29 January - Bexley Council reverts to type
Bexley
Council used to be among the worst political liars to be found anywhere but
maybe it is not as bad as that now, especially when the Labour Government has set new
standards of mendacity to which they can be compared.
But now the Council seems to have reverted to their old ways, They have
put out a Press Release claiming to have the 7th best roads in England.
How they reach that conclusion is anyone’s guess. (Labour has done the same,
issued a PR that is, see
final paragraph.)
You cannot really get away from potholes anywhere and certainly not in
Bexley. Travelling the same return route in the dark four times a week I am
beginning to remember where the worst of them are and swerve in the appropriate direction. A
big bump is not good for a car’s tyres or suspension but might prove fatal to a motorcyclist.
Despite what they say, Bexley Council does not repair them in a hurry and no one
takes any pride in filling them when they do. Last Sunday
I stood in the middle
of Brampton Road and took photos of a muddy hole with a spot of tarmac dropped into it.
Bexley has claimed its pothole situation is the 7th best in England which I suppose may
not at first sight appear to be totally far-fetched when you see how bad some of the neighbouring boroughs are.
But it is nevertheless not supported by official statistics.
There is a section of Perry Street in Bromley which cannot be swerved around because it
spreads across the whole road. I fear I might soon have to hire a tracked
vehicle to make my way across it. It is similar, though not as bad on the Danson
Underpass but at least that is scheduled for resurfacing. The Green (Sidcup) which is a shocking mess is not.
Claiming to be 7th best in England is a bit of a stretch. Authorities have been
rated on four criteria. Bexley is rated OK on only two of them and Coventry,
Essex, Gloucestershire, Hillingdon, Leeds, Lewisham, Manchester, Middlesbrough,
Portsmouth, Rotherham, Sandwell, West Berkshire, Wigan, Wiltshire and
Worcestershire were all rated higher than Bexley, That makes Bexley 16th at best.
In practice, most authorities were rated similarly to
Bexley, pretty much tied equal, with only about 80 of them (please forgive me, I Iost count. It may be a few more) being clearly worse. To be generous to Bexley, their pothole situation is
not a total disaster when compared with others that are even worse but it is nothing to boast about.
Stefano Borella the Labour Leader in Bexley thinks you should know more about the
porky-pies and has put out
a Press Release (PDF) of his own to explain things.
Look at the statistical link he provides. Bexley Council is not at the bottom of
the pothole pile but its record for truthfulness may be.