As noted yesterday things are a bit quiet at the moment so maybe I can drift just a
little from the usual theme and bring you some shopping news.
While Bexley council is begging Waitrose to inject a little life into Sidcup (the petition
has been submitted); down in Abbey Wood Sainsbury’s has agreed to open a store
(subject to planning permission) alongside the railway station.
The station entrance is in Wilton Road which as a shopping centre makes Sidcup High Street look distinctly
up market. Nevertheless Sainsbury’s have said they will open a 46,000 square feet store on the old
industrial estate nearby. It will be in Felixstowe Road on the Greenwich side of the border with Bexley
and a stone’s throw from
the new Crossrail station.
Presumably Sainsbury’s will have some impact on
the ASDA proposed for Belvedere
but what intrigues me is the road route to the new store. The borough boundary
takes a straight line through Wilton Road until it reaches the centre of the
A2041. At present traffic from both Thamesmead and Abbey Wood to the North
reaches Felixstowe Road via Sedgemore Road and traffic from Belvedere and
the southern half of Abbey Wood comes across the Harrow Manorway viaduct and
then follows the same route. Sedgemore Road is within Bexley and is narrow and residential.
Whatever the final route it will affect Bexley.
If Greenwich council can have a say
in County Gate shouldn’t Bexley be sticking its oar in over the likely impact on
its residents by a decision to be made in Greenwich?
Now that the lame duck Peter Craske has gone perhaps some civilized negotiations can take place.
Note: Dev Secs is Development Securities. Click the image for their announcement.
Alternative link.
The map is rotated anti-clockwise, North is to the left. The A2041 is elevated
and runs over the railway line and the adjacent parallel roads.