Gosh, now I feel I need to say nice things about this part of the world! The problem is that I really dislike the flat Fenlands, despite having all our family holidays in the Norfolk Broads. That said, the architecture and history of some parts of some of the towns and villages is wonderful - Kings Lynn and Wisbech are real favourites of mine in a strange way, as are Fenstanton and Fen Drayton. The fens were enormously rich at the time of the Hanseatic League (and indeed in Anglo-Saxon period), and it's left its mark in the wonderful churches across the region, including of course in Manea. Blickling Hall in Norfolk is fabulous, Sheringham is good fun for a day out, Hunstanton Beach is of course famous. And, if you've read Tom's Midnight Garden, fen skating still takes place in a sufficiently cold winter.
However, as people have said, there is sadly a lot of rural deprivation in the fens, and has been for a long time. It can be discouraging for teachers at state schools because there can be a lack of aspiration among young people.
You can check out what planning applications are going on here:
www.fenland.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_searchform.aspx
Act ually, a small business park is very quiet to live next to. We only have noise at the beginning and end of the day when people arrive in and leave the car park.
The reason I say that would be a possibility is because I get the impression from my sister that the Fenlands council are keen to up employment locally. They're also very keen on affordable housing, so whatever is built, if it involves houses, will have some proportion of affordable houses.
However, building works are noisy and disruptive, although the results are fine. They may also cause (I hate to say it) flood to appear in places which weren't previously flooding...