25 February - £1·8 million spent to get Sidcup booming. Or possibly not
At council meetings over the past seven days, the councillors for Sidcup have
been saying how nice the High Street looked after the eight month's of disruption. Cabinet
member Linda Bailey said that the shops were thriving and taking far more money
than before. Before what she didn’t say. Before the chaos was swept away or
before it started? When pressed she admitted that all she had done was speak, as
an anonymous shopper, to a few shop owners.
I had not been to Sidcup for months but I drove along the High Street just
before nine o’clock last Monday morning and in the early morning sunshine it did
look quite nice. I have always been impressed by the new shop fronts funded by
the mayor’s largesse and set against a road surface which is still new enough to
be black, the overall effect was quite pleasing. However at 8:50 or thereabouts
there was almost nobody there. I returned at just after twelve today expecting to see a
bustling town centre as implied by councillor Bailey.
My photos are no more scientifically accurate than the councillor’s opinion but
I do at least know they show a true picture and the same cannot always be said
about Bexley council’s statements.
As you may recognise, the place is not exactly crowded but the junction was at a standstill again with traffic queued
in a southbound direction. blocking the westbound route.
Typical of Bexley unfortunately is the standing water trapped by inadequate provision of gullies, and the
zig-zags
on
the pedestrian crossing are still non-compliant.
Only two zig-zags does not satisfy the regulations. Potentially lethal too.