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News and Comment April 2024

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8 April (Part 1) - Yarnton Way crossing

My Freedom of Information request about Yarnton Way missing out on a pedestrian crossing was answered last week by Head of Highways Andrew Bashford and his letter and enclosure was entirely satisfactory. Yarnton Way slipped off the crossings schedule because solving the drainage problems would have been a little too expensive for a cash strapped Council. Someone more argumentative than me might point out that Yarnton Way has plenty of potential crossing sites and Thamesmead whilst wet is not quite Venice, but that would achieve nothing except a waste time and money.

Time and money was however wasted by the FOI because I already had a good idea of why the crossing had been cancelled and was not desperate for more information. Later I heard Mr. Bashford explaining the situation in some detail to the Transport sub-Committee. The real reason for submission was to demonstrate the futility of Bexley Council refusing to accept any FOIs from @tonyofsidcup. As various legal minds have explained over the years; to ban an individual, however obnoxious he might be - or not in this case - it is not lawful to decide that no questions are permitted from that particular source. Full stop. End of the matter.

Once again it is demonstrated that Bexley Council has no respect for the law of the land. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that Bexley Council under its present Leadership has no respect for the law.

I can think of no reason for Cabinet Member Richard Diment to no longer be answering perfectly reasonable emails from @tonyofsidcup - as he did once upon a time - except that he might be under instructions from his boss who is of course the power behind the ban issued by the Monitoring Officer.

What a mess. The Council’s legal officer acts illegally because to do otherwise might imperil her employment.

Without @tony, in an age when local newspapers barely exist, almost no one would be asking questions and few would know anything about the strange workings of Bexley Council.

 

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