Crash.

Concerns have once again been expressed by residents of Manor Road in Erith, after another serious road traffic accident which occurred at just after 4 pm on Friday afternoon. A fully loaded cement lorry which was heading Eastwards along the road towards Slade Green went out of control, hit a parked Mercedes SUV and then careered over the pavement and through the front gardens of several properties. In doing so it knocked down a lamp post and destroyed the front fences and gardens of a number of properties. In a great stroke of fortune, the pavement - which is popular with pedestrians - was clear at the time, and there were no injuries caused. The Police were very quickly on the scene - they breathalysed and carried out drug wipes on the cement lorry driver. Why he lost control of the heavy vehicle is currently being investigated, although one witness thought he saw the driver using a mobile phone seconds before the crash - although I must stress that this is currently conjecture and subject to the Police investigation. Several residents expressed the opinion that if pedestrians had been using the pavement when the crash occurred, there would have likely been fatalities. What is worrying is that an almost identical crash happened in similar circumstances and in exactly the same spot back on the 24th July 2009. You can see photos which I took of that incident by clicking here. Questions have been asked about the wisdom of heavy plant, lorries and other heavy vehicles using Manor Road, which is residential for its' Western part, and industrial in its Eastern part. It would appear that the two do not mix. It would seem that it is only time before a fatality results. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Whilst I do plan the contents of each weeks' Blog update, this week has ended up with a heavy focus on transportation - which has ended up happening somewhat organically. Research by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) found that of the 31 fatalities caused by e-scooters since July 2019, 27 were linked to private vehicles being used illegally. As I have written on a number of previous occasions, E-scooters on UK roads can be split into two groups: those that are part of rental schemes and those bought privately. While it is legal for an individual to hire and ride a rental scooter, it is currently illegal to ride a privately bought e-scooter in any public place, including on roads and pavements. Bans are rarely enforced and it is legal to buy these scooters from retailers, however, with an estimated 750,000 private scooters in use across the UK. Commenting on the figures, Margaret Winchcomb, deputy executive director of PACTS, said in a recent interview with MSN: “The majority of the 27 fatalities involving private e-scooters being used illegally in public places would probably not have happened if legislation for the safe construction and use of private e-scooters as motor vehicles was in place, and had been followed.” PACTS is urging the government to take urgent action to address the dangerous and illegal use of private e-scooters. This includes calling for penalties against retailers who fail to alert buyers about the legality of use and more support for police in cracking down on offenders. PACTS revealed the figures in a submission to the Transport Select Committee, which has asked for evidence on the current state of e-scooter use and legislation in the UK. Of the 31 fatalities between July 2019 and December 2022, 29 involved the death of a rider after a collision, PACTS told MSN. In separate evidence to the committee, Transport for London revealed there had been six private e-scooter incidents in London since 2021. Parisians voted last week to ban e-scooters from the French capital. In a referendum on their future use in the city, 90 per cent of voters supported a ban. Three people died and 459 were injured in e-scooter accidents in Paris in 2022. Bodies such as PACTS and Guide Dogs UK called for greater restrictions on the allowable speeds for e-scooters in the UK. Currently, the speed limit is 15.5 mph, which is faster than the 12.5 mph cap set in many European countries. Private e-scooters, unlike rental e-scooters, do not have a speed limit, meaning they can travel as fast as 50 mph. PACTS has suggested a series of measures if the government decides to legalise the use of private e-scooters, including limiting speeds to 12.5 mph, ensuring scooters have audible warning devices and making it mandatory to wear a helmet. A Department for Transport spokesperson said in the same article: - “Safety will always be our top priority, and e-scooters remain illegal to use on the road outside of our trials, which are designed to explore the best ways of protecting riders and pedestrians while exploring their benefits.”

