2 July - Lesnes Abbey. A shameful lack of progress
Today
a reversion to the old Sunday tradition of comparing Bexley Council’s shameful
tardiness in regenerating Lesnes Abbey Park and Network Rail’s Crossrail construction site at Abbey Wood.
The old Abbey Visitor Centre was
demolished in December 2014 and the associated railway photograph was taken the same
day. The old Abbey Wood station was still standing and so was the
cross-railway ramp, though no longer in use.
Today the new station is not far from completion with the track and overhead
power supply pretty much ready to go.
There will be
another North Kent line closure next Sunday although you could be
forgiven for not knowing that. There is absolutely no news about it on public display at the station.
Lesnes
Abbey Park is still not finished although it is fully open for business.
At the beginning of last week an email asked if I knew when the viewing gallery
(officially the Skyline Viewing Point) might be completed. The writer had spoken to
Tom Smith who I believed was in
charge of the project and he’d decided the questions must be passed on to his boss.
An email address was provided for his reply but none was forthcoming.
Thinking I could do better I emailed my Councillor to see if he had any
information about a completion date but I am still waiting too.
Perhaps by coincidence there has been a little progress this week as these three
pictures show. The granite coping stones are new.
The brochure includes an impression of the completed Skyline Viewing Point.
There will be a free music event in the Monk’s Garden on Sunday 16th July. Unfortunately that coincides with my annual visit to my oldest friend - we first met in 1949. Not sure whether missing the event will be a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps it is mainly good. I shall be out of earshot of the racket and Councillors will be free from being photographed, Brian Barnett permitting!