Plans.

The historic Bank Chambers building in Erith town centre is shortly to get a makeover and refurbishment after lying empty for a number of years. The last resident of the building was a homeless man who occupied the entrance foyer for some months until it was boarded up. As well as the old building being restored, a block of flats is to be constructed next to it. The planning application describes the work as:- "Erection of a five storey building attached to existing three storey detached building to provide 19 self-contained residential units and 3 commercial units with provision of car parking, cycle parking, refuse stores and associated works". You can read the full planning application online by clicking here. The works are described as:- "Refurbishment works to Bank Chambers, including reinstating the front entrance as the main commercial entrance, reinstating the east chimney pot, cleaning and repair of the façade, replacement timber windows, removal and repair of damp plaster and new rainwater goods; Construction of new residential building in car park at 70 Pier Road of max height five storeys, connecting to the rear elevation of Bank Chambers and wraps partly round the side elevation (east)". One issue I have is that this story broke early last week; as I have mentioned several times in the past, because I publish every Sunday, it does mean that other sources without this restriction can publish before me. In this case the website "Murky Depths" published the story last Monday, which you can read by clicking here. Those readers who consult the full documentation on the Bexley Council planning site will see that there is a huge amount of material to read, so I have edited together a relatively brief summary from one of the surveyors reports here:- "Bank Chambers is primarily of local historic interest as a remaining example of the historic buildings and townscape which populated this area until the mid-20th century, due to the connection of the building with the late Victorian industrialisation of Erith and its long term ownership by the Clarke family who were local employers. There is some limited architectural interest, primarily in the appearance of the main façade, due to features such as: arched windows with keystone details, simple dentilled lintels and cornicing, angular dormers and the use of polychromatic brick (yellow and red). The painted timber ‘Bank Chambers’ sign remains above the entrance, referencing the historic use of the building, although its date is unknown. Historically, the entrance porch contained two doors, as evident in the building fabric, and was shown as two properties on historic mapping; evidence of this arrangement remains however the west door has been replaced with a window. The roof has been subject to alterations such as the loss of one of the historic chimneys. The architectural interest is primarily limited to the main façade as the rear has a functional appearance that was clearly designed as a secondary elevation, lacking the architectural detail of the front elevation. On the primary elevation, the two bottom windows and front door are boarded up for security purposes, which negatively impacted on the appearance. The land behind Bank Chambers has remained largely undeveloped, with the exception of a long building added to the south-west by the early 1930s which had been removed by 1938. The replacement of some windows and use of security bars has eroded the appearance of the rear façade. The interior has some surviving features of limited historic and architectural interest. It has been heavily altered historically and in recent years. There is also damage to the roof and ceiling structures in some areas, and evidence of damp. Remaining features of some interest include the staircase, the few surviving historic doors (the majority of the doors have been replaced with utilitarian modern doors), the wooden memorial plaque attached to the wall and some decorative details such as skirting and cornicing in some rooms. The character of these spaces has been detracted from substantively by the poor condition of the building and the poor quality alterations. Insensitive alterations include cable trunking, wiring, carpet tile floor finishes and modern sanitary ware and kitchens. The interior therefore contributes minimally overall to significance of the building. Overall, the architectural interest is primarily external and is low due to the simple and functional appearance of the building. There is some modern clutter attached to the exterior, such as wiring and signage. Its historic and architectural interest are local; the design of the building is not exemplary or unique. In summary, the significance of the property is low and of local interest only. The setting of Bank Chambers currently does not contribute to its significance. There is limited architectural merit in the modern surroundings which are very vehicle focussed (car parks, roads and a roundabout). This does not relate to Bank Chambers which was historically associated with an historic high street; the other historic buildings are no longer present.. The openness and lack of architectural interest of the surroundings contribute to the isolation of Bank Chambers as an historic remnant of pre-1960s Erith. The side elevation of 66/68 Pier Road adjacent to Bank Chambers is out of character with the architectural style / quality / materiality of the locally listed building. To the rear, the current car park at 70 Pier Road detracts from the visual amenity of the property with the use of hard standing and modern fencing. This car park and the rear of 70 Pier Road are visually prominent to anyone approaching the property from the southern section of James Watt Way (by vehicle and foot) and influences their experience of the locally listed building. The current car park and the principle of undeveloped land to the rear do not contribute to the significance of the building. Thus, the setting does not contribute to significance and there is scope for enhancement". Comments to me at the usual address - hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This month marks the fortieth anniversary of the creation of one of the most popular, successful and ubiquitous video games in history. Tetris, perhaps the Soviet Union's biggest-ever export, is celebrating four decades of matching together different shaped dropping blocks on