The controversy around the expansion of the ULEZ to cover outer London boroughs has heated up over the last couple of weeks. As I have previously written, I don't have a personal axe to grind on the issue, as I am not a driver - though I do hold a full UK driving licence. I have not owned a car in 25 years, and rely solely on public transport. I know from recent correspondence that many readers are strongly opposed to the ULEZ expansion, as are a number of Outer London borough councils. Recently, the future of the ULEZ project has been thrown into some doubt, as a judicial review is to be held into Sadiq Khan's plans to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) across London. Five Conservative-led councils - Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey - launched legal action over the expanded scheme which is due to begin at the end of August. Sadiq Khan has once again raised the idea of introducing a 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme into London - with motorists charged depending on the time of day, how many passengers are in their car and how far they drive. The Mayor is already facing a major backlash from motorists over his decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone into outer boroughs, forcing thousands more Londoners to pay £12.50 a day from August to drive cars that do not meet minimum standards. He risked further ire last week by detailing his hopes for an even more controversial initiative to charge all drivers based on a detailed analysis of every individual journey.  'Road use charging is interesting,' he told the Financial Times. 'If you get rid of the congestion charge, get rid of ULEZ, get rid of road tax, and charge people depending on how many miles they drive, how polluting their vehicle is, what time of day they're driving, are there alternatives related to public transport, how many people are in the car, that's potentially quite exciting". The Mayor last touched on the topic of per-mile charging in February, when he revealed to the London Assembly that ULEZ cameras could be used to enforce the measure. He told Assembly members: 'ANPR cameras could form part of the potential operation of such a scheme but no proposals have been developed.' As part of the ULEZ expansion, TfL is planning to erect around 2,750 additional cameras - with 300 already installed across some boroughs. Mr Khan has previously revealed he wants to impose a network of 'Singapore-style' toll roads throughout London as part of efforts to improve the capital's air quality.  Sadiq Khan's walking and cycling tsar says ULEZ is NOT an 'anti-car agenda'. He said the 'nearest comparator' for his road user charging plans was Singapore, which has 'electronic road pricing' which uses sensors attached to gantries over main roads to capture number plates. These sensors track at what time drivers are using certain roads and charges them a toll based on these factors - for example, rush-hour traffic on a busy road being more expensive. I am of the impression that Sadiq Khan seems oblivious to the cross party opposition to his scheme. I have spoken to long term Labour Party voters who are vehemently opposed to the ULEZ expansion, and the idea of road pricing. The issue is one that seems to cross all political divides, and could prove very harmful to the Mayor's long term future. Feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

In a further transport related story; It has been announced that local sports car manufacturer Caterham Cars are building a new factory, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the companies foundation. The sports car maker claims that the new 54,000 sq ft facility - built on a nine-acre industrial site in Dartford, just down the road from its current base in Kennet Road, Crayford - will bump up its production capacity by 50 per cent, giving it the ability to assemble up to 750 cars a year. The new factory will house production, engineering, motor sport and commercial teams under one roof, and Caterham says it'll use the site to host everything from vehicle handovers to factory tours. The move has been made possible by ‘multi million-pound investment’ from owners VT Holdings, a big Japanese retailing group that took control of the company two years ago. “It’s fitting that, in our 50th anniversary year, we can invest in new premises to facilitate our ambitions, for the future of the Seven and the brand as a whole,” said Caterham CEO Bob Laishley. In an interview in Top Gear magazine recently. “The site not only increases our production capacity but enables us to advance our manufacturing capabilities into a modern setting. It will be a fantastic new home for the brand, our employees and our customers past, present and future to visit.” Caterham began life in 1973 with cars built in the Surrey town of Caterham, but operations moved to Crayford in 1987 where the company has lived ever since.

