Lesnes Abbey - Kicked into the long grass
These
Lesnes Abbey photos were taken ten days apart. There is no sign that Bexley
Council has made any progress on the park regeneration in that time. The main vehicle access point
remains closed for most of the time.
The coffee shop was deserted as I walked by today but there were signs that it had been recently in use.
I am beginning to think that a formal opening will never happen but if Mayor
Peter Reader fancies a day out I’ll try to get a few pictures of him. I’m sure he won’t be doing
a runner like his predecessor.
Planning plonkers
The
worst of Newham’s slum house extensions has not yet reached Bexley but
it is reported that similar situations have arisen here.
The conservatory in Photo 1 was refused planning permission by Bexley Council
before the resident discovered that it was small enough to not need permission anyway.
The much larger extension next door was granted retrospective permission after being built to an excessive size.
The outhouse shown in Photo 2 is double glazed with a nice front door and inside
it is equipped with laundry, cooking and sleeping facilities.
When Bexley Council made enquiries they were told it was a tool shed and accepted that assurance
without further investigation.
Maybe it is coincidence but the same ethnic differences found in Newham apply in both of these cases too.
Lighting up the lies
In
my opinion Bexley’s streets have been much darker since most of them were
switched from sodium lamps to Light Emitting Diodes but I am very aware that my post
bag says I hold a minority view.
I have been following correspondence between Bexley Council and people who can no
longer sleep soundly because their bedrooms are lit up like Blackpool and so far
Bexley Council has failed to solve their problems.
I have no reason to doubt them especially as Bexley Council has been bragging
about how the new lamps are “delivering
brighter streets” but when I take pictures after dark my camera tells a similar
story to my own eye balls, that Bexley is a much gloomier place than before.
Now my opinion has been reinforced by some information that has come directly
from Bexley Council. The output of the old sodium lamps was 18,000 Lumens. The
replacement LEDs manage slightly less than half of that.
Can Bexley Council never tell the truth? Why did Cabinet Member Alex Sawyer announce “brighter streets”?
Penny wise, pound foolish
I
drove over to Welling on Sunday to visit a friend. He warned me beforehand that
I should approach his house from the south because it would be near impossible
to get up on to his drive if I came my usual way.
A car had been parked on the footpath and partially over his dropped kerb most of the
morning and was still there at 1:30 when I arrived.
I asked my friend why he had not reported it to Bexley Council but he said he
really could not be bothered faffing around with Bexley’s on-line only reporting
system. My sentiments exactly.
How much money will that damned fool decision have cost Bexley Council?
Pavement parking is permitted in some parts of his road so the car in the
background was legally parked, but not the Ford Kuga. I’ve never heard of one
of those before and had to view the picture at full size to read the name, but
what I know about cars could be written on the back of a postage stamp
The cunning fox outwits Bexley Council
I store toilet rolls in my food waste bin
and sometimes struggle to get the lid open. Maybe I should ask the fox that
insists on digging in my front garden for a few tips; a reader complains about the bins as follows…
Bexley Council has issued residents with small brown caddies with hinged lids and handles
which also act as a lock which it claims are fox proof. It’s not true as I recently witnessed.
The wily old foxes have sussed out the locking arrangement and devised their own way of circumventing it. For the
lid to be locked the handle has to be either vertical or completely folded down
the front. Any other position and the lid will open.
When the caddy is awaiting collection the handle should be folded down and hence the lid will be locked.
However the foxes have learnt that they only need to knock the caddy over and
the chances are that the handle will end up in a position where the lid will
open. If not they roll the caddy over and try again.
Bexley Council encourages residents to fill its brown paper bags before depositing the food filled
bags in the caddy. Ideal for the foxes who spill the contents on to the path and carry the
tidy little packages back to their lair - a veritable fox fast food take away service.
The remaining packages are left either for a dessert course left
or to be scattered by the wind or the crows.
As Bexley requires the caddies to be put out by 7 a.m. in practice they have to be left out overnight.
The foxes love it.
When the caddies need to be replaced perhaps Bexley Council will find a more effective solution. Maybe a fox contraceptive
could be incorporated into the caddy bags.
It’s Tuesday…
… so it’s time for
the Harrow Manorway lights to fail again. This time I checked my watch, road traffic gets
five seconds of green before being stopped again for the full pedestrian cycle.
