I
have a busy schedule today but I am going to try to get to tonight’s Planning meeting. The main event is
the Go Ape
proposal for ropes and zip wires and things in a secluded corner of Danson
Park among the trees.
A huge protest has been whipped up by the two Councillors who live in a posh
house right next to the site. I have friends who are going to voice their
disapproval but I have difficulty in seeing what the fuss is about.
There may be additional problems with car parking but at £40 a person how
popular is it going to be?
I think there may be questions to be answered about the Application and the way
it has been handled. The public documents have been heavily redacted and it
seems to me that the Applicant has been told in advance that everything is set
for approval but backroom deals and Planning goes hand in hand, so what is new?
Go Ape has invested a lot of money and they must be on a promise.
How are ropes and zip wires any different to the tennis courts and bowling
greens that are found in many parks?
Lesnes Abbey Park has a parkour - whatever that may be - and a basket ball
pitch. Danson Park itself has a boating lake. A zip wire is not really building
on a park in any normal sense of the word. Bexley Council has set up BexleyCo to
do that in contradiction to its fraudulent pre-election
claims and I doubt that that money pit will get a mention tonight.