Hall Place has to be one of the most historic and picturesque locations in the whole of Bexley Borough. The main building dates back to 1537, when it was built for a wealthy business man and former Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Champneys. In rather more recent times, during the Second World War, it was home to many American service personnel, some of whom worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services – the predecessor to the CIA) who used it as a base to train agents to be dropped into occupied Europe. Ian Fleming was based at Hall Place for a period when he was acting as an intelligence liaison officer; it is thought that some of the roots to the James Bond novels may have started whilst he was stationed there. In addition to the OSS, there was also a “Y” radio intercept station, code named “Santa Fe”. The grounds were filled by antenna towers and long wire aerials, feeding then state of the art H.F receivers located in the main building, staffed by members of the U.S Army 6811th Signals Intelligence unit. These powerful RCA AR-88 receivers were used to intercept German radio traffic, including both Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The encrypted signals were then passed by secure telephone lines up to Bletchley Park for decryption. The interception of weak and sometimes garbled signals made for very strenuous work; operators would spend eight hour shifts listening intently via headphones; any missed digits might make the message indecipherable, and possibly leading to lost lives – operator would often end their mammoth listening session with shaking hands and bloodshot eyes. The Great Hall and Tudor Kitchen housed the set room and cryptographers work rooms, some of the men’s billets were up in the Great Chamber and the Parlour was used as a mess room. The roof was stringed with radio wires and outbuildings were erected in the gardens. The GI’s made an impression on the neighbourhood, attending dances at the Black Prince, and playing softball on the Hall Place lawns. Some observers noted  said that to their knowledge none of the local’s ‘ever inquired what we were up to at Hall Place.’ It was one of the only intercept stations that was permitted a copy of the “Elephant Book” – a painstaking compiled list of German military call signs from previous, decrypted messages. This gave an indication of just how important the stately home and its’ contribution to the war effort was. Today the historic building and its’ formal gardens are open to the public, and the main building is available for hire for special occasions.

I may be rather slow on the uptake on this issue, but with some reason; I am normally at work in my home office when the post is delivered. I have been assuming that all of the unwelcome spam advertising leaflets (often for pizza or kebab places so far away that they would never deliver to Erith, and even if they did  the food would be a cold and congealed mess by the time they arrived) were delivered by dedicated people working on behalf of the shop in question. No. I was working from home on both Friday of last week, and Monday of this week, and I saw the postman shove a clutch of advertising flyers through my letter box – there were not even any letters accompanying them. It would appear that the postal service is being paid to deliver advertising rubbish door to door. I suppose that there is less money to be made out of delivering letters than there is delivering junk mail to your door.

The monthly report from Jim Morford, Borough Fire Brigade Commander for Bexley, London Fire Brigade:- "Eight fire engines were required to tackle a fire in a care home in Bexleyheath earlier this month. Firefighters wearing Breathing apparatus rescued 4 elderly residents who were unable to escape as thick smoke spread through the property. Staff at the care home evacuated the remaining residents, representatives from the London Borough of Bexley worked with staff from Transport for London and used a bus to move the residents to an emergency reception centre. Whilst fire crews tackled the fire and brought it under control. This was a brilliant example of a number of local agencies (Fire, Police, Ambulance, Local authority, and volunteers ) working in partnership to bring an incident to a successful conclusion. Although there were some residents suffering from smoke inhalation thankfully only 1 resident required an overnight stay in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Over the last couple of weeks this partnership working was used again, firefighters from the borough attended a fire in a block of flats where a kitchen fire on the 7th floor needed Six fire engines to bring the fire under control. Using pre-planned high-rise firefighting procedures firefighters worked very hard to tackle the fire, no rescues were required as the family was advised to evacuate the property by our control room staff when the call was made alerting us. Thankfully no injuries were reported.  At the third large fire, we attended over the last couple of weeks an act of heroism from a member of the public saved the life of the resident of a flat on the first floor of a 3-story block in Erith. After seeing smoke coming from the first-floor flat a man climbed onto its balcony, made entry into dangerous conditions, and rescued the resident. After which firefighters from Erith, Plumstead, and Lee Green quickly attended, they provided first aid to the resident and tackled the fire. Four fire engines brought the fire under control and stopped further spread to adjoining properties. The London Ambulance Service also attended and removed the resident to the hospital as they were suffering smoke inhalation and burns. These were just three of the 104 incidents attended by our firefighters in the borough over the past fortnight. Including road traffic accidents there were a total of 10 injuries reported. The three fires mentioned above all had different causes. However, all three causes were the most common, smoking, and cooking with combustible items too close. and electrical. I make no apologies for highlighting our Home Fire Safety Checker again. If you haven’t already, please use it to make your home safer and encourage friends and family to do so. It’s been a busy period which thankfully didn’t bring any fatalities but without some heroism, well-practiced evacuation plans, and fire safety measures it could be a very different story".

The end video this week is some behind the scenes footage from an old episode of Top Gear (from back when it was good) featuring a Crayford built Caterham Seven on the track with The Stig. Comments and feedback to me as always at hugh.neal@gmail.com.