Village life is threatened on two fronts

Clare Garner on the concerns of the Suffolk community of Earl Soham

Raymond Pearl has cycled to the corner shop for his bread each week since he moved to the small Suffolk village of Earl Soham 47 years ago. The 500-strong village was a very different place then: few cars rumbled through, most of the villagers had lived there all their lives and it was easy to reach nearby towns by bus.

"There are a lot of strangers in the village now and we don't know half of them," Mr Pearl, 72, said.

Earl Soham illustrates the rural changes that yesterday's White Paper attempts to grapple with. It has been affected by the twin elements accused of blighting a centuries-old way of life: affluent incomers buying up property and making it harder for existing residents to afford a home, and the growth of out-of-town supermarkets putting village shops in jeopardy.

The village has lost several stores, although it still has a general store, a post office, a doctors' surgery, a primary school, a village hall, a church and two pubs.

For the past two years James Cook, 18, has worked in John Hutton's butchers shop and general store. He is unusual among his contemporaries in that he has stayed in the village of his birth.

"It's getting harder because the supermarkets are out to destroy the small man," he said. "Most villagers support us because they like the personal touch. Some newcomers use us, some don't. I think they are all for it but we don't fit in with their life-styles. Supermarkets are open all hours."

One incomer, Jeremy Westcott, 39, a solicitor who moved from south-west London to Dennington a few miles from Earl Soham, says he does his bit for the rural economy.

"I shop at the local store, have a chat with the local butcher and drink in the local pub at lunch times," he said.

Public transport is one of Earl Soham's biggest problems. It has just one bus a week to Ipswich, the nearest big town, and only one stopping local service.

Of the Government's recommendation that parish councils should be given more power over community transport, Norman Woodcock, chairman of the PC, said: "In the past we have found that the actual take-up for car-sharing schemes hasn't matched what was on offer. However, there is a definite need for a post office van facility to Framlingham, our nearest town."

Bruce Hinton, 53, has farmed in Earl Soham for more than 25 years and while he continues to care for 900 acres of arable land he has converted redundant agricultural buildings into business premises for tenants as diverse as a solicitor, a journalist, a timber importer and a home-delivery pizza service.

Mr Hinton attributes Earl Soham's survival as a rural community to the fact that it has both employment and affordable housing. Suffolk Heritage Housing Association has taken over 32 council homes, and has also built houses and a block of flats.

If there is one thing that blights village life more than any other it is traffic. Huge lorries hurtle through and residents fear Earl Soham's main street, the A1120, will be turned into a major cross-country route.

Eileen Barker, 82, paused from her gardening and leaned on her shears. "I've lived here for 37 years. It's a different life now, but it's still a good community," she said. "The only thing is the traffic ... These huge lorries were never here before."

Parish pump: life for the country dweller

59 per cent of parishes have a permanent shop and 57 per cent a post office

48 per cent have a state school of some sort

17 per cent have a permanently based GP

41 per cent have a church or chapel with a resident

minister

71 per cent have a village hall or community centre

87 per cent have a bus service; 29 per cent have a daily service and 36 per cent report a six-days-a-week service

2 per cent have a permanently staffed police station

70 per cent have a pub