Why Pot-holes are Important

So last Wednesday (08.02.2023) I attended the three-monthly meeting of my local Parish Council in Nymet Rowland. As with all these meetings the issue of pot-holes came up again. Yet again we heard the deflections and vague excuses from our local Conservative Mid Devon District (MDDC) Councillor as to why little could be done; exhortations to report pot-holes; suggestions to contact the Conservative Devon Councillor; explanations that money was tight; concerns that local government officials were abiding by a system that prioritises the 'squeaky wheel'; amazingly even that the problem was "Devon has too many roads".

Never at any point a self-realisation that the problem could be fixed. It was almost as if there were rules written in stone that stopped things being done. Never any sense that the Conservatives who control (and long have done) Devon County Council (DCC) could do something about it. Never any recognition that the problem is one of our Councillor's own political party's creation. I guess it is convenient to pretend that nothing can be done.

It got me thinking! It's a running joke that any local Focus leaflet from a Liberal Democrat will feature a pot-hole (heck, irony, even the Conservatives are now doing it in Devon). Why? Well it's a metaphor for failure by local government that all residents understand.

Then I thought a little more about it. If you are a fan of SIM games such as SimCity, or Civilisation, you'll know that one of the first enhancements you can earn for your city, or country, is the ability to build roads.

A road comes with bonusses such as improved economic prospects, trade deals and of course the ability to move your armies around quickly. The Romans above everyone understood this and they built roads to last, and it powered their empire both economically and militarily.

What held in 200AD, and in video games now, applies to our own society. The industrial revolution was powered less by the advent of machines and more by the building of a reliable and fast transport infrastructure; canals first; then railways; finally roads.

So the decline of our infrastructure matters, and pot-holes are the writing on the wall. It may look like a 'small problem' but it's an admission that as a country we are no longer serious; no longer serious about our economy; no longer serious about growth.

At a time when the Conservative Government are contemplating cutting services on its own vanity rail project, HS2, and reducing the speed of services (the very rationale for investing the absurd sums the Conservatives have spent) you know we have a government that is not really that interested in infrastructure, and by implication the economy and growth.

We need a serious approach to infrastructure. The Conservatives at least recognise that spending on infrastructure creates short term employment gains, but more importantly it creates long term economic growth.

So, we need to get serious about pot-holes. They are the 'Canary in the Coalmine'. The more our infrastructure declines the clearer the statement we make that we are no longer serious about economic growth. Sadly, I fear we do not have a government that is serious. Whilst it obsesses with tax cuts, and cuts to expenditure, our roads will get worse and worse.

So, I will make one prediction. At our next Parish Council meeting, in three-months' time, we'll be having the same discussion about pot-holes, and unfortunately getting the same response from our Conservative Councillor.