I could literally write endless pages on my frustration about potholes. A truly horrifying, shocking and an utter damnation of Kent County Council. Last night I had the pleasure of talking to the Liberal Democrat Leader at Canterbury Council, Alex Perkins, and he is appalled by the state of our roads. Alex is conducting a crusade on twitter and gathering examples (from residents) of potholes in Canterbury and documenting them.

Local businesses are the significant voices on this subject. I'm not aware of the cost to the local economy, but I assume it is quite significant.

However, from experience, it seems the back roads are among the most neglected. Especially Stour Street in Canterbury. KCC are promising the problem is being dealt with and these are not among the worse roads in the United Kingdom. But I beg to differ. In fact, I am willing for readers to contact me via twitter or facebook and actually send me photographs are potholes across the country – in order to highlight the neglectful attitudes towards roads.

There's a considerable amount of behind the scenes activity surrounding the future of Maidstone's CCTV service. KM readers will be aware that a while back the borough council was approached by Medway council offering to take over surveillance of the county town - for a price, of course. Medway already runs Swale's and is obviously looking to expand its reach and create a new revenue stream, while smaller councils, like Maidstone, are under extreme pressure to find any savings they can. Maidstone's service is highly regarded by the police and the business community with impressive arrest rates (we've heard it's a better performing system than Medway in this regard). There is fevered lobbying going on to retain the monitoring of the cameras within Medway with some people fearful that will get an inferior service. The council, which is planning to discuss this issue in secret soon, will need to make unpopular decisions in the next months and years - that's not in dispute. It has already attracted the fury of parish councils be announcing its intention to axe its grant to them. What the decision-makers need to keep at the forefront of their minds with these difficult decision is what is the true value of the savings? Are they actually losing more than they are saving? In the case of CCTV that is likely to be the case.

Never go out to lunch - it should be tattoo'd on the eyelids of every reporter. That's the hour when stories have a nasty habit of breaking.

Yesterday your scribe broke with tradition, and went to lunch only to learn on his return that Medway's newest councillor had resigned less than two weeks after being elected in a costly, sometimes acrimonious, by-election.

It could be he went too soon.

David Craggs - private school headmaster, special constable, Army Cadet officer and (for the briefest of periods) a politician and elected member for the River ward in Chatham - was told by Kent Police he couldn't be a councillor and a special constable. He chose the uniformed role he had held for 17 years.

That has sparked a major crisis in the council, and a row that could find the controlling Conservative party's biggest constituency taking their close friends, the police, to the High Court amid accusations of bullying.

It couldn't have happened at a worse moment.

The Chief Executive and Returning Officer, Neil Davies, was on holiday.

So, too, was the council's legal chief and monitoring officer, Deborah Upton.

It left the Children's director, Rose Collinson, in charge, and without much backup to advise her.

Half an hour after Cllr Craggs resigned, the council was announcing another by-election could be (though not necessarily will be) called within 35 days.

But was it bullying?

As in all walks of life, there are people with political interests in police, newspapers, the courts, sport .... everywhere.

Kent Police seem to have a rule that says you can't do both. As a member of the constabulary you chose - and it doesn't matter whether you are a backroom boy or a multi-pipped senior officer.

The irony is that the Conservative Party has announced they want local police chiefs to be elected - just as they are in the Good Ol' Yew Ess of Aye. It will make them more accountable. It will also make them political - whether or not chief constables and personnel chiefs are happy with it or not.

***

The cost of the debacle that has once again left River Ward without a councillor is likely to top £10,000.

There were printing costs, election announcements, hiring polling stations, the election count team, the council's staffing costs....

Then there was the outlay incurred by the politicians. They published newsletters, banged on doors, bought rosettes, wore out shoes.... and, don't forget, there were six parties involved.

There were election fees for each of the candidates - most of whom failed to get into treble figures.

Now it all has to happen again if two River ward residents say they are unhappy only being served by one councillors, the erstwhile UKIP founder and leadership contender, Craig Mackinlay.

It is conceivable Medway's Blue Boys could end up sueing Kent's Boys in Blue, while they, in turn, are pursued by Lib, Lab, and assorted others wanting their wasted outlay refunded.

Chris Buckwell, Membership Secretary for the local Tory association, ex council Cabinet member and now an immigration judge, was spitting blood, and calling down the heavens on the heads of the cops' personnel team. Among his more restrained observations was an accusation of bullying.

Certainly, they have successfully managed to convince a democratically elected councillor to chose between the voters and plodding the beat.

The question is: should the police interfere with democratic rights and decisions?

It will need a judge to sort that out.

