1:16 "Oh No! We left the property open and exposed over the winter and now its integrity has deteriorated. Ooops! Guess intead of spending lots of money to move it to a museum we're just going to have to demolish it. Darn!"
Yeah, the moment I heard that I thought "Jesus, they're really that blatant, aren't they?" I'd have a hard time believing this was anything other than completely deliberate.
does anyone actually are though, there's hundreds of those little cottages all across the UK, its hardly a significant building. The idea of rebuilding it sounded costly and pointless, I'm sure the majority of the British public would prefer the money was spent elsewhere
@@Stealth360stealthyes, lots of people care. You are in the minority. One only has to look to towns such as Northampton to see what happens when we carelessly tear down our heritage in favour of new projects that have no relevance whatsoever less than a quarter century on - in the case of Northampton, undeterred, they have even pulled down _more_ of their architectural heritage along with the failed buildings that they built the first time around. I can't wait for the Labour new towns projects that will bring this model to areas of the country as yet untouched by the hand of 'progress'. 🙄
Shenanigans videos are comedy based on a deep foundation of documentary exposing the collosal sums of money wasted and pocketed by our vile government and their friends. Mr. Marples is still alive and doing well beyond the River Styx, well until it gets privatised. Severn Trent Water have already started pumping sewage into it.
I had the same thought at the end when he mentioned the cat being lost forever. It initially came across as a sarcastic jab, until it sunk in that he's probably right.
Must admit, that annoyed me more than I expected, and for there to seemingly be no punishment - which I would have guessed to be an insubstantial fine - was even more irksome. It's like National Heritage just threw their hands up immediately and gave up, setting a worrying example.
The black cat will be on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard.”
Let's not forget that the lavatory will be in a soon to be abandoned office building that will go neglected for a decade before unceremoniously being demolished to make space for a car park.
Wow, I'd have never guessed that cottage would have ended up in that situation..... it's almost like the listed system only functoons when it's convenient for the authorities. Funny that.
In my 26 years of life I never thought I’d enjoy watching a man talking about road that a drive everyday but here I am tuning into every single upload 😂
“I was 19 years old when the musical “Cats” came to our town… I couldn’t wait to see it! After the show, I was asked if I wanted to go meet some of the performers backstage… man I was thrilled! But when I got back there, they were drunk and out of control…”
Can confirm the black cat is being safely kept outside the A428 Wintringham Site Office just down the road front black cat roundabout. You can see the black cat as you drive past
Once they took the trees down and the extension on Brook Cottage, I knew that building wouldn't last. TBF I was surprised it hadn't burned down by "accident"
That sort of thing happened near me when a pub closed.there was a big hoohah about it and the locals were pissed off about it. There’s flats on the site now. Tbf it was a shithole
Opposite the the Travelodge and petrol station is the site of the Black Cat garage that gave its name to the juncton/roundabout, that too has now been demolished, in latter years a company called Keen Screens run by a larger than life character called Ken occupied the Blac Cat garage building, it was said in the local motor trade that he was behind the appearance and upkeep of the actual black cat sign in the roundabout, I knew him reasonably well but he never confirmed or denied any involvement in the cats presence to me, not seen him in a long time, I wish him well and hope he's enjoying his well earned retirement. Great video and thanks for uploading 👍🏻
The Black Cat is located outside the A428 Wintringham site office on Loverose Way. Delivered there, thought it was the site's nickname until i saw this video as I live nowhere near this area.
I think you, John should take custody of the black cat and keep him safe for the nation. Then Auto Shenanigans can perform a ceremony to reinstate him in 2027 😎
@@Coolcarting As far as eyesores on roundabouts go, you can find so many worse ones in the country than that cat. Hell, you could not even notice it when the road is busy or it's dark. Way better than some blobby huge modern art piece.
Interestingly the black cat that was on the roundabout is actually being used as a sort of gateway to a planning office on the site of a nearby housing estate under construction
Love it when builds get listed and then where there’s money to be made they are really chill with just knocking it down. They did the same with the air balloon pub on the roundabout on the A419 at birdlip hill
That black cat statue has about as much chance of staying as the cottages! (Also, great choice of song at the end - memories from Cats - I see what you did then!)
This is spooky. I've not driven round the Black Cat roundabout for several years but I drove round it today and wondered what was going on. I get home and find this video waiting for me. As public service broadcasting goes, that's pretty good. BTW the old thatched house is still there but it does look rather sad.
John, the black cat statue is mounted to the wall outside one of the temporary site buildings / conpound on the A428 were that new bridged junction is being installed.
My favourite bit of this work is where the road off the roundabout onto the A421 westbound suddenly becomes one lane and the road markings just disappear. It's a free for all with people crossing over each other.
