24 September - Bexley Council is listening to parking concerns

There is nothing quite like parking or road closures for filling the Inbox. Three responses within an hour or two of highlighting the petition on Wednesday. No one thought petitions were effective and maybe that is true. Bexley Council went on the record some years ago to say it takes no notice of petitions and has proved it by never accepting a single one in the 17 years I have been watching them.

From Alsike Road and nearby addresses comes news that dangerously parked vehicles are reported to Bexley Council with no obvious result but that Councillor Larry Ferguson (Labour, Thamesmead East) takes an interest in the situation. He has written to complaining residents to say that Peabody has been trying to reach an agreement with Bexley Council such that it will take over responsibility for parking in Peabody areas and extend its Controlled Parking Zone.

However Bexley Council appears to be in no hurry to accept the offer and even when they do get around to making a decision there will have to be a consultation. Recent history suggests that consultation to implementation - if any - takes around 18 months.

Some residents to the South of the railway line have been campaigning for change too and Councillor Jeremy Fosten (Labour, Belvedere) has been doing his best to help. At the July Council meeting he asked a question about New Road which is a heavily used bus route and received the following answer from Cabinet Member Cameron Smith.

Superficially at least that sounded a little nonsensical to me and I asked Cameron if he could explain. He said there was a difference between a small revision to parking regulations in a troublesome area like New Road and a full blown CPZ proposal and of course there is but I would nevertheless take issue with him on the implication that there have been no demonstrable changes since 2022/23.

Since that date there have been two very significant changes of circumstances and a couple of minor ones. Bexley Council imposed two new Monday to Friday 10 until 4 CPZs which used to absorb much of the Elizabeth line commuter traffic. The two CPZs cover a massive area to the East and South of the old AW CPZ (covering New Road) which is Monday to Friday 11 until 1 only. The Council also placed restrictions on Free Parking Zones for no good reason whatsoever.

The old tradition of 9 to 5 working is a thing of the past so an 11 until 1 restriction does not work very well any more especially when further afield it is 10 until 4. All three CPZs actively encourage weekend parking close to the station such that residents dare not leave home by car.

If this is not a demonstrable change in circumstances one must wonder what is.

The conversation with Cameron revealed a willingness to help but against an overwhelmingly adverse reaction to changing the AW CPZ in 2022 he is being naturally careful. Have enough residents changed their mind since then? He is very well aware of the significant parking issues in Abbey Wood but given the decisive No to the earlier consultation, delivering four new Controlled Parking Zones became the priority.

He is willing to revisit AW1 (both North and South of the railway line) if there is a demonstrable consensus among residents for changes to the CPZ.

Before AW1 was introduced, Councillor Sally Hinkley (Labour, Belvedere) did a brilliant job surveying residents needs and probably that is the way forward, The Cabinet Member should not be expected to authorise a formal consultation without being fairly sure it will not merely confirm the status quo.

Whilst some residents are suffering from the Liz line problems, particularly at weekends, I am equally aware of some who are happy enough with 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. because it allows them to avoid the cost of a parking permit.

Since 2022/23 the Elizabeth line has grown in popularity, evidenced by the increased frequency of trains especially at the weekend. Additionally the introduction of bus route SL3 in February 2024 has made the poorly designed and timed parking arrangements in New Road even more of a problem. Forcing buses on to the footpath can surely not be good for anyone, but that is what Bexley Council does.

Note: This blog was written with the help of Councillors Fosten and Smith and I believe is accepted as a reasonable summary of a difficult situation by both. Their assistance is appreciated.

 

23 September (Part 2) - Another ban

I thought banning things was the prerogative of the Labour Party but apparently it is not. I have long believed that Council jobs are in the main filled with people with a fetish for power over others who would never make it in any other occupation.

The latest example is Bexley Council’s ban on electrically assisted cycles and scooters in parks.

What are they afraid of? The batteries catching fire and burning down Danson House or riders who exceed the legal speed limit of 15 m.p.h?

As is usual with bans, the law abiding will be penalised and the balaclava clad wheelie merchants will ignore it. Now in my 84th year I am effectively banned from getting any two wheeled exercise. I will not be alone.

