The unusual site banners are to bring attention to the fact that Labour activists in Bexley are manipulating Facebook Groups with fictional posters. They deny it, threaten police action for ‘harassing’ a fictitious character and then demonstrate their willingness to impersonate by creating a false Administrator account in my name. The banner on display is chosen randomly from a selection of three, with a fourth bearing the familiar Bexley Council is Bonkers logo.
27 February (Part 1) - Crossrail exhibition
I
didn’t learn a lot from yesterday’s Crossrail exhibition at the Abbey Wood
Community Centre. The people I spoke to were friendly and enthusiastic but
clearly not local. There was a good deal of confusion over what was north and
what was south and ditto east and west.
A Crossrail track will terminate on the Thamesmead side (north) of the existing
down (for Dartford) platform (see
23d February picture). The existing Dartford bound track, or its position at
least, will become a Crossrail track and extended some way towards Belvedere to
provide storage for a train when necessary and a connection to the North Kent line.
The present London bound track position will become Dartford bound and a new
track to the south will provide Southeastern services to London. The track
realignment will be gradual on the Plumstead side but more acute on the approach
from Belvedere.
Several local readers along Fendyke Road (parallel to the track on the southern
side) have complained about compulsory purchase orders but I was assured there
would be no permanent land grab east of the station on the southern side, just temporary access rights.
Very close to the station they may have to become permanent shared access rights
for maintenance purposes.
The track realignment will commence in May this year; a necessary precursor to
building the temporary station by October.
When I asked when the two houses pictured here would be demolished to make way for the new
track to the south, no one was able to confirm they had to go at all. I suspect this was
part of the east/west confusion on display.
One question fell on stony ground.
On Bexley council’s website it says that Controller O’Neill has persuaded
Network Rail to provide a canopy the length of the new platforms. No one knew
anything about that, nor was any canopy shown on plans dated February 2014.