Oh you mean the well sign posted big yellow sign that warns you that the left hand lane is for the A1 north at 300 yards from the roundabout then at 200 yards then at the point where the 2nd lane appears and then actually on the roundabout too! Sadly people believe they are too important and feel that using that lane will jump the queue of vehicles using the A421 towards MK and Bedford Personally anyone who tries it gets hung out to dry by myself daily and anyone else who has a sense of social justice in front or behind me generally does the same! Basically it becomes a “that sounds like a YOU problem” If you can’t read signs and want to take the risk of being in the wrong lane you’re also got to accept it and eat humble pie and go back round the roundabout to correct your mistake!
@@grahamcutress47 You've completely misunderstood, and it's a bit rude to assume especially as highways regularly cock up permanent signage, let alone temporary ones. When you get to the roundabout heading southbound it goes from two lanes to four lanes (two for the A1 two for the A428) but because of the works there is only one lane at the exit of the roundabout for the A428. It is not signed that this is the case.
I flew over this construction site last weekend, its very much as you showed it Jon. More progress at the black cat end with the preliminary roadworks snaking round the bottom of St Neots then stopping abruptly in fields, then work started on sketching out on the ground the other two junctions. Be great when its finished, should have been built like this the first time the black cat was improved, or the second time. Third time lucky
Does anyone want to put another Black Cat monument on that roundabout? If so it would be sweet and awesome but we'd probably need a few spare. Lovely video and delivery as always.
Went through Black Cat twice today. Considering the volume of traffic that uses the A1, it's surprisingly easy to get through the roadworks with only a short delay.
What a coincidence that Brook Cottage was left open to the elements over the winter and has now deteriorated. And now it can only be demolished. What an “unfortunate” “accident” that was! I’ve seen this before with a company that wanted to demolish a couple of buildings but weren’t allowed because they were listed. There was an “unfortunate” fire involving one, and an “unfortunate” accident with the other when some cables supporting the roof “accidentally” got cut when work was being done to convert the building for a different use. But the roof didn’t collapse, amusingly it cost the company involved a fortune to repair the damage to the roof cables on a building they didn’t want
Have you considered doing something on the newark a46 southern relief road? All sorts of shenanigans has happened here and now they're dualing the a46. Lived here all my life so happy to help with timeline
I'd been looking at that building thinking "surely they aren't going to take it down?"...this particular shenanigans is only just up the road from where I live in Sandy.
I remember when the A428 St Neots southern bypass was built to avoid having to travel through the town. This was when this road was the main road carrying the East/West traffic in the area before the A14 was built to the north of St Neots. This therefore appears to be a southern bypass of the previously existing southern bypass which was previously outdated by a northern bypass!
Hi Jon love your videos. If you would like to do a similar “before and after” look at the A46 near Stoneleigh in Warwickshire that would be very interesting. In fact the “new junction” that started back in 2020 is EXACTLY the f&@king same today as it was back in February 2021 with no work whatsoever being done on it. The question is why??? Anyway that saved you a video and possibly gave someone a laugh. Keep up the good work 👍👍
You can often tell when big developments are planned but not yet announced when large Historic Oaks mysteriously vanish overnight sometimes a year before work commences.
so they are storing the black cat which is a feature of the named roundabout, perhaps it if is late or over budget we can make , and use, something suitable for caxton gibbet
I’ve been watching from the start Jon avid watcher as a truck driver enjoy every minute, the things you see that leave you wondering when traveling around the country that you have covered and settled the wonderment is quite astonishing really some really in-depth investigation and research done for every video
Hey dude, have you ever considered checking out the ‘Missing Link’ at Nettleton Bottom nr Birdlip Gloucestershire? Work has just began and it’s going to be epic when it’s finally completed… it’s taken decades of planning & pontificating, not to mention the horrendous bottle neck that we’ve all had to endure for decades too. It will finally complete the duel carriageway link from jct 15 M4 to the M5 at Gloucester/Cheltenham and the civils are huge for this project. Just a thought, hope it at least triggers a bit of intrigue… even if it’s out your way 😊🫶👊💥
Black Cat roundabout needs a massive upgrade including a new bridge for the A1 to go over River Great Ouse. As well a new road to avoid St. Neots coming to and from Cambridge and A14 which would make it lot easier to get to Bedford and Milton Keynes. Wish this would have happened back in the 1990s or 2000s.
The A46 near Kenilworth (Warwickshire) has been undergoing upgrade for 2 years now. It is having a new roundabout created. However, about 1 year ago the work stopped and has not restarted since. I am left aghast at the waste of taxpayers money so far spent on this project which has left the location like a building sight, with worse traffic queues than before, and no explanation from the council as to WTF is happening.
There used to be a fantastic burger van just north of this roundabout. A full breakfast in a bap was the specialty and a great hangover cure for a few young airmen of the MDSS mobile team heading out on yet another eastern trip.
