking we have suddenly been transported to eastern Europe or Alaska.

It really is time to enforce the law in High Street 19/12/09

I can’t say I’m sorry to see the police being persuaded to crack down on driving and parking illegally in Haverhill High Street.

Flagging up only the best puts us all in a spin 12/12/09

I wish I’d had my own personal spin doctor when I was young.

Local roads are likely to be a bumpy ride for Santa 04/12/09

As Christmas comes galloping towards us again I notice I can tick off one of the items on my list to Santa before I’ve even sent it.

Flood defences have left us an ugly legacy 27/11/09

After the horrendous experiences of the residents of Workington and Cockermouth last week, it is not surprising if people are beginning to get a bit twitchy about global warming.

Enjoy the countryside around us while it's still here 20/11/09

When Haverhill’s business exhibition was on last month, as well as showing the wide variety of products which the town has a hand in creating or manufacturing, it was also an opportunity for people li...

Lessons from the past show no sign of fading 13/11/09

Standing in the afternoon sunshine up at Haverhill Cemetery on Sunday and looking around at a good crowd of people who had come out to support the parade, I was encouraged that this Remembrance thing...

What is Haverhill really like? 06/11/09

All right, own up! Who has sat there in our new(ish) Prezzo, taking in the pleasant ambience, the enjoyable environment and agreeable conversation of friends or family, and has either leant back and s...

Increasing signs of activity for lorry-spotters 30/10/09

You could tell it was getting close to the official opening of the refurbished Queen Street when the last bit of Lordscroft Lane finally started getting resurfaced this week.

Tesco is a starting point, not a solution 23/10/09

You may have seen recently the surprisingly dramatic call by the chairman of business group Haverhill Enterprise for the demolition of Queen’s Square and the north side of Queen Street.

Bus station may be a warning for the future 16/10/09

Anyone who has been down to Jubilee Walk and seen elderly people with shopping trolleys or mums with pushchairs struggling through or round the new Meccano assault course which council engineers have...

Change really can be for the better – 09/10/09

There comes a time in life when viewing a documentary is no longer a history lesson but is now just a trip down memory lane.

Hart of the Matter 02/10/09

I can’t quite recall who it was – some long-forgotten minor British prime minister, I think – who came up with the phrase about feeling the ‘hand of history’ on his shoulder.

David Hart is Back

Well, hello again. It’s not quite a year since I disappeared from view in another place, and here I am again, thanks to the wonders of modern technology. Firstly, let me apologise to those dinosaurs...

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