Plastic.

The photo above shows the recycling centre in James Watt Way Erith, just behind the large Morrison's supermarket. The centre is well used and popular with many local people. You may notice a large gap between the green and blue recycling containers in the photo above - click on it for a larger view. This gap used to contain two additional recycling hoppers - one for empty drinks cartons, and one for plastic items such as packaging. On the 14th November the two containers disappeared;  the two hoppers had not been emptied for a very long time, and were extremely over - full. Initially I thought that the two missing hoppers would be returned, but nothing happened. As a result of this, I contacted Calum Boyd, who is the Waste Management Officer (Reuse and Recycling Centres and Bring Banks) for Bexley Council - to give him his full title. Calum responded with:- "Thank you for contacting use regarding the household plastic packaging and beverage cartons recycling banks at Morrisons Erith. Please accept our apologies regarding the difficulties you have experienced using this facility.  Due to the relatively high cost to service these banks and ongoing issues we have been experiencing with severe contamination at a number of the mini recycling sites we had to make the difficult decision to remove these banks borough wide. This commenced on Tuesday 14th November after emptying on Monday 13th November. Prior to the removal of the banks collections were suspended which led to issues at a number of sites with full banks. Household plastic packaging and beverage cartons can continue to be recycled through the kerbside recycling collection in the maroon box for houses or silver bins for flats". I am strongly of the opinion that this is a really bad move; it will increase the already high level of fly tipping in the borough, and it also sends precisely the wrong message to the residents of The London Borough of Bexley in respect to the commitment to recycling which the borough has previously and very publicly made.  The timing of this short - sighted decision also coincides with the increase in awareness of the very long term polluting effects of plastic on nature - highlighted by the recent episode of the BBC's Blue Planet 2. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

For some unknown reason, the activities of the illegal moped and quad bike riders seems to have curtailed over the last couple of weeks. Whether this is due to the actions of the Police, or whether it is due to the wintry cold and wet weather conditions, I do not know. The good news is that they have been keeping a low profile, which is very much to be welcomed. I suspect it may just be that they are staying in their bedrooms in front of their PlayStations waiting for the winter to pass so that they can step up their criminal activities once again. I do know that the local Police have had a number of successes in intercepting and detaining members of local bike gangs recently. How effective this will prove to be in the long term, nobody knows.

The graphic above was sent to me by fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight of the excellent "Bexley is Bonkers" Blog. It shows the other local bus services that have proposed re - routings to cater for the Crossrail service at Abbey Wood, and the forthcoming Erith Quarry development. I mentioned the new private bus service, quite inaccurately named the Nuxley Navigator last week, but I neglected to also write about the existing bus services that have plans to re - route to take into account commuters from the new up - market housing estate that will need to travel to Abbey Wood Station to travel on to destinations including the City and Canary Wharf. Travel links are one of the key factors in attracting people from outside of the area to move locally. Historically the London Borough of Bexley has fared poorly in relation to public transport; it is one of the few London boroughs with no tube stations and there is little chance of the DLR being expanded into Bexley in the next few years. We are however getting Crossrail (which will only be renamed the Elizabeth Line when it actually opens) and the bus extensions, both public and private are a move to capitalise on this new connectivity. This however will not help with one major problem with transport links locally, and that is the real elephant in the corner; the situation regarding road traffic. As many will be aware, even dual carriageways such as Bronze Age Way tend to become blocked with stationary traffic for extended periods; the reason for this is that the road is a feeder towards the M25 and the Dartford River Crossing. It was stated that back when the toll booths were removed and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras were installed, that the major benefit would be a quicker transit time for users of the crossing. In reality the opposite has happened. In the last weeks, it has taken in some cases up to ninety minutes for travellers to get across the River Thames. This has been exacerbated by the very unreliable Woolwich Ferry service, which on occasions has been completely unavailable, or running on one ferry only. Larger lorries are unable to go through the Blackwall Tunnel (which was originally designed and constructed for horse and cart traffic) - so when the Woolwich Ferry is out of service, vehicles have to go all of the way to Dartford in order to cross the River Thames, worsening an already very congested situation. The situation has now become so bad that on Monday the 27th November, the radio presenter Steve Allen, who hosts the afternoon music and chat show on the excellent, Romford based Time 107.5 FM ended up presenting the first hour of his show live from his car, stuck in a traffic jam at the Dartford Crossing. Whilst this actually made for very entertaining listening, it was indicative of just how serious the congestion has now got. What experiences have you had regarding trying to cross the River Thames? Do let me know.