Please do a vid on the "new" roundabout at Clophill on A507 in Bedfordshire. It has been dubbed by the locals as the "White Elephant" roundabout (a white elephant was placed onto it, but the council took it away). The roundabouts "improvement" cost a shit load of money and actually made it worse........
that old house at 1:25 is still there (Saturday 29th June) rode to a couple of places in North MK and passed it on my way back to Cambridge via Black Cat roundabout. when i did this last year on my old 125 it was the scariest ride, but now i've been around a few times and have a bigger bike its not so bad
The Black Cat will be stored in the same place as the Euston Arches and all the statues about to be removed from Glasgow’s George Square for safe keeping.
This should be great when it is finished. I grew up in Biggleswade and remember the connection at the black cat very well. Having a more uninterrupted run to the North and back will be great.
Perfect and really well fitting outro music 🎧 It’s such a shame that everything that’s been preserved about decades almost centuries has just been demolished within days. I remember it really well, when I watched your video about the black cat roundabout. I thought it’s so lovely that they care about the history in that area so much, that they’ve even created the black cat to put it into the roundabout. And now it’s all gone. It’s such a shame.
John, me and my mrs get a tad upset as when we start a video we are sitting there anticipating a wave and there was no wave, we even wave back. So thanks John, tonight too adults were waving at the tv in vain. (Feel like that’s a dull men’s club post 😂) love the vids, do more around East Sussex please 😊
The A1 is also in urgent need of an upgrade too especially now they've taken down the Huntingdon viaduct. This gives the A14 traffic no viable alternative when there's disruption like there is at the moment. Little more than 4 years after it opened the Gt Ouse viaduct on the A14 has a problem with a lane closed Westbound. Just south of the Black Cat is there still a boatyard in the middle of the A1? Also along with the black cat there used to be kittens let's hope they are re-instated too.
While they are spending oodles of money on the black cat junction why did they not upgrade a few miles of the A1 to motorway standard? Cos when they do need to upgrade the A1 it will be even more expensive to upgrade after what they are doing.
I use that roundabout a lot and I see the upgrade coming on. That old cottage needs preserving, if it could be moved to a nicer location that will be great news. When finished, it will make my journey to Cambridge easier.
Tom who runs a truly astounding company called Preservation In Action for the last three decades... He and his skilled workers can and will move it!! They honestly have moved castles before. Amazing guy, owns and lives in my familes old heritage home.
Nice to see work commencing on building a new junction and a new road that would avoid St. Neots and to make journeys lot more quicker and easier to get to and from Cambridge to Bedford, M1 and Milton Keynes.
Cheers for this update, hopefully a regular thing! Really cool to get the birds-eye view on the progress. I drive the route every day to work from MK to Cambridge and I'm forever watching from the road what's happening with the works, looking longingly for that glorious day in 2027 (supposed) when it's all done.
Hi Jon, Great video is this the only roundabout on the A1 as it all grade separated and motorway in parts. The only Black cat roundabout I know is on the A55 the junction for the A470 for Llandudno, Conwy and Betws-y-Coed. Catch you soon Take care
No there are roundabouts a short distance south of here at Sandy and at each end of the Biggleswade bypass plus another a few miles north at Buckden shortly before the A14 junction. The next one south of Biggleswade is Stirling Corner on the edge of Greater London a couple of miles south of the southern end of the A1(M).
This single point in the United Kingdom was the bane of my life for years. I lived near Caxton and commuted to Milton Keynes. On a Friday the traffic starts to build around 1400 and backs up for miles.
I was amused to hear the Black Cat was being removed and stored, then reinstated when upgrades completed. Local residents put a white elephant on the roundabout at Clophill on the A6 to show their feelings on this expensive remodelling, surprise, surprise Central Beds council removed it after a few days citing distraction to motorists on roundabouts was not good for road safety….
Brook Cottage was still standing at 3pm today (26th June). At £10million a mile this is one expensive road. Doesn't help though when they are replacing bridges that don't appear to be quite wide enough on the existing A421, that was built less than 20 years ago.... As for their compound(s), good grief, have Civil Engineers turned into a bunch of wussies? When I started my working life on a Building site in the late 80's, we had a few Portakabins, a Portaloo, and an old caravan for a tea hut, with a bit of hardcore on the floor to make a yard. You also had to wait several weeks for BT to connect a phone line to site, so if you had an emergency it was either find a call box or knock on a door to ask to use the phone. Now they want tarmac car parks, (complete with white lines), centrally heated office blocks, Gold Star Toilet and shower facilities, a 4 wheel drive each, fast Broadband, kitchen staff, and an Orange suit for every day of the week, with several spares in case they get dirty. Only to spend more money ripping the lot up at the end of the job and putting it back to soil.
And surprise surprise, public spending gets out of control. Bet they never saw that coming but who cares, it’s not our money so who’s bothered if we waste it?
