3 September - The big Oakwood plan
On 21st August it was mentioned here that
the owner of the Oakwood sports ground had distributed his development plan to
interested parties including Bexley Council. Maybe you should see it too.
For those without the benefit of a large screen, top to bottom there are six Padel Courts,
a renovated clubhouse, a training pitch, a stadium , car parks and two
blocks of terraced houses. (Top and bottom of plan.)
But Bexley Council officially knows absolutely nothing about it. I find it hard
to believe that a multi-million pound scheme is being
prepared without any
liaison with Council officials but that is what they would like you to believe.
As
I said six weeks ago,
I am a fence sitter on Go Ape. I live too far from Danson Park to be affected by the probable noise and traffic issues but
unlike the leaders of the protest movement
I do not believe in censorship. They appear to be influenced by some very dubious personalities.
A friend who is a member and supporter of the Stop Go Ape gaggle - how else do
you think I got a copy of their Facebook page when I am not a member of the
group? - posed a question. Why has Louie French MP remained totally silent on such a controversial installation?
He or she or whatever has leaked to me something found on another social media site of
which I am not a member. A long report suggests there is a political element to the silence.
The allegation is that one of the owners is the son of Patrick Mayhew, a name
those who take an interest in politics will remember. He was a Minister in Lady
Thatcher’s government and Sir John Major’s. In other words very much a Tory who
later became Baron Mayhew of Twysden.
The Go Ape part owner’s brother is also a Conservative MP and Shadow Minister. He
too is part of Go Ape and at one time, according to the social media report, its managing director.
Presumably it wouldn’t do for one Shadow Minister to be fighting another?
On the other hand, it is understood that Louie French has joined Reform UK
in submitting supporting documents for those against
the noisy Golf Pods. The
fact that another Shadow Minister (at least until demotion a couple of days ago) owns one of the houses that will be
blighted by the Golf Pods, must surely be entirely coincidental.
The experimental Controlled Parking Zone in Lower Belvedere is a year
old. Between Abbey Road and the railway line
every entry point to the Zone known as AW1 is marked with a sign to say that
there is no parking allowed between 10 and 4 Monday to Friday. There are
occasional stretches of double yellow lines but basically the whole area may be
used for parking but only after buying a residents’ permit. The area includes 14 cul-de-sac turning circles
some of which are either fully marked with double yellows, half marked with double yellows and some not marked at all
as if the scheme was designed by a demented numpty, as most probably it was.
But it works perfectly. There are no restrictive parking bays and the signs make
it very clear that no one can park without a permit and with every home having
at least one off-street parking space there are times when there are no cars in evidence at all.
To the south of Abbey Road things are very different despite the same
nomenclature of AW1. There are no signs to indicate on entry that parking is
restricted to permit holders only, instead there are marked bays with signs,
some of which give wrong information. Few houses in the zone have
off-street parking.
It is a disaster zone.
North of Abbey Road, permit holders can park pretty much anywhere but to the
south of Abbey Road only within a limited number of bays. The numpties have
divided the same zone into two with different sets of rules. A level of insanity reserved for highways staff.
On the plus side, commuters have been banished which was the main aim.
Adjacent to the zone the previously free all day parking zone has been restricted to four
hours. There is no adjacent housing to be considered. This is sheer bloody
mindedness by Bexley Council operating fully to its vindictive and spiteful agenda.
Once again the commuters are vanquished, The question is; where to?
The answer is in fact very close to home. Almost a mirror image of the area
between Abbey Road and the railway is Alsike Road and its turn offs to the north
of the railway. Except for a short stretch of double yellows on Alsike Road
there are no parking restrictions at all.
Commuters take full advantage of it to the detriment of residents. Their
complaints have so far fallen on deaf ears.
AW1 came about because of pressure from residents picked up by Labour
Councillors Sally and Jeremy. Thamesmead residents are going to have to be belligerent too.
Where’s Larry?
Very few yellow lines but they park on them anyway. Zig-zags and footpaths too.
Note: This blog by request of Alsike Road resident.