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This really is seriously pathetic

Bitter battle to save King Lear’s green valley from the developers

Lear’s valley, eh?

The fight for the Farthingloe valley, a long, narrow green strip that extends to the western outskirts of Dover, has been especially bitter. The valley is within the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty and makes up much of the rural hinterland behind the 300ft Shakespeare Cliff, the most westerly of the chalk cliffs at Dover. The cliff is owned by Dover district council and the National Trust owns a portion of land. The valley may have provided some inspiration for a scene in King Lear, which gave rise to the cliff’s name, coined in the 18th century.

Err, yeah. So, an 18th cent story about a 17th (16th?) century play, about an 8th century BC mythological character first recorded in a 12th century “history” is being used as a reason why people can’t build a house or two just outside Dover.

This is about when I like that stage direction, eaten by bears offstage.

11 thoughts on “This really is seriously pathetic”

  1. Isn’t it he type of space that makes England, England, though? Cultural identity and that.

    OK, so the reason is a tenuous link to J’éxpire, but it’s still a nice bit of old country.

    I just wanted to pun J’éxpire.

  2. The comments below the article repeat the tiresome charge that only expensive homes are being built, nothing cheap for the masses. But these wealthy buyers will move from somewhere cheaper & worse (why else would they move?), thus freeing up cheap houses for the proles.

  3. For anyone sufficiently anal here’s the architect’s map of the proposal.
    The main part of the development, the largest of the areas in blue, is not natural and in my view not beautiful. There is no woodland cover and there are no public footpaths through it or next to it, so building would involve no loss of public amenity.

    Bring in the heavy plant now..

  4. I have visited Dover only briefly but was not impressed by it.

    If this area IS a beauty spot surely there are plenty of other places to build houses (of whatever type or cost) that are just ordinary either green site or re-development.

    Since Council pricks already “own” this land and it is not a question of private individuals doing what they like with their own property what is going on? Councils usually can’t wait to block this kind of development unless the fix is in and cash is or will soon change hands. Investigating that possibility will prob be a better tactic to stop the development than talking crap about Lear.

  5. Shame Henry’s link only goes to “not available at this time”. Are we talking about the strip between the coast road & the cliffs as you do the long slope down into Dover from Folkestone? About the only people get to see the prettiness are the truckers parked up in the lay-bys. Took the dog for a walk up there, once. Don’t remember seeing anyone else, all afternoon.
    On the other hand, I lived in Dover for a while. God help ’em.. Dogs-on-strings-ville.

  6. Hi BiS, you can get to the application from here, then ‘documents’, then the 4th one down.

    Good point about not seeing anyone else on your walk. Beauty needs beholders. Even if it was a beautiful plot of land which it isn’t imv, if no-one is checking it out, then it’s not beautiful. Serene or tranquil yes, but not beautiful.

  7. Yeah. That’s it. I’ve actually driven down Samphire Way & through the tunnel. Comes out in what looks like a combination cement works & industrial estate but is the English end of the Chunnel support tech. And what the view is from the cliff tops. Other side of the A20’s the Aycliffe estate & anything’d be an improvement on that.
    Executive housing eh? So Dover might end up with some attractions that aren’t shopping at Sommerfield’s & the fish’n chip shop on Castle Street. Wow!

  8. First place the French head when they hit Dover. And being Flamandes, they seriously understand frites. But can’t see what they see in it, honestly. La Voile Bleue at Bray Dunes does things with fish, Dover hasn’t even dreamt of & does it to eat in for not much more than a Brit take-away.

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