That was similar for us Nick when they were converting the M4 to four lanes through Berkshire. The “road builders city” that they constructed between Reading and Slough on the eastbound bound side to house hundreds of road workers over approx five years had all the facilities including clinic medical centre and also a welfare & counselling section for road workers that presumably were missing their families at home etc. ( so I was told ). All returned to beautiful green fields again now thankfully…😁
Big super silent generators... and huge diesel tanks.... two way Motorolas ... sorted....but can't be seen to be doing that these days...in 2009 on the M6, they even tried Prius...super silent running and injure the workforce in road...
@@philtucker1224prior to the M4...I worked on the M3...we had two site compounds...one was macadamed the other was hardcore and puddles....guess which one I was stationed at...yep...puddletown!..😂
I use this route regularly and we'll see if they can get it right this time. 12 years ago they made the roundabout bigger to reduce congestion...which didn't work.
What a surprise demolishing deliberately damaging Grade 2 listed building & delisting it. I would have a hart attack if thay left their office. Thay usually don't even inform anyone they are delisting a building. Multiple criminal acts commited but as the ones breaking the law are the ones that allegedly enforce the law it's game over for heritage & history.
Its been widely reported in the local papers and the A428 upgrade website itself. Apparently ‘historical features’ such as fireplaces will be retained from the building
That building has been deteriorating for years - probably something to do with thousands of vehicles rumbling past a few yards away day and night. It costs a lot of money to keep historic buildings in good condition at the best of times, but when next to a busy road like the A1 it's a money pit & the sort of people who could afford it aren't the sort who want to live next to such a road
Hi John, now the A30 Carland Cross to Chiverton dualing has been finished it would be intersing to see how far you can travel without having to potentially stop by motorway and dual carriageway.
another well crafted slice of information with a side of resigned sarcasm so thanks for that Jon - any plans to visit that mega traffic light monster roundabout in Cambridge yet....?
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
1:16 "Oh No! We left the property open and exposed over the winter and now its integrity has deteriorated. Ooops! Guess intead of spending lots of money to move it to a museum we're just going to have to demolish it. Darn!"
Makes a change from an inconvenient building being burned down in a mysterious fire. 😉
Yeah, the moment I heard that I thought "Jesus, they're really that blatant, aren't they?" I'd have a hard time believing this was anything other than completely deliberate.
@@Kevin-mx1vi (cough) Network Rail...
that's just todays guideline if you want to get an important or interesting building demolished , can just put the road around it i'd say
How convienient.
How very convenient for National Highways that the grade 2 listed building was left "open and exposed to the elements."
Almost like it was planned.
What a suggestion!! 😅
does anyone actually are though, there's hundreds of those little cottages all across the UK, its hardly a significant building. The idea of rebuilding it sounded costly and pointless, I'm sure the majority of the British public would prefer the money was spent elsewhere
@@Stealth360stealth You sound like you work for National Highways.
@@Stealth360stealthyes, lots of people care. You are in the minority. One only has to look to towns such as Northampton to see what happens when we carelessly tear down our heritage in favour of new projects that have no relevance whatsoever less than a quarter century on - in the case of Northampton, undeterred, they have even pulled down _more_ of their architectural heritage along with the failed buildings that they built the first time around. I can't wait for the Labour new towns projects that will bring this model to areas of the country as yet untouched by the hand of 'progress'. 🙄
Almost like derelict buildings that suddenly catch fire for no reason and have to be demolished because they are deemed "unsafe".
The thing about Auto Shenanigans videos is it’s easy to laugh at the sarcastic delivery, when it reality it’s factual reporting.
the thoroughfare equivalent to an @JonathanPie video
A touch of Dickens from John.
Shenanigans videos are comedy based on a deep foundation of documentary exposing the collosal sums of money wasted and pocketed by our vile government and their friends. Mr. Marples is still alive and doing well beyond the River Styx, well until it gets privatised. Severn Trent Water have already started pumping sewage into it.
I had the same thought at the end when he mentioned the cat being lost forever. It initially came across as a sarcastic jab, until it sunk in that he's probably right.
Ooh, how convenient that they "forgot" to make the building survive winter
Must admit, that annoyed me more than I expected, and for there to seemingly be no punishment - which I would have guessed to be an insubstantial fine - was even more irksome.
It's like National Heritage just threw their hands up immediately and gave up, setting a worrying example.
The black cat will be on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard.”
Let's not forget that the lavatory will be in a soon to be abandoned office building that will go neglected for a decade before unceremoniously being demolished to make space for a car park.
Let's all hope they didn't forget about the kittens..
gotta build by-passes...
It's being kept safe and sound in a skip
I'm sure the Vogons will put on the hyperspace roundabout.
Wow, I'd have never guessed that cottage would have ended up in that situation..... it's almost like the listed system only functoons when it's convenient for the authorities. Funny that.
Yes, did you have any doubt?
Where's Blott when you need him to fortify the gatehouse.....this might go over some heads...
They have decided after the brown envelope was passed under the table.
