We have a new neighbour

He popped round this afternoon to say hello, telling me how he’d moved here from Leicester, having visited the area for a holiday and found that he could afford to buy a place here in Leiston. He’s an avid birdwatcher, so with Minsmere just four miles away, and Aldeburgh and Snape also nearby, Leiston is the perfect place from which to explore all that the Suffolk coast has to offer.

By coincidence, last night we ate out in Aldeburgh, and got chatting after our meal, with the restaurateur. ‘Leiston has a different demographic,’ she said, ‘so doesn’t attract the same retailers as say Aldeburgh.’ That’s becoming less true as each year passes. I keep meeting people who have moved here because of its convenient location and the affordability of its housing. They see the place very differently to those who have been here for generations.

That says to me that change is inevitable. House prices will rise and, particularly with Sizewell C on our doorstep, new retailers and other businesses will move on to the town’s high street. Commercial property here is cheaper than in Aldeburgh, and with a growing number of discerning people choosing to live here, long held assumptions about what will work in Leiston and what won’t need to be challenged.

Framlingham and Halesworth are good examples of local market towns that have undergone impressive regeneration, without most of the housing becoming holiday lets, as in Aldeburgh and Southwold. The challenge facing the town now, is how to manage the change that is about to happen.