Having spent 15 minutes
reporting on Bexley’s financial position, Council Leader David Leaf moved
his Cabinet to the Transformation Strategy. It is not as you might expect a
program to improve the environment or the lives of residents but a scheme to
save money by doing things like pushing even more customer services on line, The
overall aim is to save £3·63 million this year which has been dented by the appointment of
Tower Hamlet’s Deputy Director of Transformation on £132,594 a year.
She
described 300 possible changes to customer service access as an opportunity to
enhance services. Children’s and Adult Care Services would be integrated where
possible and a more commercial approach taken on fees and charges.
The first phase of the Strategy is to be launched this month. It will involve
“large scale collaboration with our workforce”. You may recall that in the past,
surveys revealed that senior staff rarely if ever spoke to their underlings.
Ms. Rahman spoke for five minutes without revealing anything especially
interesting to the average resident. By 2030, it is hoped that there will be
further savings in the region of £7 million. Presumably the Cabinet found the
report as interesting as I did as none of them had anything to say.
Councillor Nicola Taylor (Labour, Erith) was concerned about the changes planned for the Contact
Centre because residents already complain about how hard it is to get in contact
with Bexley Council and everything has worsened in recent years. “How will you
measure your improvements?” The Council Leader said that “residents are used to
using digital technology". The more digitalisation there is, the more spare
capacity can be moved to face to face intervention. “The performance of our
Contact Centre is usually very good. I can give that assurance.”
Councillor Taylor noted that her question had not been answered.
Councillor Borella (Labour, Slade Green) said he had heard the word
Transformation discussed in Council ever since he first became a Councillor. He
had not missed the reference to fees and charges and did not think that
increased parking charges had always been assessed intelligently. (Some have
caused revenue reductions. The full Transformation report specifically refers to
reviewing margins on Car Parking.)
He was not sure that all staff saw Transformation as Culture Change but as “a
Cuts Programme dressed up”.
Councillor David Leaf said that this time Transformation is different.
3 July - Widespread traffic gridlock - and more to come
For
out of town readers it should be explained that Slade Green is
a pleasant enough
little backwater of Bexley borough which is almost in Dartford. A community
divided by the railway line with the only crossing point being the imaginatively named Bridge Road.
There is an alternative route to the North, a mile or two of residential roads leading
to the Thames at Erith and the somewhat notorious Manor Road being the only one you
may have heard of because of its fly tipping problem which is
on record as being visible from space.
And what was closed on Monday by the emergency gas works? Bridge Road. It was a
very bad leak with gas concentrations approaching 100% with resident evacuations
being necessary. Drivers were reporting
five hours of delay and my driving instructor friend had to abandon two tests.
The usual routine is for the police and the Council to stand by and do nothing
but things got so bad that Bexley Council actually did something about it.
Better late than never, but electronic signs were erected to the effect that
there was no through route from Manor Road.
TfL was persuaded to change the James Watt Way traffic lights to allow
traffic fleeing Manor Road to move more freely. However they continued to direct
complaints to Southern Gas Networks.
The 89 bus sensibly avoided the area.
Generally of course, Bexley Council could not care less about the chaos caused
by the utility companies. SGN expect to open Bridge Road on Sunday.
I left a friend in Bexleyheath at around 10:30 yesterday evening and she
WhatsApped me just before midnight - good job my phone mutes at 10 - to say she
had only just got home because of unexplained road closures. She lives not far
from the Danson Underpass.
I drove by at 05:44 this morning and saw that Blendon Road was shut. No idea why
but the diversion sign merely said go around the roundabout and back the way
you had come. Really helpful, but Bexley Council almost never checks on what the utility
companies deem acceptable.
In recent weeks the Sidcup blockade has shown signs of being lifted and not
having been there since Monday I had high hopes of it been entirely gone this
morning; but no. Thames Water had blocked The Green and the entry point was marked ‘No
Through Road, Follow Diversion’. but there were no diversion signs which led to
a succession of vehicles entering The Green. The signs were OK on the return
journey but totally inadequate when heading south.
One doesn’t expect Thames Water employees to have the necessary intelligence to
do anything properly but one might expect Bexley Council to monitor what they do.
