This man from the UK set up his own toll road without planning permission, and it attracted 100,000 vehicles in days, making the local council quite angry.
Like all good British plans, the man and his wife made the decision to set up the unregulated toll road after a night at the pub.
The toll road was necessary because a landslip had completely blocked several small villages from the historic and popular city of Bath, and it was taking the local council a long time to do anything.
Operating without planning permission is not illegal, but the man needed 150,000 journeys through his toll booth to break even; he ended up with slightly more…
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He set up his own toll road without planning permission
British people are very good at finding new passive-aggressive ways of getting the local council to do what it promised to do, like this man who put fake legs in a pothole to point out a problem.
After a landslip occurred and blocked a road between several small villages and the nearby historic city of Bath, Mike Watts was annoyed that he would have to use a 14-mile diversion instead of the road, which could be fixed.
After a night of complaining at the pub with his wife, Mike decided to ask a local farmer if he could use his land to create a toll road in the blocked area and save people from having to do a 14-mile diversion.
Mike charged £2 per vehicle with discounted passage for locals and free passage for emergency service vehicles.
He needed 150,000 paying customers to break even on his investment, all of which had taken place without planning permission.
Tom Scott
It attracted 100,000 vehicles in days
Mike only ran the toll road while the main road stayed closed.
The road had closed on the 17th February that year, and Mike opened his toll booth on the 1st August, not closing it until the main road reopened on the 17th November.
In the UK, building without planning permission isn’t illegal until authorities enforce removal via planning enforcement.
However, the council insisted on retrospective planning permission because of the impact on repairs.
In November, more than 163,000 paying customers had visited the toll road, and it just about broke even on the amount of money it took to set up, as well as becoming a popular local tourist spot.
The message is clear: people will do anything to avoid a 14-mile diversion, including spending $150,000.
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