Gap in the market?

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

J, whilst I 'feel' your frustration, I am:

 

(a) surprised by the apparent undercurrent of justification for the wanton destruction of invaluable habitat sacrificed at the alter of capitalism in the pursuit of threppence per board foot additional profit which might result from a tarmac super-highway, and,

 

(b) saddened by the apparent disdain for such cultural, historic, and ecologically irreplaceable features of the West Country landscape.  

 

You seem to be advocating the wholesale destruction of key elements of a World Heritage Site which I find astonishing.

 

This is a big old chunk of text (https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/38341273/biodiversity-guide.pdf)

but if  you cut to, and start at, p46 para 10.2 it provides a neat summary of the irreplaceable value of the very thing that seems to be frustrating you most at the moment.

 

For the love of God J, and for the sake of your blood pressure, relax m'ansome, chop the van in for a heavy horse and drink more cider.  You may not live any longer but you might enjoy it more....  ?

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

22 minutes ago, AHPP said:

Value is subjective. I want Devon to visit (preferably on two wheels) so twee lanes preferable. Jonathan wants Devon to work so bigger roads preferable. Any debate about the rights and wrongs of public spending on public things can be made moot by getting rid of public roads and letting the market decide what type of private roads exist. Probably both. Markets usually keep most people happy.

Just so long as you stay North of the River you twat!

[AHPP]

J, whilst I 'feel' your frustration, I am:
 
(a) surprised by the apparent undercurrent of justification for the wanton destruction of invaluable habitat sacrificed at the alter of capitalism in the pursuit of threppence per board foot additional profit which might result from a tarmac super-highway, and,
 
(b) saddened by the apparent disdain for such cultural, historic, and ecologically irreplaceable features of the West Country landscape.  
 
 

PARKLIFE!

[Big J]

1 hour ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

J, whilst I 'feel' your frustration, I am:

 

(a) surprised by the apparent undercurrent of justification for the wanton destruction of invaluable habitat sacrificed at the alter of capitalism in the pursuit of threppence per board foot additional profit which might result from a tarmac super-highway, and,

 

(b) saddened by the apparent disdain for such cultural, historic, and ecologically irreplaceable features of the West Country landscape.  

 

You seem to be advocating the wholesale destruction of key elements of a World Heritage Site which I find astonishing.

 

This is a big old chunk of text (https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/38341273/biodiversity-guide.pdf)

but if  you cut to, and start at, p46 para 10.2 it provides a neat summary of the irreplaceable value of the very thing that seems to be frustrating you most at the moment.

 

For the love of God J, and for the sake of your blood pressure, relax m'ansome, chop the van in for a heavy horse and drink more cider.  You may not live any longer but you might enjoy it more....  ?

 

I doubt that increasing the size of the main B roads would have any serious effect on culturally importance or biodiversity. The amount the bankings get hit by cars, they're hardly undisturbed!

 

I'm enjoying this thread though, even if I am yet to hear a convincing argument for retention of narrow lanes and hedges on the more important, strategic roads here. ?

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

12 minutes ago, Big J said:

I'm enjoying this thread though, even if I am yet to hear a convincing argument for retention of narrow lanes and hedges on the more important, strategic roads here.

I'll turn it around for you J ?  

 

There'd be no desperate need for improved infrastructure if we:

 

(a) stopped using productivity as the measure of success and switched instead to sustainability, and, 

(b) stopped importing unsustainable numbers of human being into the country we'd see an immediate, tangible decrease in the pressure upon existing infrastructure services.

 

Bosh!  Fixed in a oner!!  Where's my cider....

[Khriss]

*gets on flight to Tenerife* k

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

41 minutes ago, Khriss said:

*gets on flight to Tenerife* k

Haven’t this year mucker! Too much drama associated with Remoaner lettuces ballsing up currency and adding to the usual seasonal chaos caused by lack of capacity and crumbling, underinvested infrastructure ??

 

(on the QT - doing Ibiza in Oct though ??)

[Khriss]

I'll bring you back a new liver Kev k

[Matthew Storrs]

It’s not just the hedgebanks, there’s old clapper bridges- cottages built right up to the road. No point widening a road unless all bottlenecks are removed.

the ecological impact- I rebuild hedgebanks all the time- im astounded by the amount of wildlife the banks hold- toads/lizards/insects where in some places of higher intensity agriculture the lowly hedgebank is about the only place they can thrive, id reckon to re-establish the hedgebanks to the same level of bio-diversity would take 50 years minimum- by which time the roads will be too small again! 

Love them or loathe them they and the tight lanes  are what make the west county what it is, personally I don’t want big roads/get to work a few mins quicker/ loads of people down here as a result. They’ve widened a few roads down Newton Abbot area and it really changes the area- No charm whatsoever.

[Big J]

4 hours ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

I'll turn it around for you J ?  

 

There'd be no desperate need for improved infrastructure if we:

 

(a) stopped using productivity as the measure of success and switched instead to sustainability, and, 

(b) stopped importing unsustainable numbers of human being into the country we'd see an immediate, tangible decrease in the pressure upon existing infrastructure services.

 

Bosh!  Fixed in a oner!!  Where's my cider....

 

a) Productivity is a driver of employment and in order to improve living standards (which are depressed in some parts of the West Country), there needs to be better employment opportunities. Reducing inefficiency improves sustainability.

 

b) I disagree. Population pressure is not the issue in the West Country. 19 century roads are. Almost all modern lorries (which have been the same width for decades) and tractors scarcely fit and the companies that run them are the prime drivers of the economy in the area.

 

45 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

It’s not just the hedgebanks, there’s old clapper bridges- cottages built right up to the road. No point widening a road unless all bottlenecks are removed.

the ecological impact- I rebuild hedgebanks all the time- im astounded by the amount of wildlife the banks hold- toads/lizards/insects where in some places of higher intensity agriculture the lowly hedgebank is about the only place they can thrive, id reckon to re-establish the hedgebanks to the same level of bio-diversity would take 50 years minimum- by which time the roads will be too small again! 

Love them or loathe them they and the tight lanes  are what make the west county what it is, personally I don’t want big roads/get to work a few mins quicker/ loads of people down here as a result. They’ve widened a few roads down Newton Abbot area and it really changes the area- No charm whatsoever.

 

I accept that there is a cost, but as I said, just taking one hedge out rather than two would go some say to mitigate this. You highlighted the relative ecological deserts that are modern farms. I've stated before that in the thread about planning that they are almost all unprofitable without subsidy, so in a situation where they are neither ecologically sound or economically sustainable, why is it that we are so protective of farmland? We wouldn't be reduced to relying on hedges for biodiversity if there was a larger forestry industry.