Why would you want to pass poo around? 😮
@@samholdsworth420 😂
In my 26 years of life I never thought I’d enjoy watching a man talking about road that a drive everyday but here I am tuning into every single upload 😂
You too? It's a strange illness which aflicts us...... lol
the horror that is the mornings
I only know of one or two videos from my part of the country and I'm in it for the long haul!
@@ShaimingLongthat's when the haul becomes haulage..
3:57 - 'Memory' from Cats is a piquant choice of outro music for the Black Cat Roundabout, Jon!
“I was 19 years old when the musical “Cats” came to our town… I couldn’t wait to see it! After the show, I was asked if I wanted to go meet some of the performers backstage… man I was thrilled! But when I got back there, they were drunk and out of control…”
Can confirm the black cat is being safely kept outside the A428 Wintringham Site Office just down the road front black cat roundabout. You can see the black cat as you drive past
i suppose that leaving the old building open to the elements is a lot cheaper than paying someone to start a mysterious fire.
Once they took the trees down and the extension on Brook Cottage, I knew that building wouldn't last. TBF I was surprised it hadn't burned down by "accident"
That sort of thing happened near me when a pub closed.there was a big hoohah about it and the locals were pissed off about it.
There’s flats on the site now.
Tbf it was a shithole
Like that crooked pub that some how caught fire and was demolished as quickly as possible because it "wasn't safe". Very strange!
Left open to the elements during winter. Refreshing change from the standard "arson attack"...
Opposite the the Travelodge and petrol station is the site of the Black Cat garage that gave its name to the juncton/roundabout, that too has now been demolished, in latter years a company called Keen Screens run by a larger than life character called Ken occupied the Blac Cat garage building, it was said in the local motor trade that he was behind the appearance and upkeep of the actual black cat sign in the roundabout, I knew him reasonably well but he never confirmed or denied any involvement in the cats presence to me, not seen him in a long time, I wish him well and hope he's enjoying his well earned retirement. Great video and thanks for uploading 👍🏻
The Black Cat is located outside the A428 Wintringham site office on Loverose Way. Delivered there, thought it was the site's nickname until i saw this video as I live nowhere near this area.
"hopefully it remains on schedule and more so on budget" lol oh Jon you and your jokes
Love how this video is 4:21 long, very nicely done
I think you, John should take custody of the black cat and keep him safe for the nation. Then Auto Shenanigans can perform a ceremony to reinstate him in 2027 😎
The thing was an eyesore, I hope they do lose it.
I thought it was a her.
I think send it on tour until 2027.
@@Coolcarting trash take
@@Coolcarting As far as eyesores on roundabouts go, you can find so many worse ones in the country than that cat. Hell, you could not even notice it when the road is busy or it's dark. Way better than some blobby huge modern art piece.
Interestingly the black cat that was on the roundabout is actually being used as a sort of gateway to a planning office on the site of a nearby housing estate under construction
The Black cat can be viewed while driving down the current 428 here
6P7X+8W, Saint Neots PE19 2NS
Love it when builds get listed and then where there’s money to be made they are really chill with just knocking it down. They did the same with the air balloon pub on the roundabout on the A419 at birdlip hill
People without Scruples. They're destined to go far in life.😮
It's a wonder that Brook cottage didn't catch fire, most inconvenient places seem to.
Probably too damp for the fire to get going.
You should look at the massive 3 year project called the A417 Missing Link just outside Gloucester. Probably as big as this if not bigger!
Yeah, that one is fun. RIP Air Balloon 😢
That black cat statue has about as much chance of staying as the cottages!
(Also, great choice of song at the end - memories from Cats - I see what you did then!)
The black cat was on top off the A428 wintringham site office a couple months ago. Noticed it on my way from Camborne to roxton.
This is spooky. I've not driven round the Black Cat roundabout for several years but I drove round it today and wondered what was going on. I get home and find this video waiting for me. As public service broadcasting goes, that's pretty good. BTW the old thatched house is still there but it does look rather sad.
John, the black cat statue is mounted to the wall outside one of the temporary site buildings / conpound on the A428 were that new bridged junction is being installed.
You cant beat a bit of shenanigans sarcasm in the week🤣🤣
Well I suppose leaving it open to the elements is a change from spontaneous combustion.
My favourite bit of this work is where the road off the roundabout onto the A421 westbound suddenly becomes one lane and the road markings just disappear. It's a free for all with people crossing over each other.
Ah yes that's caught me out a few times
Oh you mean the well sign posted big yellow sign that warns you that the left hand lane is for the A1 north at 300 yards from the roundabout then at 200 yards then at the point where the 2nd lane appears and then actually on the roundabout too! Sadly people believe they are too important and feel that using that lane will jump the queue of vehicles using the A421 towards MK and Bedford
Personally anyone who tries it gets hung out to dry by myself daily and anyone else who has a sense of social justice in front or behind me generally does the same! Basically it becomes a “that sounds like a YOU problem”
If you can’t read signs and want to take the risk of being in the wrong lane you’re also got to accept it and eat humble pie and go back round the roundabout to correct your mistake!
