I have just been re-reading Ken MacMahon's excellent little book “Beverley” in the Old Towns and Cities series.
“In 1965 the Council for
British Archaeology considered that Beverley was one of the forty
British towns “so splendid and precious that the ultimate
responsibility for them should be a national concern”. Despite the
town's proximity to much-blitzed Hull, the Hitler war left Beverley
virtually unscathed but the increasing volume of road traffic,
without the taking of speedy measures to counter its worst effects,
may well do in a decade what the wear of centuries has failed to bring
about. It has been said officially, as far as Beverley is concerned,
that the needs of traffic must take priority over history and that
“History … cannot rate very high in the list of priorities”.”
Quote from Ken MacMahon's Beverley. Dalesman Books 1973.
How things haven’t changed.
To “history” I would add people, community, quality of life, to
the list of things that “..cannot rate very high in the list
of priorities” that “the needs of traffic must take priority
over” as far as our politicians are concerned.
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