Mr I has responded to the counter attack-see previous rants if you are not terminally bored of the whole issue by now. Actually the whole question of the effect of incomers, mostly English in this case, on local rural communities,although hardly the issue on every one's mind at the moment is potentially divisive and I wonder at Mr I's motivation in raising it in the first place; advice to Editor of the Berwickshire: 'This correspondence should now cease-ed' Get back to less contentious topics like who owns Berwick upon Tweed and whether a giant TV screen should be erected in Hutton to allow huge crowds to follow the Fourth Test Match. Anyhow for the last time here is the letter from this weeks Berwickshire.
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My letter of July 28 was a factual attempt to foster understanding of the contrasting attitudes of local people on the one hand and those who have moved directly from an urban background on the other.The document I quoted from was based on research prior to 1980 in Orkney, but, if anything, migration from urban areas is accelerating rather than abating. Nor is this a purely Scottish phenomenon; in parts of, until quite recently, rural England, whole villages have been overwhelmed by urban sprawl and little is left of their once unique identity. On holiday in western Ireland the conversation of locals invariably turned to the influx of people from Dublin, the UK and Continental Europe who are buying up much of the property which comes onto the market and immediately setting out to replicate wherever it is they are in such a hurry to get away from.Nearer to home, here in Eastern Berwickshire, a development of over 100 houses is imminent at Chirnside; at Ayton the sewerage facility is being upgraded to cope with a similar number and I doubt if Scottish Water are putting in that kind of investment on chance, while here in Reston another 100+ development seems to be very much on the cards.As well as replacing green fields and hedges with paviour-blocks and brick walls those developments are bound to make a marked change on the social structure of the area.It is against that background that I wrote the previous letter, because I feel it is critically important that there is input into the debate from interested locals.In this respect I have been heartened by the messages of support I have had from long-time residents from a wide spread area and mentioning a wide variety of organisations. As one lady, from well furth of Reston put it: "We have always welcomed new members and their skills and experience is usually invaluable, however, the empire building and competitiveness is changing the whole relaxed attitude to our work for the worse."Of course there are some who feel that my letter was a tailor made personal attack on them. That is unfortunate. I am trying to tread as impartial a path as possible, while still putting the concerns of many into words. I have never heard of your correspondent (August 4) Bruce Maclachan before, but his personal attack and objection to the publication of a view that does not conform to his own is quite deplorable. For goodness sake let us keep this debate out of the gutter.To mention only one of the symptoms I know of, we already seem to have a situation where people do not think it is in the least inconvenient to travel into the teens of miles rather than use a shop, pub or post office where the "attitude" bugs them. If that kind of problem cannot be tackled now then what is it going to be like in a couple of year's time, when we have hundreds of urban migrants in the area rather than the trickle we have had to date? Do you really want to bring your children up where there are "them" and "us" communities, with little or no constructive dialogue between them and the tensions that causes?Yes, Berwickshire is beautiful, and a great place to live. But this problem of the two communities needs quiet and thoughtful work if we are going to keep it that way.IRVINE INGLIS,Reston.