This is what the cycling fraternity in Bexley has to say about it…

Introducing a blanket ban on e-bikes in Danson Park is a heavy-handed measure that hurts legitimate park users while missing the real source of the problem.
For many local residents, electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) are a crucial mobility lifeline. Elderly cyclists rely on moderate pedal-assist to stay active, care for their physical health, and enjoy the green spaces of Bexley. Families depend on e-cargo bikes as a safe, eco-friendly way to transport young children through the park, and local shoppers use them as a sustainable alternative to cars for running daily errands. Banning all e-bikes indiscriminately restricts the freedom of responsible citizens who use these paths quietly and safely every day.
The issue facing public spaces like Danson Park is not legitimate e-bikes, but rather illegal, high-powered electric motorcycles and reckless, antisocial riding - often by individuals attempting to evade accountability behind balaclavas. These offenders are a small, disruptive minority. They operate outside existing laws, and imposing a blanket ban on standard pedal-assist e-bikes will do nothing to stop those who are already willing to break the rules.
Targeting law-abiding riders - including seniors, parents, and local shoppers, punishes the community for the actions of a few bad actors. Instead of a sweeping ban that restricts sustainable transport and mobility, enforcement efforts should focus directly on tackling illegal vehicles and reckless behaviour through targeted park policing and anti-social behavior measures.

 

23 September (Part 1) - Shabby Sidcup

Correspondence between Bexley Council and @tonyofsidcup - remember him? - has revealed that the Council has a 15 year old policy of not painting lamp posts. He has asked his Councillors to intervene.

Maeanwhile he has suggested that residents start a competition to find the worst example of peeling paint in the borough.

Not to be outdone, I will suggest a second competition to find the least readable steet name.

 

22 September - Abbey Wood is a car park

In 2023 Bexley Council proposed extending the hours of the Controlled Parking Zone nearest to Abbey Wood Station, designated AW. Everyone was against the idea including the Thamesmead East Councillors. Since then things have changed somewhat.

Bexley Council has introduced two more ‘all day’ CPZs, one (AW1) extending well into Belvedere, almost to its station and another at the top end of New Road including Woolwich Road. (WH.) Residents have given both a mixed reception but in terms of deterring commuter parking they have been a resounding success.

Additional deterrence was provided when the Free Parking spaces in Abbey Road, which are not aligned with houses, were restricted to four hours in an act of spite and vindictiveness for which Bexley Council is renowned. The displaced commuters have gone elsewhere; some to Alsike Road.

After 1 p.m. and all weekend there are no restrictions on any road close to Abbey Wood station and commuters and leisure seekers can take advantage of the free parking facilities on offer. The Council car parks charge more than £15 so who can blame them?

The current parking restrictions were introduced in 2007 and longer hours were deemed unacceptable in 2023 but Abbey Wood is now home to the 35th busiest railway station in the country - out of 2,600 stations. Maybe it is about time that the two Councils took note of that fact. Bexley has taken some action, maybe not as much as it might have done but Greenwich Council has done nothing.

Parking regulations introduced in 2007 are totally unsuited to the current situation and the same Thamesmead East Councillors who objected to change three years ago are now sympathetic to a ground swell of changed public opinion. Their protestations have been so far rejected by Bexley Council which refers back to the 2023 consultation taken two years before the AW1 and WH parking zones were introduced.

The most affected residents who are excluded from parking close to their homes have started a petition.

Note: My corresondent on this issue is a Bexley resident, Overton Road, while the petition has an emphasis on Greenwich. There needs to be close cooperation between the two and perhaps the lady who complains to Peabody about the problems in and around Alsike Road.

 

19 September - An accommodation address?

A month ago I confused Bexley Road, Erith with Bexley Road, Eltham and had to rapidly revise a blog because I linked both addresses to Kulvinder Singh, which was wrong. Or at least I thought it was at the time.

However the latest revision at Companies House sheds new light on the matter. Oakwood Pavilion Ltd. which is developing - so far without planning permission - the VCD Athletics Ground, is now said to be owned by Mr. Singh.

