Owl listened to the budget speech (well mostly but got a bit bored with the repetition of the punch line). Here is what the Chancellor DID NOT say:

“I have read the prospectus drawn up by the Great South West. I have listened to my honourable friends for Devon East and Tiverton and Honiton. As a result I am announcing that the Government will give the Great South West £2M over three years so that it can draw up a plan to boost the local economy which the government will fund in full. That’s £40M for the region producing more houses, more jobs and boosting productivity.

Madam Speaker, this government is levelling up the regions getting the South West Done!”

(Owl assumes regular readers will know that the Great South West is not a rail franchise but the latest self-elected group to claim it can regenerate the region, given some cash to splash)

We will have to wait to see the small print, there might be something for the region in that. Otherwise we wait for the expected Devolution White Paper.

There is a silver lining, Devon with all its roads might get a decent share of the pothole fund.

Keep your fingers crossed – the A303 bottleneck at Stonehenge has been given yet another go ahead!