everything from personal computers to consoles big and small, and modern smartphones. Tetris' origins are as fascinating as its game play. Developed during the Cold War by a Soviet programmer, the game's journey to international fame is a story unto itself, even inspiring a recent AppleTV+ series. But Tetris' true magic lies in its simplicity. Easy to learn, impossible to master, the game's core mechanic of rotating and fitting tetriminos (those colourful shapes) into lines has captivated players for generations. The Tetris Company CEO, Maya Rogers, attributes the game's enduring appeal to this very quality: "easy to play and highly intuitive." From the humble beginnings on the Electronika 60 computer in the Soviet Union, Tetris has conquered nearly every platform imaginable.The Electronika 60 lacked a graphic user interface, meaning the first Tetris blocks were just rows and rows of ASCII characters. The reason Tetris rows disappear? Legend has it is due to the limited memory in the Electronika 60, which necessitated clearing the screen. It was not until 1985 that Pajitnov ported the game to the IBM PC to be distributed more widely, and the game took off and became a super hit behind the Iron Curtain thanks to clones of the IBM PC computer. Fast forward to 1989 and Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers discovered Tetris at a trade show. Obsessed with the game, Rogers brought it to the masses the very next year when it was packaged with the original Nintendo Game Boy and sold into the hands of impressionable young Millennials around the world. The inclusion of Tetris with the Nintendo Game Boy in 1990 is credited with boosting both the game's and the handheld console's sales. Today, Tetris finds itself on everything from smartphones to VR headsets, constantly evolving while retaining its core game play. Tetris' impact extends beyond the gaming world. Studies have shown the game can improve cognitive function and spatial reasoning. The fast-paced action and satisfying puzzle solving also provide a welcome mental escape. Tetris' influence extends far beyond the realm of gaming. The game has spawned countless variations, themed versions, and even inspired psychological studies on focus and addiction.  

A report published last week highlighted the shocking level of closures of London's Police stations. Londoners are facing a reality with increasingly fewer police stations around them. Since 2010, a staggering 126 police stations have closed their front counters, drastically reducing public access to police services - 75% have been closed. This trend has sparked debate, with fingers pointed at both current Mayor Sadiq Khan and his predecessor Boris Johnson. The closures are attributed to two main factors: reduced police budgets and changing reporting habits. With central government funding tightened, the Metropolitan Police faced tough choices. Additionally, with the rise of online crime reporting, foot traffic at stations dwindled. However, the impact is undeniable. Residents in affected areas now travel nearly double the distance to reach a station, raising concerns about response times and a weakened sense of security. A new academic study suggests the closures have led to a significant negative effect on the most serious crimes. The closures have doubled the average distance to the nearest police station for Londoners — from about a mile to roughly two. Around the country, more than 600 out of 900 police stations in England have shut. However, London has been hit the hardest. in an article published in the London Evening Standard, The effects of police station closures on crime have been significant, according to academic Dr Elisa Facchetti, the author of a new analysis published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Facchetti found three effects, all of them negative, and argues that the unexpected costs of closing the stations have fallen on other parts of society. One reason, she argues, is that when police stations close, the most serious crimes seem to go up. “The areas where there was a closure of the nearest police station saw an increase in the number of violent crimes — such as assaults and murders,” Facchetti says. She estimates an 11 per cent direct rise in violent crime compared with areas where the police station did not close. Separately, overall knife and gun crime in London went up 20 per cent last year. Critics argue that the closures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations who may not have easy access to online reporting. Mayor Khan inherited a situation where many stations were already closed. He has focused on maintaining at least one front counter per borough and reinvesting savings in neighborhood policing initiatives.  However, some argue these efforts haven't gone far enough to bridge the gap.

I took the photo above yesterday whilst travelling on a 99 bus - hence the slight reflection from the bus window. A car had crashed into one of the decorative concrete and metal pillars adjacent to the De Luci fish roundabout in Erith. I have it on good authority that the crash actually happened last Wednesday, but for some unknown reason the vehicle was still there. If you have any insight into the incident, then please contact me in confidence at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some years ago I wrote a story about how the local area could have turned into a nuclear wasteland if one of the nuclear weapons stored and maintained at the Woolwich Arsenal during the 1950's and early 60's had accidentally detonated due to their almost non - existent safety features. What has also come to light is that there was another serious incident which could have led to nuclear fallout in the local area in a similar way to the Chernobyl disaster affected much of Europe in 1986. The story is not well known, but it is fascinating. A while ago, I read an excellent book on the recent history of Kent by historian Bob Ogley which recounted an event that I had never even heard about, that happened quite locally back in 1968. In those days Chatham dockyard was still being operated by the Royal Navy as an active base. It employed hundreds of local civilian workers, as well as military personnel. As a side note, the location of the dockyard at Chatham is one of the main reasons the North Kent rail line was built as early as it was; whilst it did serve the then new