Old and New.

There are dozens of companies registered at 178 Bexley Road, SE9 2PH sp one can only assume it is some sorty of acccommodation address for comopanies with something to hide.

 

16 September - Another road closed. But is it legal?

One gets used to discovering another Bexley road closure every time one leaves home but this was something different.

I walked along Fendyke Road, Belvedere, towards Abbey Wood station at ten to ten yesterday morning and all was well, but returning less than an hour later I found the road was blocked. Naturally curiosity got the better of me.

A large decorative conifer was lying in the road and a jobsworth was standing next to it preventing free passage. I asked him why the tree had been felled - it was dangerous - and could I please see his authority from Bexley Council to close the road to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. He had none but claimed “I am the Council” despite having no ID on show. He aggressively prevented me from passing. I walked round the long way but saw a jogger and a young woman ignore him.

By the time I got to the other side of the tree an older woman ignored the jobsworth’s protestations and walked by. He reduced her to tears.

Surely a Bexley Council operation would have given a warning to residents? Around 50 parked cars were trapped for most of the day, some in drives and some legally parked in the road. Those on single yellows had no way of moving them to avoid the 11 a.m. restrictions.

Why was the road blocked so far - on both sides - from the tree? There was no need to trap so many drivers. Is this another example of contractor’s not being the brightest of people?

I have walked under that tree most days for the past 40 years. I doubt that it was any more likely to fall yesterday as it was today and taking it down so urgently without warning was unnecessary. If the situation was so dangerous why was the jobsworth standing next to the tree without a hard hat?

Or has Bexley Council become so incompetent that it fails to authorise a road closure and issue due warnings and forget to inform BT that it was going to bring down several telephone lines?

I hope not but anything is possible.

Tree down in Fendyke Road.

Unauthorised road closure?

 

15 September - Not wanted anywhere

The former Bexley Conservative, former Independent, former Reform UK turned Restore Britain Councillor is in trouble again; this time for offending against the somewhat extreme views of her colleagues and supporters. She visited a Sikh Gurdwara and was instantly labelled a traitor by another Restore Britain Councillor. He also said she is “self-serving” which is undoubtedly true and she “undermines her colleagues”.

Well that is right too. I have ten year old emails in which she tittle-tattles about her Bexley colleagues and asks that I publish negative stories about them. (For the record, I did not.)

Despite what you may have read here recently the Sikh community is not all bad. I have lived next to one for very nearly 40 years and that particular Mr. Singh has always been a good neighbour, but some will consider Ms. Fothergill to be all bad.

The newspaper report on the incident includes the following paragraph.

KentOnline.

Let’s not be too coy. Councillor Fothergill accused colleagues of theft, a six figure sum, and six were arrested, one for a whole year while pregnant. Evidence in my possession, obtained from Court papers, includes a forged letter and encouragement to steal from a contractor, and more besides.

Visiting a Gurdwara is not much of a sin in my view, certainly it is nothing like being on the scale of some others, like an outright lie told to the police (I correctly reported a Code of Conduct verdict which she reversed) that saw me charged with Harassment. Restore Britain has much better reasons to expel Fothergill than engaging with the Sikh community.

Statement to police: “With regard to this a hearing took place and it was determined that I was found not guilty”. Absolutely untrue and making such false statements is a criminal offence. But she remains in Rupert Lowe’s party.

 

13 September - Labour wants to help

I hope he will forgive me but I missed the email from Councillor Stefano Borella last Thursday in which he comments on Bexley Council getting less than full marks from the Care Quality Commission following its Adult Social Care and Health inspection.

His formal response may be read in a Press Release. (PDF.)

Labour comment.

 

11 September - Why do we pay Council Tax?

I first noticed that this paper bin was full at the end of July so it is probably reasonable to assume that it has not been emptied for two months or more.

It serves at least six homes and they are paying their taxes while receiving very little service.

I suspect that Bexley Council takes the view that people living in flats do not matter very much.

Meanwhile, Bexley Council’s neglect attracts ever more fly tipping.

