1.
Businessman Mike Watts
spent £150,000 of his own money to build toll
2.
It
was after part of the A431 in Kelston, Somerset collapsed and closed
3.
He took matters in own
hands to solve chaos caused by 14-mile diversion
4.
Mr
Watts has shown up council 'jobsworths' who say road can't be fixed
The businessman who has built his own toll road around a road closure in
Somerset should be knighted in the next honours’ list. He is an inspiration.
By taking matters into his own hands to solve the chaos caused by a
14-mile diversion on a busy commuter route, Mike Watts has set a shining
example to anyone who has ever moaned about public services.
Faced with months of roadworks and
upheaval, and the loss of business at the party supplies shop he runs with his
wife Wendy in Bath, the pioneering 52-year-old didn’t just complain.
He put his money and his effort where
his mouth is, rented a nearby field and built an alternative road to allow
traffic to bypass the closure, charging drivers £2 each way.
He spent £150,000 on the gravel track
next to the A431 in Kelston and says he will probably spend that again to
maintain it. He says he only wants to break even before December when the
council is due to re-open the proper road, which was closed after a landslip.
Of course, the council has been quick to question his efforts, citing
that mealy-mouthed old staple — health and safety.
Rather than thanking him, they’ve subjected Mr Watts to all sorts of
snooty checks and inspections. Well, they must be furious. They have been
utterly humiliated by him.
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