2 October (Part 3) - The answer might be far too embarrasing

No Full Council meeting would be a complete without a question from Dimitri Shvorob. The next meeting is scheduled for 4th November and Dimitri likes to get in early so as not to give the Council an easy excuse not to hear him.

His question to the Council Leader was to be “Can you please comment on the allegations of an inappropriately close relationship between Conservative members of the council, including a current Cabinet Member, and Mr Kulvinder Singh, a controversial local developer looking to build housing on Metropolitan Open Land in Crayford?”,

However the Head of Democratic Services, Kevin Fox, has a wealth of experience built up over the past 15 years (one example out of dozens) of how to be totally undemocratic. The answer might be far too embarrassing and so he has rejected the question. It is defamatory. Against Mr. Singh or Bexley’s leadership he does not say?

Developer and Leader of Council.

Strictly speaking it is not Kevin Fox who decides whether or not to accept questions, it is the Mayor. One can understand why she might be reluctant,

Mayor and former Planning Committee Chairman standing on Metropolitan Open Land alongside those who have plans to build on it.

Postscript: At about the time the forgoing was published, Dimitri wrote to the Mayor asking in what way his question could be defamatory and claimed it was based on what he had read here on Bonkers. Nowhere on Bonkers is corruption alleged and I have found it necessary to write to some local activists to remind them that during Councillor Bishop’s tenure as Planning Chairman none of the decisions taken were especially favourable to Mr. Singh and for the Planning Department to be ‘bent’ would require at least three of its chiefs over ten years or more to be on the take, which looks like a stretch too far.

All that we know for sure is that Bexley Council issues awards and honours to a man who was successfully prosecuted by the H&SE with more prosecutions in the pipeline and assaults and accosts residents who take an interest in his activities. They encourage strange bedfellows.

Readers are entitled to believe that Bexley Council has exhibited extraordinarily poor judgment but probably nothing more than that. Bexley Council and poor judgment is not exactly new is it?

If the Mayor replies her excuses should be interesting.

 

2 October (Part 2) - A little progress

There has been some progress made on the long neglected rubbish dump across the road from my house. The irresponsibly fly tipped heap was cleared two days ago.

However the paper bin remains unemptied after an interval of about three months. For some inexplicable reason some of the largest sheets of cardboard have gone.

Don’t expect logic from Bexley Council.

 

2 October (Part 1) - No, of course not!

I have had some strange emails over the years but never before have I been asked if I seek permission for my street photography. Maybe a quick reminder of the law is in order.

If it wasn’t so, news reporting, especially live TV, would be near impossible. All the rules may be found on Government websites and those aimed at professional photographers.

 

1 October - General Purposes. Total waste of time

It is nearly nine years since I last went to a General Purposes meeting and my report of the proceedings was entitled ‘Generally dull’. Maybe that is why I stopped attending, however a BiB reader who is housebound has complained about the lack of webcasting so I volunteered to do him a favour and go to see what was being said at GP&A.

The evening did not start well with no 229 bus showing on the TfL app in the half hour following 18:19 so I decided to make the longer hike to Abbey Wood station. A few minutes later, immediately after I passed the 229 stop, one passed by.

Fortunately an SL3 turned up at the station quite quickly and I was outside the Civic Offices door at 18:59 just in time for the Community Safety meeting which began at seven. However the doors were locked and not opened until 19:11 so had that been my meeting of choice I would have been late.

The General Purposes and Audit Committee meeting was a disaster in terms of being a public meeting because the brand new wireless microphone system was not working. Maybe it is my failing but I find that unless things are reasonably loud that after concentrating on barely audible speech, I have insufficient brain power left to process the audio. I heard very little and was reminded of the old days when Mick Barnbrook complained to the Equalities Commission when the Hearing Loop didn’t function, as is the case when the microphones are not in use.

I will listen to my audio recording in a day or two but I doubt there can be any meaningful report on last night’s meeting.

It was perhaps not a complete waste of time because I had a pleasant chat with Councillors Stefano Borella, Eliot Smith, Sean Brackstone and Debbie Ryan and discovered that Debbie and I worked in the same building at the same time 45 years ago.

There will not be another General Purposes and Audit meeting until the end of January.