 

10 September - Silly question. Sillier answer?

As you may have guessed, there are no Council meetings until the end of the month and I have not been accosted by Mr. Singh for almost a week; so Bonkers is reduced to asking silly questions.

Can anyone at Bexley Council tell me why the car shown here is liable for a PCN but the van causing a far worse obstruction isn’t?

There was no reason for the van not to be parked in an orthodox longitudinal fashion.

 

7 September (Part 3) - Singh deception

A month ago I was surprised to see a sign outside 16 New Road Abbey Wood advertising Mr. McCann’s roofing business, The phone number could be traced back to a house that Kulvinder Singh owns. 238 Woolwich Road next door to the notorious concrete slab.

He bought 238 from Mr. McCann around five years ago because Singh had wrecked the back garden view to the extent that the house had become unsaleable to anyone else.

The advertising sign was the first indication that the unloved development in New Road might be one of Mr. Singh’s

I used to know Mr. McCann slightly because of his encounters with Mr. Singh and been lucky enough to track him down again. His old sign had been left with the rubbish when he moved out of 238 and Kulvinder Singh must have rescued it.

He has been warned that deceiving all and sundry into believing he owns a legitimate and reputable roofing company is a serious offence and the sign has now disappeared.

Mr.  Singh’s activities continue to damage the footpath.

Index to related blogs.

 

7 September (Part 2) - Are all Labour Ministers liars?

I got home from a BBQ yesterday at around 9:30 and put the TV on to see what might be worth watching on YouTube. I began watching a livestream from Portsmouth where 500 plus people were protesting the landing of 140 illegal immigrants on Eastney beach.

I was looking at Wesley Winter’s channel which tends to specialise in interviews and generally keeps away from the front line. Quite a lot of females were interviewed and all were scared for their safety. I noticed one masked man mainly because his mask had slipped and was ineffective. No one else wore a mask. I saw one young man throw a missile, said to be an apple and a fence got knocked down.

There were few police in evidence but they pepper sprayed an old man who tried to obstruct their van. And that was about it.

Mr. Winter got on to Eastney beach where not a lot was happening so I went to bed well after midnight. The breakfast news was government ministers telling me that Portsmouth had been overrun by violent right-wing thugs.

There were no arrests.

Are all Government Ministers congenital liars? I saw the evidence that almost everyone was unmasked and peaceful albeit with some choice language at times.

If the Government continues to deny the truth it is heading for big trouble; and will deserve it

In September 1959 I went on a school careers trip to Portsmouth and we were allowed to fire the Royal Marine’s guns on Eastney beach. It’s a pity they were taken away.

 

7 September (Part 1) - Support Go Ape

So which would you prefer to support? This new Group keen to back the local economy and indirectly help Bexley’s hard pressed taxpayers or the misery guts who wrote to my webhost to ask them to take Bonkers off air for allegedly stealing a misguided post from their private Facebook Group? I didn’t, it was sent to me by a disgusted so called Go Ape critic.

In any case, no one with a brain goes ballistic over the use of the word gaggle to describe a bus stop queue which probably had nothing to do with them.

Madness, and their campaign to Stop Go Ape deserves to fail.

It would have been helpful to have contact details.

 

6 September - Another divided CPZ

The feature on the parking free for all in Alsike Road caused by a combination of Elizabeth line commuters and no parking restrictions provoked similar comments from elsewhere and one in particular was close to home so it was easy to take a look.

The allegation is that at the weekend, indeed from 1 p.m. on a Friday to 11 a.m. on the following Monday, the AW Controlled Parking Zone allows holiday makers and daily tourists to park their cars there for free while taking a direct train into London, Reading or Luton, the result being that residents who go shopping by car cannot get home again.

Evidence was supplied that Councillors and the MP have been involved in a current, maybe small, campaign, to extend the restricted hours to 5:30 and the weekend but have achieved nothing. No great surprise as a little research reminded me that there was a public consultation on fixing the problem in 2023 by extending the CPZ hours of operation and the same Councillors had fought against it.

There were four petitions against it and more than 100 objections. The Council backed down.

