Agree about the danger of writing off smaller villages in a 'sustainability trap' it is the character of these smaller villages that makes them so attractive for people looking to retire to the countryside. There is a real danger that some of our villages could become retirement villages by stealth. There is also a lack of smaller properties for older residents or new local entrants to the housing market to buy. Eg, in Dowlish Wake, a small cottage came onto the market at the end of one week an

Finally, a point on Charlton Horethorne. With over 325 new homes built or approved in Milborne Port during the last dozen or so years we appear to be an easy ride in Somerset where any mass housing proposal seems to be accepted by SSDC. Our rural setting is being dismantled, leaving us with only one open aspect view of countryside from within the village, and that is now threatened with the Redcliffe Homes' approved application for 65 homes. The historic East Hill, graded 'High Sensitivity' wil