9 September (Part 1) - The Black Horse, Sidcup
It
hardly seems possible but Sidcup’s historic coaching inn hasn’t had a mention on
Bonkers since last year.
Other groups know its history better than I do but in
summary Bexley council said the facade should be preserved but the developers
tore it down claiming safety issues. The real reason depends on which theory you
subscribe to but a concrete smasher placed next to it couldn’t have helped, nor
would hanging scaffolding from it.
Bexley council has quite properly served enforcement orders and after a long
delay things are showing signs of movement. I got the impression from reading the
Sidcup Community Group newsletter that there was now something to see but as
the photograph shows, it was barely worth the visit. The horrible badly built
plastic imitation facade has gained some scaffolding poles and a bit of net.
Maybe in another year it will be worth another visit. By then there could well be a
mobile phone mast on its roof for such a plan is now lined up for council approval.