A single shared source of truth is essential for a functioning democracy.

Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.

My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...

I mean it’s not future proofing? There is literally no possibility of a proper road being built there.

Strong shades of “I can’t believe they cancelled the symbolic climate emergency declaration we made while we were blocking planning permission for every solar and wind project in the county”

Super interesting, thanks!

I believe it was from a different pot, but no idea what happened to it - might look into it when I get a chance!

Wasn't there supposed to be the Buckinghamshire Greenway that did exactly this? But the last reference to it from a quick Google was in about 2022...

Presumably it’s expectation management? Not sure of the wisdom of it though 🫤

God that’s an eyesore

I suspect a lot of this is also not understanding what things cost - pretty doesn’t mean expensive, most of the cost of a project isn’t in the aesthetics.

And the accompanying short film, which is a preview of something I’m planning to do more of next year #PivotToVideo

The closure for HS2 happened in March 2022, but it was already deemed unsuitable for motor vehicles at least a year before that. Looking closely even at the 2008 views you can see big strips of tarmac gone in places so I suspect it gradually fell apart over the 2010s.

And for the discerning evening viewer: the YouTube version. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPF...

(Also the street view images are nearly 2 decades old, and you can see the tarmac falling apart in places even then.)

Wrong on all counts I’m afraid: it wasn’t closed in 2021 but 2022; at that point it was already unsuitable for motor vehicles (and clearly had been for some time); the road is not simply covered in leaves (I visited it); and there are no plans to rebuild it.

Not actually the case - it was originally closed in March 2022 and the ‘unsuitable for motor vehicle’ signs seem to long predate the closure, though I haven’t pinned down a date yet.

And I do recommend the accompanying YouTube video for fans of drone footage, infrastructure, beards, and Debussy. Complete with end blooper where the drone autonomously targeted the car windshield 😬. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPF...