Interesting end to it about Rough Rustice, which smacks a wee bit of sorry it’ll have to be you, in the absence of a clear ‘villain’. I actually have some sympathy with the Council..they’ll have carried all the regulatory safety checks, pestered government for money. That’ll be on record. How forceful they were eg warning bells etc has to come out. Prior to the latest (independent) inspection, the previous one must have been at least a ‘satisfactory’. That’s supposition, of course, but if there were no caveats, what was the council supposed to do. If after many years of trying for action, they eventually shrugged their shoulders in exasperation and local MPs were thwarted then central Government are culpable. Politically, this government can turn it back on the previous Tory governments who for many years apparently denied funding. Basically, it’s a political mess but rather than blame/accountability (that’s for later), local officials should be well and truly on the offensive (I’d be pretty sure that’ll be happening behind closed doors). Treasury can easily find the money either upfront or in stages to sort the solution. Problem is that regardless of this hot potato issue emerging now or if notice was given for a planned demolition and new road network, the timescale to sort out would be more or less the same…3-4 years, say. There’s still only one realistic crossing point for the bulk of traffic..Tyne Bridge. What value contingency planning under those circumstances…a bottleneck is bottleneck. Oddly enough, but I’m certainly not representative, I’ve got across the bridge trouble free, both ways on several occasions at different times of day. Funny in’it..🤷🏻♂️
Loved the cartoon! Made me laugh amidst the pretty depressing news. Also liked the piece by Bob Hudson - but how many years have we all been saying all this????
Interesting end to it about Rough Rustice, which smacks a wee bit of sorry it’ll have to be you, in the absence of a clear ‘villain’. I actually have some sympathy with the Council..they’ll have carried all the regulatory safety checks, pestered government for money. That’ll be on record. How forceful they were eg warning bells etc has to come out. Prior to the latest (independent) inspection, the previous one must have been at least a ‘satisfactory’. That’s supposition, of course, but if there were no caveats, what was the council supposed to do. If after many years of trying for action, they eventually shrugged their shoulders in exasperation and local MPs were thwarted then central Government are culpable. Politically, this government can turn it back on the previous Tory governments who for many years apparently denied funding. Basically, it’s a political mess but rather than blame/accountability (that’s for later), local officials should be well and truly on the offensive (I’d be pretty sure that’ll be happening behind closed doors). Treasury can easily find the money either upfront or in stages to sort the solution. Problem is that regardless of this hot potato issue emerging now or if notice was given for a planned demolition and new road network, the timescale to sort out would be more or less the same…3-4 years, say. There’s still only one realistic crossing point for the bulk of traffic..Tyne Bridge. What value contingency planning under those circumstances…a bottleneck is bottleneck. Oddly enough, but I’m certainly not representative, I’ve got across the bridge trouble free, both ways on several occasions at different times of day. Funny in’it..🤷🏻♂️
Sadly the content seems very left of centre . Much prefer my news more balanced.
Loved the cartoon! Made me laugh amidst the pretty depressing news. Also liked the piece by Bob Hudson - but how many years have we all been saying all this????