28 July - “An absolute load of nonsense.” Are we sure about that?
The
end of each Council meeting is usually marked by the nodding through, that is approval, of the
Minutes of the various Committees and the last one was no different; except that one was not nodded through. The Labour Group objected to
the last
Places Scrutiny Committee minutes and Councillor Nicola Taylor (Erith) told us why
she didn’t like what had been said. (Erith is an awful concrete monstrosity and other truisms.)
Nicola spoke passionately about her ward, shouted might be an accurate
description, but there was no doubting the passion.
This Council has done things AT Erith and not
WITH it. Erith has been neglected
for far too long. She objected to the Council holding “stakeholder” meetings
about Erith without her knowledge. It would be hard to deny that is a strange
decision, but Nicola referencing the earlier
one-sided
Motion debate said that the Council prefers to talk in an echo chamber. “They
[Conservatives] never listen”. The Conservatives fell about laughing.
They didn’t listen when West Street small park was built over with unaffordable
houses by BexleyCo. You repaved Pier Road when there were far more deserving
sites. You took no account of our warnings of anti-social
behavior when you rebuilt Pier Square. You ignored the residents’ petition on
street drinking. You didn’t listen to the complaints about traffic outside
schools. Cabinet Member Diment never did respond to the enquiry about School Streets.
Riverside Gardens was reopened at 3 p.m. on a weekday meaningt that few could
attend including the two Councillors. Will it be maintained? Pier Square hasn’t been. We asked in vain for CCTV.
Councillor Davey said that the gardens were underutilized (not reported on BiB)
but events held there bring in visitors from far and wide. “Erith does not need
gentrification, it needs homes, and shops and banks and jobs that pay a decent
wage but instead BexleyCo has taken the Post Office away.”
The Council has failed to work with Morrisons. It should start to work with all residents.
So that is Bexley Council pretty much banged to rights with some home truths. What did they have to say in reply?
Cabinet Member Cafer Munur merely said that Councillor Taylor had come out with ְ“an absolute load of nonsense”. There was
a reference to BBE but as no one knows
what that is it is a meaningless argument for those not in the know.
BexleyCo is building homes and the Post Office will reopen inside the shopping centre. “How can a Councillor get things so wrong?”
The meeting was with “partners” which excludes Councillors. “Councillor Taylor is utterly utterly wrong.”
Councillor Chris Ball (Labour, Erith) was barely audible but was saying much the same. There is no “vision” for Erith.
The Chairman of the Places Scrutiny Committee was not sure what he was being
asked to do as there was nothing in the Minutes that was inaccurate. They were approved.