23 June (Part 4) - Postscripts and updates
The floods
The overnight fIooding appears to be exceptional. A submerged Wilton Road has been a regular feature of Abbey Wood life
for longer than most people can remember but I do not recall seeing Fendyke Road flooded since the 1953 and
1968 floods, and then only in old photographs of welly boots and rowing boats.
Alsike Road was in
a worse state than usual but I couldn't get near it because
the railway footbridge was impassable too. (MPS Thamesmead photos.)
An unfortunate commuter in New Road is in for a surprise when he returns to his car this evening, a tree has fallen on it. Fortunately
it doesn't appear to have been hit by anything more than a large bunch of twigs.
Whilst Crossrail may not be responsible for the floods shown here, one cannot be so sure about what has happened in Abbey Grove and Abbey Terrace.
(Facebook pictures.)
Abbey Wood Village
The long awaited banners for the Abbey Road shops have arrived…
…and
the choice of Village signs is now on display in the gift shop֦. You may vote.
Do so, it may well prove to be the first consultation that Bexley Council has ever taken any notice of.
The Leather Bottle
A surprisingly large number of people alerted me
yesterday evening and this morning to the demolition of Ye Olde Leather Bottle
which was clearly regarded with affection by many residents round about. Presumably they hadn’t checked
yesterday’s blog.
I find that encouraging. I never know if BiB’s close to 50,000 visits a month is 500 people looking in
twice a day or more, or 10,000 once a week. Obviously the latter spreads knowledge of Bexley Council wider.
All I know about the demolition is that Bexley Council says it was undertaken
via a procedure that has only been used once before. A Lawful Planning
Certificate was issued, however the Planning Office didn’t bother to inform local
Councillors. Understandably they are more than a little annoyed at being made to look impotent.
Whilst the demolition is a done deal and apparently entirely legal, there may be a chance of doing something about the inadequate safety
precautions. Not only did none of the men wear hard hats, I was able to walk
to within inches of the pub’s unsupported end wall whilst remaining on the public footpath.
I doubt a Heras fence would have saved me if it fell down.
There are better pictures on
the Belvedere Facebook page but it is a closed group so you probably won’t be able to see them