phenomenon of commuters from South East London and North Kent into central London, the main impetus behind the creation of the rail line so soon after the invention of the steam engine was clear – it was to connect the dockyard with both The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, and the Admiralty buildings in central London. The whole of the military operation of Victorian Britain (and thus the Empire) was dependent on the North Kent railway line – something few people nowadays are aware of; I digress – back on August the 17th 1968, a fire broke out on HMS Valiant – (shown in the photo above - click on it for a larger version) a Royal Navy submarine that was in dry dock undergoing a refit. The specialised submarine dock had only been opened in June 1968, and the Valiant was its’ first customer. The submarine dock was constructed between numbers six and seven docks, and was designed for the refit and re-fuelling of the non-Polaris class nuclear attack submarines employed by the Royal Navy. The base had a huge cantilever crane for the removal of nuclear reactors, an office block, underground workshops and a health centre. The Valiant-class was the first fully British nuclear fleet submarine (the first British nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought, used an American nuclear reactor). There were only two boats of the class, HMS Valiant commissioned in 1966, and Warspite the following year. Both were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness, and based at Faslane during the sixties and seventies. The class was based on Dreadnought but twenty feet longer and nine hundred tons greater submerged displacement (4900 tons). They also had a Paxman diesel-electric generator for emergencies. In 1967, Valiant set a then Royal Navy record of sailing 12,000 miles (19,312 km) submerged in twenty-eight days, from Singapore to the UK. Whilst in refit, a fire broke out aboard the Valiant, and extensive damage was caused. Both the dockyard fire department, and the civilian Chatham Fire Brigade attended the blaze; there were immediate concerns that a release of radiation could be resultant of the blaze, and nuclear contamination crews were summoned with protective clothing, respirators and Geiger counters. No release of radiation was found, despite intense speculation on the part of both local and national press at the time. The Valiant was successfully repaired, and later returned to active service. Valiant re-commissioned at Chatham in May 1972, later returning for a second refit in 1977. By 1975, Chatham Dockyard was the only Dockyard in Britain to undertake the refitting work of two nuclear submarines - Churchill and Dreadnought - at the same time. This was known as 'dual streaming'. In October 1975, the Dockyard even entered into 'triple streaming'; Churchill awaited re-commissioning at the end of the month; Dreadnought remained in refit and Conqueror entered refit for the first time at Chatham. The older nuclear-powered submarines of the Valiant / Churchill classes were prematurely withdrawn from service as a result of serious cracking in the primary cooling circuits of their nuclear reactors. The Swiftsure class had similar power plants and experienced the same problems. One, HMS Swiftsure, was decommissioned for this reason – if the components affected happen to be located in areas where high radioactivity is present, it is often too dangerous to make a repair - instead that have to be scrapped. HMS Valiant was finally paid off from naval service in 1994. Nowadays HMS Valiant has been decommissioned from the Royal Navy and is stored afloat at Devonport. The de-fuel (removal of the reactor and all radioactive materials) of HMS Valiant, which was docked in 14 Dock for Dock Down and Lay-up Preparations, was successfully completed and the submarine left 14 Dock on the 6 March 2003. It had been moored in 3 Basin along with other de-fuelled submarines. The problems encountered with the engineering works on the Valiant and other early nuclear submarines was not the one expected – no radiation was released, and no radioactive materials lost. The problem was far more prosaic, but arguably just as deadly. All of the submarines, and pretty much all of the surface vessels refitted at Chatham in the 1960’s and 1970’s used large quantities of Asbestos, both as pipe insulation, and for fire – proofing. Many of the civilian and military personnel were exposed to Asbestos dust during engineering works. As is now well known, exposure to Asbestos particles over time can cause Asbestosis, as well as several types of cancer. Nationwide there are nearly five thousand asbestos-related deaths a year (about half of which are from Mesothelioma). The Medway area, which includes Chatham dockyard, is in the UK’s top four for asbestos related deaths. A total of 104 people died from Mesothelioma in Medway between 2006 and 2010. This is way above the number one would expect from such as geographically small area. I understand that several legal cases have been lodged by former Chatham Dockyard workers with the Ministry of Defence over Asbestos related illnesses allegedly caused to people working there in the past.  I ought to make it abundantly clear that the dockyard (now a popular museum and film location – it is regularly used by the producers of “Call the Midwife” to stand in for 1950’s / 1960's Poplar, and the producers of films including Sherlock Holmes – a Game of Shadows, Les Miserables, Children of Men, and The World is Not Enough have used the place as a location) is absolutely not now an asbestos or radiation risk. The dockyard makes for a fine family day out, with plenty to see and do for all ages. It even has an excellent pub / restaurant in The Ship and Trades, run by Shepherd Neame. You can read more about the Chatham Historic Dockyard Museum here.

The BBC News website published a story about the long running court case relating to the murder of Southwark based drug dealer Kai McGingley in Pembroke Road, Erith on the evening of the 9th of February last year. You can read the full details by clicking here. Seven defendants were found guilty of various crimes, some including murder. They will be sentenced next month. The end video this week features the forensic officers investigating the scene of the shooting the morning after the incident took place. Comments and feedback to me as usual at hugh.neal@gmail.com.