22 June (Part 1) - It’s bad but not quite as bad as it seemed
Belvedere Councillor Sally Hinkley (Labour) has
obtained some clarification on Bexley Council’s alarming announcement that they
planned to close a three quarter mile length of Abbey Road (B213) for two whole weeks
beginning on 1st July and prohibit access to Blakemore Way, Carrill Way, Tunstock Way, Shortlands
Close and Laymarsh Close totally with restricted access to Elstree Gardens and Kingswood Avenue.
Those Closes and Ways lead to several more roads with residents numbered in
their thousands. That’s hundreds of people who cannot take their children to
school or themselves to work and no doubt dozens of the housebound dependent on
travelling carers and food delivery services left with no help.
It seemed likely to be a mistake but given the lunacy regularly displayed by
Bexley’s Highways Department one can leave nothing to chance.
It appears to be only a partial mistake. There will be no through road for two
weeks leaving everyone who lives between New Road (Abbey Wood) and Picardy Road
(Belvedere) - a little over a mile - without their regular bus services.
Bexley residents must be used to being treated with total contempt by their
Conservative Council by now so probably they will just grin and bear it.
Fortunately the aforementioned side roads will remain accessible for most of the time
but there will be times when the old surface is being removed, replaced with new
and then awaiting asphalt curing when residents reliant on their cars or
visiting vehicles will be effectively imprisoned by Bexley Council. Probably for
hours at a time without due warning.
The work is very necessary and it is good that the money has been found to fix
the patchwork quilt but as always Bexley Council can be relied upon to have very
little consideration for residents.