28 November (Part 2) - Welcome to Lesnes Abbey
Crossrail definitely don’t do things by halves. No expense spared; well maybe those
temporary lifts at Abbey Wood station could have
been bigger, but everything is to a commendably high standard.
Critics are few and far between and whilst the Harrow Manorway detours
introduced last Monday are horrendous, no one has been able to come up with a better solution.
For a recent example of attention to detail you only have to look at what has been done this week beneath the old public walkway.
The priority is public safety followed closely by making the place look as tidy as possible. Contrast that with what Bexley council is doing a quarter of a mile away around Lesnes Abbey.
Bexley’s
project management skills were plain for all to see in the Broadway and
even more so in Sidcup where ten months of ‘regeneration’ caused a colossal
amount of disruption and a certain amount of danger for the few shoppers that remained
in town. (See first of the photos below.) And all for a set of changes which are barely discernible.
Disabled access to Lesnes Abbey has been difficult ever since a fence
was erected around it about five years ago, supposedly to keep motorcyclists
out. As it’s only a foot high in some places, all they do is lift their steeds over the low barrier. This week the only
disabled-friendly entrance to Lesnes Abbey has been barred. It provided an almost level route to the Abbey.
Bexley has four million pounds of lottery money to spend and it has blown a few quid on a replacement gate in New Road.
It is negotiable by a wheelchair, if it’s a small one, but the temporary path extending from it is
soft and spongy. Before it rejoins the old path it has a nasty inverse camber
but far worse is the 25% incline. The combination of a soft surface and steep
climb will make the passage of a wheel chair next to impossible.
You won’t find anything that poor around a Crossrail site.
Incidentally, the plans for Lesnes Abbey park have made the dog walkers more than usually
talkative and I have yet to find anyone with a good word to say for them. Same with the emails.