Never satisfied with the amount of chaos they cause,
Thames Water will close Colyers Lane (Erith to Northumberland Heath) in 100
metre sections (Swallows Close and the Medical Centre) from 5th August to
mid-October and Bexley Council has permitted
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. working.
That’s the 89 bus buggered again.
Just for a change, TfL will take over Alsike Road in Thamesmead from
6 a.m. on
13th July to 10th August. Two railway access points will be constructed to
permit staff access and parking spaces will be reduced while bi-directional
traffic will be maintained with Stop/Go boards. Staff parking will take over
Felixstowe Road. TfL say that their arrangements are approved by Bexley Council
although there are references to the track improvement work being between Abbey
Wood and Woolwich stations and the access point at Church Manor Way (Greenwich)
is specifically mentioned.
There is no reference to Elizabeth line disruptions so where the work is
actually being carried out is anyone’s guess at the moment.
Watching webcasts never quite replaces seeing the real thing in action. I
used to know, or at least have an opinion on, all the senior staff and last
night, having decided to attend in person, I realised I could only put names to
two of the faces advising the Cabinet.
It is the same with the new Cabinet, whilst I recognise them all there are two
recently promoted who I do not know well at all, probably because they
never really drew attention to themselves as Councillors.
For that reason and to possibly learn more about BexleyCo which featured large
on the Agenda, I dragged myself to the meeting on a packed out bus. I was hoping that the Reform
people who had taken such a close interest in BexleyCo before the election would
maintain their interest afterwards but I can only assume they had settled for the webcast.
Labour had four of their nine Councillors in attendance, Conservatives two out
of their 21 non-Cabinet Councillors and Reform UK none. I know that their Leader
works a night shift and will have to ration his attendances, but zero is no way
to be seen as any sort of opposition.
Councillors
Stefano Borella and Nicola Taylor (Labour) found the time for a brief but
friendly conversation before
the meeting got underway proving that just because there are political
differences no one need adopt the sort of attitudes
of some of their activists and candidates.
The meeting was chaired by Council Leader David Leaf resplendent in England
football tie and he asked Deputy Finance Director Nickie Morris to speak first. She reported a
£208,000 overspend at the end of the last financial year. The offenders were, as usual,
Adult Social Care and SEN transport. Housing, parking and environmental services had underspent.
£4 million of long term borrowing was repaid and and £25 million “for cash
management purposes only” was borrowed. The Council Leader said that the
performance demonstrates how “Bexley has a good financial grip and is in a strong position”.
Since April there has been an overspend of £601,000 and once again SEN transport was
the major issue but
the cost of the transformation strategy, £641,000,
is having an unexpected impact; but it is
anticipated that things will get better. “Hopefully”. £4 million of the £25
million short term loan has been repaid.
The Director of Finance and Corporate Services confirmed that his plans included
the maximum possible Council Tax increases. With 57% of Bexley’s services
outsourced, contract inflation represents a risk.
There were no comments from Councillors so the meeting moved on to discussing
“Future Bexley”; the transformation strategy.
1 July - Bexley Council is useless
Well the Highways Department headed by Andrew Bashford anyway.
Yesterday, and most likely today too, Slade Green was gridlocked by emergency
Gas Works. Bexley Council absolved itself of all responsibility by issuing the
following notice on its Facebook account.
There were at least two reports of cars unable to move for more than five hours with
traffic diversion signs redirecting people to the back of the queue they had previously left.
I personally know someone who was stuck there for two hours while on a business trip. The direct loss of income to that one person was £80.
Probably Tom Anderson summed things up most succinctly…
Nobody expects the police to get off their arses for anything any more.
Stopping
driving instructors for driving on L plates may be an exception. When my road was blocked on an almost daily
basis by Elizabeth line commuters they did nothing until one of their own
vehicles could not get through on an emergency call.
All of what Mr. Anderson suggests could have been arranged by Bexley Council if
only they would leave home - where most of them work - and take a look for
themselves. They have contacts with TfL and all the utilities but instead they
wash their hands of all responsibility and are happy to see residents trapped
for hours on end and their days wrecked,
Bexley Council summarized in one short blog.
Note: The reference to Howbury Road should have been Howbury
Lane showing how little interest Bexley Council has in Slade Green.