My photographic reconnaissance mission just before 11 yesterday morning revealed some parking congestion on Overton Road, but whether by residents’ cars or train travellers I cannot tell. Alsike Road being free of all restrictions was packed solid but on the other side of the railway line in Fendyke Road there was no obvious problem,

It may be that the current complaints are the result of the not very bright people in Bexley’s Highways Department applying the same rules to two very disparate areas, like they have in the AW1 zone in which I live. In half the zone the restrictions are welcomed and in the other half hated.

In Overton Road there is no off-street parking for residents and in Fendyke Road there is. You can tell how bright the Highways people are by looking at their response below to a request to have the CPZ hours extended to 5:30 including Saturdays. Their lack of comprehension skills led them to request that illegal parking was reported on line.

Overton, Alsike and Fendyke Roads, all in the same Controlled Parking Zone.

Nearer to home we still have GJ06 OEB appearing to exploit some sort of permit loophole Monday to Thursday and the lack of weekend restrictions in AW1 attracting Lesnes Abbey visitors at the weekends.

One interesting development is that the leaseholder for the flats have taken action against the commuters who steal residents’ parking places. They have appointed a parking contractor to monitor the situation. I hope it doesn’t displace them on to my drive as used to be the case.

Coptefield Drive attracts Abbey visitors at the weekend.

Council response to request for CPZ amendment. Comprehension skills zero.

2023 Consultation result.
2023 objections.

 

5 September - Bexley Council staff. How useless can they get?

There was an Eco Festival at Lesnes Abbey today and tired of creosoting fences I wandered along to see what it was about, apart from causing the customary traffic chaos on surrounding roads that is. (Photo 3.)

One of the exhibitors was Bexley Council pushing for more food recycling.

I showed one of the staff the image you see here. My exact words were “We might take you more seriously if you emptied bins, this one has been like it since the middle of July”.

I wasn’t even asked where it was. The senior management at Bexley Council is not the best and it will most likely have permeated down to lower levels. If they cannot be bothered why should I? From being the most fastidious of recyclers I have pretty much given up on it now.

Note: The sofa is a new addition but the paper bin is more or less unchanged since July.

 

4 September (Part 2) - Whose name is on 16 New Road?

Sometimes when researching these things the most obvious is missed.

When the application to build flats on New Road, totally out of keeping with the surroundings, was made the applicant was a Mr. Lane. His submission was refused in 2023.

A Mr. Hill came back in 2025 with a very similar plan and it was approved with conditions despite Councillors saying it would wreck one hundred years of tasteful development.

This morning Mr. Singh apprehended me while photographing yellow lines not far from the development in New Road. If only I had checked the planning portal more recently. The conditions have been challenged by Mr. K. Singh of Oakwood Construction Ltd.

So this is another plan initially refused but approved later which has the same familiar name on it.

We still don’t know why so much secrecy is required.

 

4 September (Part 1) - Now he is linked to 16 New Road

A resident of New Road, Abbey Wood told me that the road signs erected during the over-long road closure were still lying around on 1st September but when he reported them to Bexley Council they told him they didn’t care. “No action required at this stage.” However when I took a look the following day they had gone.

The resident came back with a report that the white lining by Monk’s Close had been forgotten and just after 8 a.m. this morning I wandered over to take a look.

Maybe a little bit picky but true. No Lines. Heading home towards Abbey Road I was pleased to see that the missing double yellow line had been filled in.

As I went to cross the road I found myself encircled by three men in turbans. (Only two photographed.) One was making a commentary into his mobile phone. I heard that I was a Labour activist who had been racially abusing Sikhs for the past ten years. I was known to the police for photographing his children - child abuse being far too often uppermost in the minds of certain people. If Mr. Singh had not previously accused me of stalking his children I would never have known he had any. I have certainly not set eyes on them.

The interesting thing here is that the men came from 16 New Road and therefore proves the suspicion that this dubious development is linked to Kulvinder Singh. This was suspected when a phone number on the boundary fence linked back to one of his addresses.

Unlike in the previous contacts there was no attempt to kill me in a contrived road accident or threat to cut my effing head off.

 

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.

 

2 September - Where’s Louie?

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.

 

1 September - Where’s Larry?

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.