Early last week, I received the following Email from a resident who lives in Erith Town Centre, who wishes to remain anonymous. The person wrote:- "Living in the town centre, with a view of the White Hart, I've been following the work on the building closely and, like many locals, have been looking forward to finding out what's going into the old pub on the ground floor. So, I'm sure you'll understand the disappointment I felt about the project when I was awoken at 4:30 am on Monday morning (November 27th) to the sound of very loud music emanating from the pub (my husband later told me he'd first heard the noise around 4 am). Looking out our window, we could see that the lights were on in the pub, the doors were shut and there was red paper over the windows. A few people were outside and there were some cars parked at the side and out front too. I phoned 101 around 4:45 to report the noise disturbance and the woman I spoke with commented that mine was the second complaint the police had received. A unit had gone out around 3 am to deal with the disturbance but, whatever the outcome of that was, the noisemakers were back at it an hour later. The police arrived shortly after 5 am, and the noise stopped. Hopefully for good! While the previous owners of Potion were certainly problematic, out-of-hours noise was not an issue that I remember ever having to put up with. Considering the building is still a construction site, I worry about what's going to happen once it is open!" I have passed the local resident's comments onto the Police, and am currently awaiting their response. If you know anything about the party, or indeed anything else to do with the building, then please let me know.

We hear so much about pubs closing to be converted into flats, and other bad news issues, that it is nice to report that a local pub is thriving - proving to be a centre of the community, cooking great food and really being a great place to visit. The Royal Standard in Belvedere Village has recently had an extensive refurbishment - which incidentally looks absolutely magnificent. I went there for lunch with my Mother on Monday, and I was really impressed at what they have done with some substantial investment in the business. The decor has been completely redone, making the place feel lighter and more spacious; the furniture has all been renewed at some considerable expense, and the food menu completely redesigned from scratch, using very high quality ingredients - the meat now comes from Picketts, the up - market independent butcher in Bexleyheath. Even on a Monday lunchtime the place was buzzing. I was really impressed with the pub, and can highly recommend it. 

The photo above was sent to me by a very long - term reader. He found the individual photos online, and digitally stitched them together to produce the panorama image that you can see above - click on the photo in order to see a larger version. It shows Erith High Street at some point during World War 2; going from left to right, you can see the old Erith Police Station - which is still in existence, but it is now converted into apartments. Next there is a hut on stilts over the river - I cannot determine what it was used for - if any reader knows, please drop me a line with the details. The next structure would appear to be an air raid shelter. The next area would appear to be a piece of land probably cleared for growing vegetables in the "Dig for Victory!" campaign. The road with the two women with the baby carriage crossing it is now known as Saltford Close - I am unsure of what it was called back then. The Running Horses pub can be seen on the right of the compound photograph; it was opened in 1938, but seriously damaged in an air raid in 1940. A contemporary account of the incident from  a local resident called Graham Jansen reads:- "My Grandfather, Thomas Arthur House (b. 12/11/1896, Westminster) was killed at The Running Horses at 1930 hrs on 29/11/1940 during a bombing raid. He was an ARP Ambulance Driver, aged 44 yrs. He was killed with a Henry George Frederick Parry, aged 19 yrs, an ARP Stretcher Bearer and an Albert Sydney Humphreys, aged 50 yrs, a Fireman, AFS. They are commemorated in perpetuity by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The licensee of the pub, William Zachariah Coles, aged 49 yrs, was also killed in the blast. I have been told that The Crown public House, which stood on the opposite corner to The Running Horses, was so severely damaged it was never used again and was later demolished. The landlord's wife, Mary Louisa Witherdon, aged 73 yrs was also killed along with a Joseph Lancelot Addison, aged 76 yrs. A local researcher remembers his father telling him "the Crown had got it" when he returned home from fire watching. Mr. Coles had been standing at the front door of the newly completed Running Horses and was killed instantly. Apart from the deaths of my Grandfather and his colleagues there were no less than twenty people injured. One of the wardens, a Henry Sims was slightly injured and reported that the victims in the pub were still seated at the table and had no visible injuries, they were typical blast victims. The landlord's wife, Annie Elizabeth Coles is understood to have continued to serve drinks out of the back of the pub after her husband was killed. My Grandfather's widow, Flora McAlister Campbell House (McGregor) went on to marry Leslie James Holloway (16/05/1916 Erith d. Jul 1989 Dartford) Dec 1942. He became the landlord of the Kings Head public house in Erith and lived there for 42 years having moved there at the age of two. The pub used to belong to his uncle, Arthur Hewett, who lived next door. He had a club foot and used a crutch to get around the bar. Because of his uncle's disability, the pub was run by his parents, James William Holloway (b. Dec 1885 Dartford) and Emma Matilda Holloway (Hewett). Les remembered beer being 4d a pint and tobacco fourpence ha'penny a packet. He was a popular figure in Erith having run the Kings Head for over 10 yrs. He was once described as Erith's answer to Fanny Waldren - the famous Tottenham Hotspurs winger of the 1920's".

