Huttonian must really read the local rag more carefully. An important and rather ominous item carried in an Estate Agent's blurb about potential purchasers of land in the Borders-either side of the rabbit proof fence- willing to pay up to £5 Million for land 'with or without planning permission' Timing is interesting as our local plan has just been approved (subject to appeal) and we are all breathing collective sighs of relief that Hutton and Paxton seem to have avoided any further inappropriate large scale development. But a guy (or a doll) with 5 million smackers in his back pocket or her hand bag is a terrible temptation for land owners looking for banking a fast quid and leaving it to the purchaser to pursue the irksome business of planning permission. And there is a history of developers with lots of vision and ready cash getting their way with developments which on the logical face of it should be turned down by the powers that be-the high hiedians in St Boswells.

Another little straw was a rebuke by one local councillor on another asking the 'offender' to make up his mind (in essence) as to whether he is an elected representative serving the interests of his constituents or a representative of the National Farmers Union looking after fellow tillers of the soil. There is a lot of cosiness amongst the farming community in rural Berwickshire which is not necessariy a good thing for the rest of us especially when certain decision making bodies have the farmers heavily represented amongst their membership. In some instances the distinction between tillers of the soil and pillars of the community is a bit blurred.  ¶ 2:58 PM