I went out at lunch-time today to map some of the roads around where I work. There is a large area, off Topsham Road in Exeter, where there used to be a navy supply store. The land was bought by property developers Persimon a few years ago with a plan to build 600-700 houses, but there is nothing there, just the road leading into a flattened wasteland. There is a lonely little temporary office for selling these no-existent properties at the end of the road. It is a sign of the times, with the current financial crisis.