25 April (Part 2) - Neglect leads to Crime & Disorder
Councillor Stefano Borella (Labour, North End) kindly got in touch to tell me a little of
what goes on late at night on the trains and buses;
I see nothing of it because I have almost given up travelling on buses and spend far too long glued to a keyboard.
Despite what Bexley Conservatives like to claim, there is quite a lot of crime about.
The Harrow Manorway flyover was closed throughout last Sunday night while police and paramedics dealt with an incident. No one knows exactly what
happened, there was no official word at all.
Rumour said it was a road rage incident that became violent and then someone was
run over by a passing car. But you know how stories can develop and there was
nothing in the News Shopper. When there was last an incident like that in Abbey
Wood a newspaper reporter said on Facebook that the police refused to tell him anything.
Unlike Abbey Wood’s incident the gunman in Crayford did result in
a very brief report in the News Shopper.
What is becoming of Bexley? According to Bexley Council
the HMO situation is not helping.
The absence of information led to one concerned individual going over to Claston
Close to take a look. This is his abbreviated report…
When I arrived in Claston Close I approached a police officer to ask what
was going on. He couldn’t say, all requests for information must go to the
police’s press office. I have since contacted them twice and still no response.
Not only has there been no response there has been no dialogue between the
police and the elderly residents who reside in Claston Close. No reassurance
that everything may now be safe resulting in some residents being too scared to open their front doors.
I spoke to a resident who was very anxious, so much so that his hands would not
stop shaking. He calmed down after a while and explained how there was a
stabbing in the building last week and occupants were having to get used to
seeing drug dealers and young people hanging around and terrorising the place.
I left that resident
and found an 85 year old who invited me in. Several weeks ago youths set light to a locker room directly below and all
their property was covered in black smoke.
This happened around midnight and her smoke alarm didn’t go off and had she been
in bed at this late hour might have died.
When the fire brigade arrived, they checked the smoke alarm and said it needed
to be changed. It still has not been changed and the resident had to throw out
many of her ruined possessions. There has been no compensation and no one from
L&Q visited to see if everyone is ok.
Residents want to know why a building allocated to the elderly is now being
occupied and over run by alcoholics, yobs, drug dealers and bullies.
The
media has not reported anything and there has been no interest from Councillors;
the police give no answers while residents live in fear.
Every one of those I spoke to were begging for CCTV and the Council does nothing.
These elderly residents need a voice, I’m not scared of bullies and something
needs to be done now! I will contact L&Q and make sure this resident gets a new
smoke alarm and some respect. Their place, when I walked in, still reeked
of fumes and smoke. I opened some windows.
I looked at the notice board to find out who is in charge, and I was amazed to
see the building had been rated “Gold Standard” by L&Q. There are fly tips
everywhere. It needs CCTV and the months of neglect by L&Q is absolutely appalling.
The man who immediately took an interest is Sean Ash the Liberal Democrat candidate for Crayford.
The Councillors under whose watch the situation developed are
Geraldene Lucia- Hennis, John Davey and Christine
Bishop.