10 August - Better late than never - again
Not every Bexley Council Press Release goes into
BiB’s archive, only those judged to be of wide general interest,
but one that did make the grade was the announcement of the intention
to redevelop Walnut Tree Road in Erith.
It represents a welcome change of mind. The last time Walnut Tree Road was in the news
was when Bexley Council was deciding where to build its new offices.
Labour Councillors advocated Erith
but Cabinet Member Linda Bailey repeatedly called the idea “rubbish”.
Councillor Seán Newman (Labour, Belvedere) spoke up for Walnut Tree Road by saying the Erith site had better transport links than
Watling Street, more buses and a railway station next door. For his perfectly accurate
comment he was pilloried by Bexley Conservatives on their website.
They lied that Seán believed there was no railway station in Bexleyheath. (This was six years
ago, Bexley Tories’ web lies are not a new phenomenon.)
Obviously Councillor Newman did not deny the existence of a Bexleyheath railway station
but with it being a mile and a half from Watling Street perhaps he
could have done. The lies are no longer on Bexley Conservative’s website but
a transcript is on Bonkers.
Developing the Walnut Tree Road site is long overdue and Bexley Council should
be congratulated on seeing the possibilities even if they are six years behind the times.