Conspicuous

Two examples, large and small and far and near, of jarrings in the view from the top of Thistle Hill . Back in the 70s I was talking to a senior Sheffield planning officer and he was fuming. He and the city had objected strongly to the design, size and position of the new Hallamshire Hospital. Its impact on views across the city would be unacceptable. But the government overruled and the building went up. And there it is standing out as a reminder of the damage done by centralised top-down decision making. That officer is now chair of PDNPA where let's hope he may have better luck.

The shiny metal stock hurdles in the pastures were to be there for just a short time I was told - back in November. The grazier would remove them when the cattle went. Since then they've decided to keep the cattle in the pastures. So I asked again. No they won't be removed, this time for a different reason, something to do with inspecting the animals. So much for all the assurances given when people complained that cattle grazing would further the farmification of the landscape. Farming is an industry and farmers want to do what other industries are allowed to do. If this means barbed wire fences and muddy gateways and fertiliser and feed bags flying around then so be it. That's what the countryside is about, I can hear them say. So why SWT's Director (sorry, Chief Executive) should claim credit for not putting sheep mesh fencing up is anyone's guess. He said it was less visually intrusive than barbed wire!