***

Thank heavens for the planning committee.

They saw the sense of a planning application to provide a play area in one of Medway's more under-provided wards.

The advantages (apart from keeping the kids off the street) were that it was well away from any neighbours, it met the needs of the community, and it had the backing of police and council.

The trouble was councillors were advised to refuse it. Because it was too far away from any neighbours, and the council and the police were against it.

That's right - while the local bobbies and the youth team had found an ideal place for a kick around - and the money, the planners and the Maidstone plods had a different viewpoint.

As one councillor said last night: if the local kids were going to be anti-social there are plenty of other places to do it.

So it went through.

The neighbourhood will get a play area - because councillors used common sense. Unlike some..

 Holiday over for another year...

***

Those CCTV mobile spy vans may be Smart cars, but you have to question whether any of it has rubbed off on those responsible for them.

I have kept away from the rows about the cars because I think they are a necessary evil in Medway. Far too many people think a few seconds on the double yellow lines to drop off a letter, pick up a pupil from school, ask directions or greet a friend is perfectly all right. It isn't.

Equally as many believe the only reason for the CCTV cars is to provide the council with a ready-made source of additional cash.

It might be - but it wouldn't be the million pound earner that it is if there was not so much flaunting of the law by drivers.

Having said that, there is a clear lack of customer training for staff and a failure to crack down on the numerous abuses which they inflict.

I know one woman booked by the cars. A reasonable lady, she shrugged, accepted the penalty and got on with her life. Yet she apparently got a lot of abuse when there was a problem passing the CCTV car in the street.

The warden who recently accused a local resident armed with his own CCTV camera of harassment when they dared to turn it on him didn't know one vital bit of law: anyone can take photographs or film in the street, despite what some individual police officers may think in the wake of the anti-terrorism rules. Kent Police recently issued some simple guidelines to its own officers. One says: "The media do not need a permit to photograph or film in public places."

It also says: "In normal circumstances we have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record....Once images are recorded we have no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order, even if we think they contain damaging or useful evidence."

The public has exactly the same rights and powers as the press. No more. No less. Given the rapidly improving quality of mobile phone cameras, we will all have to get used to being filmed.

After all, the CCTV car wardens and the 500 CCTV cameras in Medway and Swale monitored by their colleagues in Strood are operating under exactly the same rights and powers. It's just that members of the public are more visible than people sitting in a bunker in Strood, or behind a Smart car windscreen.

(In case anyone thinks I might have a personal axe to grind, I don't. On the other hand, I was booked by one of the ground patrols yesterday while interviewing delighted students who have just completed their education in Medway...)

The election of David Craggs as Medway's 34th Conservative councillor must be causing some angst in the ranks of the Labour party as they lose another seat.

Meanwhile the four independent councillors who formed their own group (sans the ultra-right wing former chairman of Audit) are whispered to be planning to put up candidates of their own next May.

That could cause fears in the ranks of the Liberal Democrats. They saw their competent deputy leader suddenly move into the ranks of the indies only weeks after standing as their candidate in the Gillingham and Rainham constituency where he polled 8484 votes.

There have been investigations taking place into what happened to cause his sudden departure. Andy Stamp himself has to date refused to explain his reasons for crossing the Chamber.

***

The achievements of Medway's sixth formers have been remarkable this year.

School after school reported their best-ever results - or pretty close to it.

Probably the most satisfied will be the staff.

None more so than at the Hundred of Hoo school.

Headteacher Kevin Mahon has been under great pressure. His school has been in special measures.

So for the 94 students to get record levels of passes is a tribute to all the work that has been put in - by the pupils and by their teachers.

***

This week's regeneration committee contemplated four major reports. This most important of these - and one that could influence whether millions of pounds of government cash reach the community - is the 15-year Local Transport Plan.

Bus travel is always a political football and never more so than in Medway where public transport is anathema to some councillors.

Yet there are major plans for the buses - providing they don't interfere with the beloved car.

They include several park and ride schemes (something has to be done to divert the traffic away from Medway's once and future city centre).

Sainsbury's are expected to fund one next to the tunnel entrance at the Medway City Estate.

The council has eyes on a plot of land at Wigmore for a second one.

There is no talk of one near Blue Bell Hill. Maidstone council has proposed a joint park and ride serving both Medway and Maidstone. It would pick up traffic arriving in the Towns from the M2. The trouble is Medway wants to snaffle some of the trade going to the county town, but isn't prepared to sacrifice any of the trade currently attracted to Chatham's fine shopping experience that is the High Street.

As though Maidstone could do such a thing.