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The cemetery is in serious trouble. The old waterways around seem to be failing. I wonder why? New houses , blocked channels / drains or just changing weather patterns. Walking in line with the Netherton Club cannot be done without walking on the road next to the cemetery. The mud on the road / parh (that goes in line with the old red ash path) is always muddy regardless of time of year or weather . It is very sad to see the cemetery flooded. The graves seem to be not waving but drowning ! Where did the Green Letch take water towards the Wansbeck or The Blyth ? Hopefully there is a solution. I cannot remember this ever being the situation in the past. Ok Westlea was flooded because the land ,after the opencast was not put back correctly. This still results in a lake forming between Red House and Westlea. My memory was of a little stream to cross to get to the Old Original Red House Farm. Now houses have been built in what I belieced was a fire break between the houses. When the Coop were developing the Ridge Farm extensive work on drainage seemed to be being carried out! With so very many more houses planned in the area it seems like a ticking time bomb to serious flooding of houses!

Apologies to The Spectator for ripping off more of their text than is reasonable under copyright law, but a significant number of people on this thread need an excuse not to face reality. Full article