@@grahamcutress47 You've completely misunderstood, and it's a bit rude to assume especially as highways regularly cock up permanent signage, let alone temporary ones.
When you get to the roundabout heading southbound it goes from two lanes to four lanes (two for the A1 two for the A428) but because of the works there is only one lane at the exit of the roundabout for the A428. It is not signed that this is the case.
I flew over this construction site last weekend, its very much as you showed it Jon. More progress at the black cat end with the preliminary roadworks snaking round the bottom of St Neots then stopping abruptly in fields, then work started on sketching out on the ground the other two junctions.
Be great when its finished, should have been built like this the first time the black cat was improved, or the second time. Third time lucky
The A66 dual carriageway has just started Jon! That would be a long project to film
You should cover the A417 missing link project, it would be good to have your take on their demolition of the air balloon pub
they're finally dualling it? WOWzers
@@mar07in going on for a few months now, traffic chaos
@@wtfindestries09 thank fuck I no longer work in Gloucester! 😂 That being said, M4 rush hour at junction 4-11 isn't all sun and rainbows either tbh
Regular updates on the lack of progress, excellent stuff.
There is lots of progress you just don't see it as it's 2 miles down a track into a farmers field
Good to see it from the air. I drive back that way going south on way home from work.
Does anyone want to put another Black Cat monument on that roundabout? If so it would be sweet and awesome but we'd probably need a few spare. Lovely video and delivery as always.
I'm unnecessarily invested in a roundabout I rarely travel on. Thanks a bunch pal!
meanwhile as a non brit overseas...
Went through Black Cat twice today. Considering the volume of traffic that uses the A1, it's surprisingly easy to get through the roadworks with only a short delay.
What a coincidence that Brook Cottage was left open to the elements over the winter and has now deteriorated. And now it can only be demolished. What an “unfortunate” “accident” that was!
I’ve seen this before with a company that wanted to demolish a couple of buildings but weren’t allowed because they were listed. There was an “unfortunate” fire involving one, and an “unfortunate” accident with the other when some cables supporting the roof “accidentally” got cut when work was being done to convert the building for a different use. But the roof didn’t collapse, amusingly it cost the company involved a fortune to repair the damage to the roof cables on a building they didn’t want
Have you considered doing something on the newark a46 southern relief road?
All sorts of shenanigans has happened here and now they're dualing the a46. Lived here all my life so happy to help with timeline
Great video John,thats not right letting that historic buildings to rot,but how convenient, surprised it hasn't burned down already 👍🙄
Interesting stuff as ever, thanks Jon.
Be great to have similar “progress” monitoring of the A417 “Missing Link” project near Birdlip.
I'd been looking at that building thinking "surely they aren't going to take it down?"...this particular shenanigans is only just up the road from where I live in Sandy.
I remember when the A428 St Neots southern bypass was built to avoid having to travel through the town. This was when this road was the main road carrying the East/West traffic in the area before the A14 was built to the north of St Neots. This therefore appears to be a southern bypass of the previously existing southern bypass which was previously outdated by a northern bypass!
Hi Jon love your videos. If you would like to do a similar “before and after” look at the A46 near Stoneleigh in Warwickshire that would be very interesting. In fact the “new junction” that started back in 2020 is EXACTLY the f&@king same today as it was back in February 2021 with no work whatsoever being done on it. The question is why??? Anyway that saved you a video and possibly gave someone a laugh. Keep up the good work 👍👍
You can often tell when big developments are planned but not yet announced when large Historic Oaks mysteriously vanish overnight sometimes a year before work commences.
so they are storing the black cat which is a feature of the named roundabout, perhaps it if is late or over budget we can make , and use, something suitable for caxton gibbet
I’ve been watching from the start Jon avid watcher as a truck driver enjoy every minute, the things you see that leave you wondering when traveling around the country that you have covered and settled the wonderment is quite astonishing really some really in-depth investigation and research done for every video
Hey dude, have you ever considered checking out the ‘Missing Link’ at Nettleton Bottom nr Birdlip Gloucestershire? Work has just began and it’s going to be epic when it’s finally completed… it’s taken decades of planning & pontificating, not to mention the horrendous bottle neck that we’ve all had to endure for decades too. It will finally complete the duel carriageway link from jct 15 M4 to the M5 at Gloucester/Cheltenham and the civils are huge for this project. Just a thought, hope it at least triggers a bit of intrigue… even if it’s out your way 😊🫶👊💥
Shorts and a t-shirt? Must have filmed this during the hot weather. But the beanie's still on, so it's still Jon, doing a great job as always
Black Cat roundabout needs a massive upgrade including a new bridge for the A1 to go over River Great Ouse. As well a new road to avoid St. Neots coming to and from Cambridge and A14 which would make it lot easier to get to Bedford and Milton Keynes. Wish this would have happened back in the 1990s or 2000s.