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly from Barnehurst ward, where a Neighbourhood Watch member has made the following comment:- "I am being bombarded by incoming phone calls from callers who claim to be BT Openreach. They are telling me that my internet connection is slow due to errors being created by my computer. I kept him on the line by pretending to be ignorant of what he was asking and saying my computer was off. He asked for me to turn it on but again I kept delaying. I asked where he was based. He said BT HQ, 81 Newgate Street London. He said he had worked there for three years. So I asked him for the post code of 81 Newgate street. He didn’t know and hung up. I managed to keep him online for about 5 mins wasting his time. I had the same call yesterday and also twice today. So please circulate this information. It is NOT BT ringing. BT don’t usually base engineering staff at their HQ 81 Newgate Street. Please be aware of these scammers but by all means keep them on the line as long as possible but don’t give them any information and definitely DO NOT follow any of their instructions with your computer. They hate you wasting their time". The Barnehurst report continues:- "Barnehurst has suffered one burglary in the last week. This happened in Holmesdale Grove which is in near proximity to other recent burglaries on the ward. On 22/11/17 between 02.00am and 0630am in Holmesdale Grove victim got up to find the front door open and the Audi taken from the driveway. A number of other items were taken from within the property. The house alarm had not been set and the door had not been double locked. A vehicle was broken into in Hall Place car park on 23/11/17 between 07.30pm and 10.20pm, personal items were taken from the vehicle. Concentrated patrols are being carried out to the Martens Avenue following complaints from residents relating to anti-social behaviour in this area. The areas of concern are the alley ways and the garaged area to Braeside Crescent. The last incident of property’s being hit by golf balls in Taunton Close was on 10/11/17 at 10.20pm. We will continue to pay attention to this area to prevent further incidents happening. Barnehurst Golf Club have also put in measures to prevent further damage to properties. If you wish to discuss any matters please join us for coffee with cops at 1.00pm at Barnehurst Golf Club on Tuesday 05/12/2017. Please follow us on Twitter @MPSBarnehurst or email us at Barnehurst.snt@met.police.uk. or phone us on 020 8721 2577". Now a report from Belvedere ward:- "PC Green and PC Holmes have been working with officers from neighbouring wards to combat burglary in the lead up to the Christmas period. This work involves targeting known offenders throughout the North of the borough and regular patrols of possible vulnerable locations. In response to a recent robbery in Upper Belvedere, the team have also been completing patrols of Erith Road and the roads nearby leading onto Brook Street over the last two days – this has led to a male being stopped and searched by officers in an alleyway in this area. Our next surgery date is the 4th of December 2017 at Asda in Lower Belvedere". Brampton ward:- "Overall it has been a good week for the ward 1 x shoplift at Pickford Lane 1 x criminal damage to a wall in Belvedere road , bricks taken from the wall found in a nearby road 1 x criminal damage of tyres slashed in Normanhurst Avenue , the victim was awoken by a screaming sound when they looked out their bedroom window it was found that foxes were outside near the vehicle , in the morning the victim found puncture marks and slashing marks on 2 tyres, no suspects seen. 1 x residential Burglary in Long Lane , the address is unsecured and in the process of renovation. As the property has no windows this is the access of the suspects who stole tools and copper piping. Investigation ongoing . This is the first Burglary on Brampton ward since 13th November and is not believed to be linked to family gold Burglaries. Brampton attended a Family Gold meeting along with DS Yilmaz, NHW Dana Wiffen and Bobby Van Kate Frail on the 25th and met with over 30 