Well, the longest day has come and flown … with a bit of extra sting this time in our traditional Norfolk optimism: “Reckon thass all downhill from now on into a winter of discontent after a summer with no shortages of discomfort!”

I have been tuning in to disturbing vibes among Cromer’s more sensitive souls as a veritable sludge of polluting traffic constantly corrodes the heart of town while most side roads and residential streets fall foul of chaotic and anti-social parking.

Yes, grim realities shared with many others along a booming coastal holiday trail, especially during the next two peak months of a loudly-trumpeted 'catch -up season'. Some, of course, say all this congestion and aggravation is a price worth paying to stoke up a flagging local economy.

Even so, a fair number of locals – including some with vested business interests - are prepared to argue strongly in favour of a more environmentally friendly approach to managing the heavy flow of a popular area’s lifeblood.

I caught a clear sound of regular grumbling turning into high-pitched protesting during recent royal jubilee celebrations when a “street party” in the middle of Cromer hardly lived up to expectations. Heavy through traffic thundered on to dominate what deserved to be an uplifting community occasion.

Food stalls attracted long queues of trippers and residents in Tucker Street, usual parking slot for waiting taxis behind the parish church. Some of us found sanctuary among pews and tables for a cup of tea, friendly chat and heartfelt prayer for the end of so much destructive car worship before the next big excuse for a major get-together.

Since moving our family seat to Cromer in 1988, fully aware of the place’s split personality complex, too much of the resort’s traditional flavour has been crushed by a tourism bandwagon often loaded with folk destined to destroy the very virtues attracting them in the first place.

A coastal surge in numbers of second homes and holiday lets piles up constant demands to provide sensibly-priced houses for young families keen to stay close to their roots, even if well-paid jobs in the district outside the hospitality sector remain hard to find.

While bodies like Visit Norfolk eagerly dish out dazzling figures to underline the worth of tourism to our county in financial terms, they do well to avoid any mention of blatant pressures and problems caused by massive influxes of visitors descending on attractive locations at the same time. More can spell mayhem as well as extra cash in the kitty.

It has been tough going in Cromer for town, district and county councillors and officers - plus our local MPs - while the “Economy v Environment” debate has intensified, occasionally even soaring above the sounds and smells of endless traffic and pollution at the very heart of the matter.

I have been in touch with several of them, some far more approachable and engaging than others, over my Cromer years to voice growing concerns about increasing traffic, rat-run streets, puerile parking, chopping down beautiful trees and hedges, dirty dog owners and a few other items threatening the precious fabric of Norfolk community life.

While these elected representatives seem largely sincere and able to peer beyond their personal affiliations and views, there persists deep reluctance to ruffle feathers further up the ladder when it comes to contentious issues such as the holiday trade, second homes. housing developments and opportunities for younger folk.

The high tide of tourism lapping over so many aspects of north Norfolk life make it an inevitable topic for serious digestion at all levels of local government and, as Norman Lamb demonstrated when he was this area’s MP, a matter for Westminster attention. He wasn’t afraid to call for serious action over too many second homes despite being surrounded by supporters of the “leave it to the free market” movement.

Perhaps current calls for a “countywide taskforce” to size up negative impacts of tourism will sharpen appetites for a few more home truths on the unpalatable side rather than parroting “necessary evil” and “vital for jobs and our local economy” lines.

Apparently, there’s already a Visitor Pressures Group focussing on our coastal areas and all the anxieties that come with visiting hordes. I haven’t yet encountered these environmental crusaders .. unless it was a couple of colourfully-clad cyclists behind a long queue waiting for town centre traffic lights to change last Wednesday morning. They wore masks and goggles and appeared to be carrying pollution-measuring instruments.

A rehearsal, perhaps, before towing a float with a warning message as part of the great celebratory cavalcade when Cromer Carnival returns in August .Meanwhile it is already perilously obvious how the downsides of mass tourism could include long-term danger to physical health and mental wellbeing for residents and visitors alike.

If any rate that as exaggeration or scaremongering, just take the air and spend a few fume-laden minutes either side of the town centre traffic lights as all kinds of groaning vehicles pull up in exhaustion and then grind through