The A46 near Kenilworth (Warwickshire) has been undergoing upgrade for 2 years now. It is having a new roundabout created. However, about 1 year ago the work stopped and has not restarted since. I am left aghast at the waste of taxpayers money so far spent on this project which has left the location like a building sight, with worse traffic queues than before, and no explanation from the council as to WTF is happening.
There used to be a fantastic burger van just north of this roundabout. A full breakfast in a bap was the specialty and a great hangover cure for a few young airmen of the MDSS mobile team heading out on yet another eastern trip.
...and the same layby was home to a massive rat colony. Hundreds of rats lived in the grass bank to the rear of the layby at that time.
Please do a vid on the "new" roundabout at Clophill on A507 in Bedfordshire. It has been dubbed by the locals as the "White Elephant" roundabout (a white elephant was placed onto it, but the council took it away). The roundabouts "improvement" cost a shit load of money and actually made it worse........
Costly and Ineffective, these are bywords for progress.
But they've created a wide new cycle route - from nowhere and to nowhere for about 100 yards. It's very lovely and very empty.
that old house at 1:25 is still there (Saturday 29th June) rode to a couple of places in North MK and passed it on my way back to Cambridge via Black Cat roundabout. when i did this last year on my old 125 it was the scariest ride, but now i've been around a few times and have a bigger bike its not so bad
Amazing the building survived all those bleak winters and yet in a period of global warming it was just too much..
The Black Cat will be stored in the same place as the Euston Arches and all the statues about to be removed from Glasgow’s George Square for safe keeping.
I must say your a very good listenable presenter
Ya back to places we been not to long back nice one John lol ,amount times this has been changed over last 30 or more years
Well, that historic building was put in the "too hard box".
Black cats are firecrackers! 😊
This should be great when it is finished. I grew up in Biggleswade and remember the connection at the black cat very well. Having a more uninterrupted run to the North and back will be great.
Perfect and really well fitting outro music 🎧
It’s such a shame that everything that’s been preserved about decades almost centuries has just been demolished within days.
I remember it really well, when I watched your video about the black cat roundabout. I thought it’s so lovely that they care about the history in that area so much, that they’ve even created the black cat to put it into the roundabout.
And now it’s all gone. It’s such a shame.
Black Cat has been found and is outside a National Highways office, just waiting to come back to its home 😀
Drove past the site last Friday and was surprised to see it gone.
Last time I went through the black cat statue was in the highways compound near St Ives.
This video just saved me a double dart charge bill! Thanks so much, saved my midnight deadline with 47mins to spare 😮
Easily one of your best Jon!! Keep going lad, you are a joy to watch and listen to!
John, me and my mrs get a tad upset as when we start a video we are sitting there anticipating a wave and there was no wave, we even wave back. So thanks John, tonight too adults were waving at the tv in vain. (Feel like that’s a dull men’s club post 😂) love the vids, do more around East Sussex please 😊
The A1 is also in urgent need of an upgrade too especially now they've taken down the Huntingdon viaduct. This gives the A14 traffic no viable alternative when there's disruption like there is at the moment. Little more than 4 years after it opened the Gt Ouse viaduct on the A14 has a problem with a lane closed Westbound. Just south of the Black Cat is there still a boatyard in the middle of the A1? Also along with the black cat there used to be kittens let's hope they are re-instated too.
While they are spending oodles of money on the black cat junction why did they not upgrade a few miles of the A1 to motorway standard? Cos when they do need to upgrade the A1 it will be even more expensive to upgrade after what they are doing.
I use that roundabout a lot and I see the upgrade coming on. That old cottage needs preserving, if it could be moved to a nicer location that will be great news. When finished, it will make my journey to Cambridge easier.
Tom who runs a truly astounding company called Preservation In Action for the last three decades... He and his skilled workers can and will move it!! They honestly have moved castles before. Amazing guy, owns and lives in my familes old heritage home.
Soab, aaaand its gone 🥲😆
I have been past this area many times recently, and its always a joy to travel on (I'm told) 😀
Oh wow the Librarian blast off sizzling heat has the shorts exposing limbs 👍
Nice to see work commencing on building a new junction and a new road that would avoid St. Neots and to make journeys lot more quicker and easier to get to and from Cambridge to Bedford, M1 and Milton Keynes.
Brilliant video John⚓️🧲👍
Thanks 👍
I drove down the A1 and over the Black Cat roundabout this weekend, and now you've released the video on it... nice 🙂
On my hols in Greece and I still clicked. Lovely work as always!
Cheers for this update, hopefully a regular thing! Really cool to get the birds-eye view on the progress. I drive the route every day to work from MK to Cambridge and I'm forever watching from the road what's happening with the works, looking longingly for that glorious day in 2027 (supposed) when it's all done.