residents from across the Borough. This is the first of many meetings arranged and will expand over time. The meeting was successful for all parties. Please keep sending in your email addresses for the ward so that I can let you know direct of any crimes happening on your road and follow us on Twitter @MPSBrampton". Colyers ward:- "During the evening of 23rd/early hours of 24th November there was an attempted theft from a BT van in Appledore Avenue. Fortunately, nothing was taken". From Police SNT Team - PC Mike Cuell:-"Hello, I am PC Mike Cuell and I am the newest member of the Colyers Ward Team. The good news this week is that we have had no thefts in relation to motor vehicles of any kind. The only thing we have to report is a Burglary in Twigg Close, on the 26th November, in which the door was kicked open and a quantity of clothes were stolen. We have a surgery today at 6pm in the Blackberry Patch in Badlow Close. Next week’s Surgery will be on Monday 4th December at 1pm in Cupacakes on Colyers Lane. With the festive season upon us, please be extra vigilant in keeping your houses locked and secure, with so many goodies on offer under the Christmas Tree". Crayford ward:- "Number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked in Green Walk overnight between 21.00 on 25/11/2017 and 08.00 on 26/11/2017. On Friday 24/11/2017 at 22.00 close to the Doctor’s surgery in Crayford Road an 18 year old Male was robbed by a Male claiming to be homeless, his wallet was snatched, money taken and the wallet discarded. On that same evening at 22.14 a local business in Crayford Road had their window smashed and males entered. They stole items of high value and a safe. The safe was later recovered intact and one person was detained and arrested. A burglary occurred between 18/11/2017 and 23/11/2017 in Manor Road whilst the owners were on holiday, jewellery was stolen after an untidy search of the upstairs of the property. A vehicle was stolen from Mill Place without keys on 20/11/2017 between 14.00-17.19. It was later recovered by Kent Police locally. In the lead up to Christmas be aware that the town centre will be much busier with people out and about doing Christmas shopping. Remember to keep your possessions safe, put purses/wallets away and secure bags before leaving the tills and keep everything out of sight in locked vehicles, please don’t give thieves a chance". Erith ward:- "Weekly update from Erith SNT - PC Gill visited Trinity School to speak about Stop and Search. Extra patrols around the Battle Rd area. Due to concerns raised from local residents, we had a meeting with residents of Compton Place of which Erith councillors and Orbit attended. PCs Gill and Tom joined the Dog team in searching for drugs in Compton Place. Some of the crimes from the week: One attempted Burglary which was a brake in to a garage nothing was taken just be aware and make sure they are looked and secure. A few drive offs from Morrison’s – CCTV being viewed. We are still having theft of and from motor vehicles, please make sure you leave nothing on show in your vehicles". Lesnes Abbey ward:- " Burglary : On Wednesday 22/11/17 between the hours of 00:01 pm and 05 :30 am Thursday 23/11/17 a garage burglary occurred in Lesness Avenue. Motor Vehicle Crimes: Between the dates of 13/11/17 and 23/11/17 Criminal Damage to a vehicle in Lenham Road; Theft of Vehicle on Thursday 23/11/17 from Sydney Road. Following a tracker activated on the motor cycle from the above incident, police officers attended a garage in Kale Road and recovered four motorcycles. The owner of the above vehicle was notified. Good work resulting in an positive outcome. When out shopping, beware of pickpockets. Stay alert and keep your bags close to you. At home, empty boxes outside your home advertises what has been purchased for Christmas. Note frame numbers of bicycles and serial numbers of electrical goods. When going out, use an automatic timer for lights. Close your blinds or curtains at night. Take extra care and make sure you have locked windows and doors. If you are going away, ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your house".

