Below is what Bexley Council told us Gayton Road would look like after they spent £6 million of
Network Rail’s money (including
the recently started Felixstowe Road) improving the appearance of the area around Abbey Wood station.
Nice isn’t it? Nice and green that is.
The reality is rather different.
There are about 16 trees shown in
the leaflet issued in November 2016 and
now that the work is finished, just the two that survived the diggers.
What happened?
The refurbished Abbey Arms pub is definitely green but elsewhere everything is
hard white stone. I don’t much like the new pub colour and at night it is hard to see it at all but far more don’t like
the absence of the promised street trees.
Only three holes have been left in the footpaths that might accomodate trees. Is there anywhere beneath the granite that is clear of service pipes and conduits?
One Abbey Wood resident feels strongly enough about it to have started a petition.
If it is directed at Bexley Council - and most of the barren land is within
Bexley, I fear for its chances. When did Bexley Council ever respect requests
from residents? On the other hand Greenwich Council has shown some interest in
fulfilling the original promise.
The petition may be signed here.