Usual method for getting listed buildings out of the way followed there then
The house was there on Saturday. But it could be gone now I guess. Love the videos. ❤
thanks for your vlogs love watching them keep up the great work
Drove through here this morning, and the cottage is still standing, at the moment......
Hi Jon, Great video is this the only roundabout on the A1 as it all grade separated and motorway in parts. The only Black cat roundabout I know is on the A55 the junction for the A470 for Llandudno, Conwy and Betws-y-Coed. Catch you soon Take care
No there are roundabouts a short distance south of here at Sandy and at each end of the Biggleswade bypass plus another a few miles north at Buckden shortly before the A14 junction. The next one south of Biggleswade is Stirling Corner on the edge of Greater London a couple of miles south of the southern end of the A1(M).
@@trickygoose2 A few at grade roundabouts on the A1, Thanks
This single point in the United Kingdom was the bane of my life for years. I lived near Caxton and commuted to Milton Keynes. On a Friday the traffic starts to build around 1400 and backs up for miles.
Was that a bit of disused old road at 3:22?!
I was amused to hear the Black Cat was being removed and stored, then reinstated when upgrades completed. Local residents put a white elephant on the roundabout at Clophill on the A6 to show their feelings on this expensive remodelling, surprise, surprise Central Beds council removed it after a few days citing distraction to motorists on roundabouts was not good for road safety….
Loved this update thanks
Brook Cottage was still standing at 3pm today (26th June).
At £10million a mile this is one expensive road. Doesn't help though when they are replacing bridges that don't appear to be quite wide enough on the existing A421, that was built less than 20 years ago....
As for their compound(s), good grief, have Civil Engineers turned into a bunch of wussies? When I started my working life on a Building site in the late 80's, we had a few Portakabins, a Portaloo, and an old caravan for a tea hut, with a bit of hardcore on the floor to make a yard. You also had to wait several weeks for BT to connect a phone line to site, so if you had an emergency it was either find a call box or knock on a door to ask to use the phone.
Now they want tarmac car parks, (complete with white lines), centrally heated office blocks, Gold Star Toilet and shower facilities, a 4 wheel drive each, fast Broadband, kitchen staff, and an Orange suit for every day of the week, with several spares in case they get dirty. Only to spend more money ripping the lot up at the end of the job and putting it back to soil.
And surprise surprise, public spending gets out of control. Bet they never saw that coming but who cares, it’s not our money so who’s bothered if we waste it?
That was similar for us Nick when they were converting the M4 to four lanes through Berkshire. The “road builders city” that they constructed between Reading and Slough on the eastbound bound side to house hundreds of road workers over approx five years had all the facilities including clinic medical centre and also a welfare & counselling section for road workers that presumably were missing their families at home etc. ( so I was told ). All returned to beautiful green fields again now thankfully…😁
Same story on HS2, I guess the excuse is they cant get rare construction workers to come and work in sh1t.
Big super silent generators... and huge diesel tanks.... two way Motorolas ... sorted....but can't be seen to be doing that these days...in 2009 on the M6, they even tried Prius...super silent running and injure the workforce in road...
@@philtucker1224prior to the M4...I worked on the M3...we had two site compounds...one was macadamed the other was hardcore and puddles....guess which one I was stationed at...yep...puddletown!..😂
The project is chaos!!
Leaving the building open that's new, they usually set themselves on fire
Must be summer !!🙃
I use this route regularly and we'll see if they can get it right this time. 12 years ago they made the roundabout bigger to reduce congestion...which didn't work.
What a surprise demolishing deliberately damaging Grade 2 listed building & delisting it. I would have a hart attack if thay left their office. Thay usually don't even inform anyone they are delisting a building. Multiple criminal acts commited but as the ones breaking the law are the ones that allegedly enforce the law it's game over for heritage & history.
Show me proof of this criminal offence or shut up.
Its been widely reported in the local papers and the A428 upgrade website itself. Apparently ‘historical features’ such as fireplaces will be retained from the building
I wonder how much money change hands to get that beautiful building demolished😢
Who cares, tear it down and let's move on to life for goodness sake.
That building has been deteriorating for years - probably something to do with thousands of vehicles rumbling past a few yards away day and night. It costs a lot of money to keep historic buildings in good condition at the best of times, but when next to a busy road like the A1 it's a money pit & the sort of people who could afford it aren't the sort who want to live next to such a road
@@Coolcarting you must be from the council🤔
@@farmersteve129 you must be from the highway agency🤔
Hi John, now the A30 Carland Cross to Chiverton dualing has been finished it would be intersing to see how far you can travel without having to potentially stop by motorway and dual carriageway.
another well crafted slice of information with a side of resigned sarcasm so thanks for that Jon - any plans to visit that mega traffic light monster roundabout in Cambridge yet....?
How funny the cottage has to be demolished, brown envelopes full of money being exchanged??
Another fantastic episode Jon.
gracias