The photo above shows PCSO Mark "Val" Pigott dressed as Father Christmas at the Slade Green Big Local Christmas party and fete last Saturday. The lady accompanying him is Chloe Philips the Slade Green Big Local coordinator. Click on the photo for a larger version. North End ward:- "We had a burglary last week in Rainbow Road, entry was gained through the front door and Christmas presents along with cash taken. Please remember to lift the handle and turn the key on your UPVC doors. 6 vehicle crimes have been reported in the ward, Criminal damage to vehicle in Appold Street and Barnett Close, 2 thefts from vehicle in Frobisher Road, 1 theft from vehicle in Slade Green Road and 1 in Reddy Road. All of these crimes took place overnight with valuables still being left in cars making them easy targets. We had an attempted burglary of a garage in Festival Close but fortunately entry wasn’t gained. We also had an attempted robbery in Manor Road in the early hours of Sunday morning, luckily the victim managed to get away unharmed but was very scared, please keep all valuables out of sight especially being aware of your surroundings when walking along using a mobile phone at any time of day or night". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately we have had two burglaries on the ward this week. The first was in Camrose Avenue on Thursday 23rd November and took place between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. The resident returned from an evening out to find his sensor light had been ripped off and entry to the property was gained via a small bathroom window being forced open. £170 in cash was stolen. The second burglary took place in Swanton Road on Friday 24th November between 6pm and 10.30pm and again entry was forced via a rear window leading to the dining room. Unfortunately a large amount of cash and jewellery was stolen. There has been a robbery in Horsa Road on Thursday 23rd November at approximately 10.50pm where a lady was pushed from behind and had her handbag stolen. The lady was fortunately unhurt but very shaken. I have spoken to her and she has remained very positive and determined to put the incident behind her. The suspect was believed to be approximately eighteen years old wearing a grey hooded top. There have been two reports of criminal damage in Bedonwell Road over last weekend where two neighbours had their front walls kicked down in the early hours of the morning. Apparently the suspect was dressed in dark clothing and was singing! On Friday 24th November an elderly lady in Penshurst Road reported a bogus caller. The male stated her guttering needed repairing and took £150 in cash from the victim stating he needed to get some tools and would return in a few minutes. The male did not return. The male was reported as White, 30 – 40 years of age, stocky build with auburn hair and a moustache wearing a navy tee shirt. As the Christmas season is fast approaching please be vigilant of any suspicious callers and do not hesitate to call Police. If it doesn’t feel right it usually isn’t! The team will be holding future drop in surgeries which will be advertised in due course". Thamesmead East ward:- " Unfortunately we have had two burglaries during the last week. The first occurred on Saturday 25th November at around 7pm, Harrow Manor Way. The victim was at home when the suspect entered the house. No items taken, suspect disturbed. The second happened between 1700 and 2300 hours on Tuesday 28th November, Surlingham Close. The victim returned home to find their rear window smashed, and a computer/cash stolen. A black Vauxhall Astra was stolen from Alsike Road on Thursday 23rd November between 0700 and 1800 hours. Between Sunday 26th and Monday 27th November a motor bike was taken from an address in Templar Drive. An off road motor vehicle was stolen from Parkway, on Tuesday 28th November, between 0600 and 1700 hours. Good news - On Thursday 23rd November, Officers discovered a garage in Kale Road, which contained four stolen motor bikes. Owners have been updated, and the bikes were taken to Charlton car pound for possible forensic opportunities. On Tuesday 28th November, Officers stopped a vehicle in Maran Way. During the search a substantial amount of money and jewellery were found. Three males were arrested for Proceeds of Crime offences, enquiries are ongoing. We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Please spread the word to any family and friends in the Borough - they can contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk  for more information".

I don't normally make a habit of repeating local information that has been published by other bloggers, but I am making an exception this week. Malcolm Knight of "Bexley is Bonkers" featured the video below recently; whilst I know many people read both blogs, there are plenty of those who do not. The video shows how Bexley Council and their contractors have completely ruined Bexleyheath Town Centre for pedestrians and vehicle users alike. Give it a watch, and please feel free to leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.