1 April (Part 2) - Catching up
A few odds and ends have been overlooked in recent weeks as I make a
half-hearted attempt to redecorate a bedroom. Wallpaper, paint, a couple of
power sockets moved to more accessible places and an aerial socket and some
network cables installed in case I am ever tempted to buy a second television.
Not likely while BiB continues: no time!
Building on the Green Belt
The Bexley Wildlife website carried
an interesting report
on the planning meeting which
approved the Strategic Railfreight Interchange.
The reporting style is not unlike what may usually be read here. You may find it interesting, I know I did if only to see how someone else tackles the same job.
Sidcup High Street
Readers reported that as part of the latest phase of the regeneration of Sidcup High Street, some of
the paving laid in 2014 has been dug up again. No pictures unfortunately. I
should be able to get some by the end of next week.
Council Press Release.
Council Tax
The London Councils League Table is now complete, the last
Council having managed to get their 2017/18 rates on line. Several websites still link to last
year’s figures but the new ones are included in their explanatory letter to
residents, once you have found it!
Newham continues to amaze me. No increase in tax for nine years on the trot,
services which cost £100 or more in Bexley, all free, and charges for services up only 2% this year.
They sent a letter by Royal Mail to tell my aunt that the charge for her Emergency Bell Service
was going to go up by four pence a week which would have soaked up about a
quarter of the price increase and then last week they sent her another letter to
tell get the monthly direct debit was going up by eighteen pence or some similar figure.
Bexley charges more than twice as much as Newham for what they call the
Emergency Link Line.
I’d report a precise figure but thanks to their rather useless new website I cannot. Because so much of the useful stuff has been taken
away, Google searches now go nowhere, or to be more precise, are redirected to the Council’s front page.
From there you can use the search facility but ‘Emergency Link Line’ produces no
results. How much money has Bexley wasted on redesigning their website? Will it ever become useful?
Abandoned vehicles
A reader from Welling told me that a car has been parked in Ashmore Grove
since at least last October and never been moved. Green algae has grown around
its outline. He asked what could be done about it. "Nothing" I said, while it is
taxed, insured and MOT’d, which it was.
However that is no longer the case. The gov.uk website says that the Council
should deal with an abandoned vehicle, but as a regular BiB reader he was not
surprised to be told they were not interested,
The reader asked what else might be done and I suggested contacting the police
Safer Neighbourhoods Team in Welling and asking if the car was stolen.
That was done too but there was no reply.
I suspect it’s not the only abandoned vehicle littering our streets, I seem to remember
a report from Blackfen not
long ago but for the record, the details of this one are…
Registration number: EJ53JWA
Make & Model: Ford Fusion
Colour: Grey
MOT: expired
Taxed to: 1/6/2017
Insured: Yes
Location. Outside 19 Ashmore Grove, Welling
If it is yours, can you remove it please? It’s becoming a bit of a nuisance.