Deeping St Nicholas residents – particularly older ones such as Doreen Hare and her 92-year-old sister Doris – have to rely on a butcher and a milkman making deliveries in the village now there is no shop.
Otherwise, it’s a five-mile journey for shopping... although there is a lifeline available at Vine House Farm shop for those who want essentials.
The farm, famous for its acres of beautiful sunflowers grown for organic bird feed, is run by Nicholas Watts, who is also parish council chairman.
Nicholas says: “What concerns us here in Deeping St Nicholas is the proposed rail hub. We don’t want a big industrial development in this village and if we do get it Spalding will suffer as well as nearly everything that arrives at the hub will go to Warden Tree Lane.
“If they decide to build more development at the rail hub that will make even more traffic on the Spalding bypass because there will be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between Warden Tree Lane and the rail hub.
“The western relief road is not due to be completed until 2030 and in the meantime there will be 6,000 houses built in Spalding so we can expect the traffic to get worse around Spalding.”