The Christmas Tree Festival 2018.

The photos above were taken this weekend at the annual Christmas Tree Festival at Christ Church Erith. The event raises money for several good causes, including The Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice. Hundreds of visitors turned up to the event, which is one of the most popular and well - attended in the local calendar. A very wide cross - section of the local community visited the church over the weekend - the event started on Friday lunchtime, and finished on Sunday evening, with many live musical performances taking place whilst the visitors walked around the church, which was filled with decorated Christmas trees sponsored by local organisations and individual families. A very large number of local and not so local people visited the events; I spoke to a chap who had travelled all of the way from Eastbourne to pay a visit to the church. Visitor numbers were definitely up by a significant percentage when compared to previous years, and donations made were also up, though the final figure of the money collected for good causes is not yet available. The event is free, though donations to the various good causes that the event supports are always very welcome. The Christmas Tree Festival is one of numerous events which take place over the course of a year that really show how much of a sense of community involvement there is locally. Thanks to the numerous Maggot Sandwich readers who came over to say "hello" during the festival whilst I was handing out event programmes to incoming visitors. 

As people gear up for Christmas, the whole thorny issue of gifts and gift wrapping comes up. I have a major issue with gift wrapping paper for Christmas presents; due to the treatment much of the paper receives during production, it cannot be recycled, and is especially bad for the environment, as the only way to get rid of it is to put it in landfill, or to burn it. What I have chosen to do is rather than wrapping Christmas presents, I will be giving them in sparkly gift bags, which can be reused, year after year. As I have previously written, this is also the reason that I don't send Christmas cards, as I believe them to be ruinously bad for the environment - wood and rags are pulped to make the cards, energy is used to print them, fossil fuels are used to transport them to the shops, electricity and gas are burned to light and heat the shops, then once they are purchased, more fossil fuels are used to deliver the cards around the planet, then after a few days they are discarded, and many cannot be recycled, due to the plastic or wax derived finishes that many cards have. I can understand the practice in the past, when an annual card sent to friends and loved ones would be a form of annual communication when you might otherwise not hear from them, but nowadays this is far from the case; instant worldwide online communications mean that from my perspective, Christmas cards are consigned to the past. What do you think? Please leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

On Monday of last week, I was sent an Email by Caroline Field, Head of Regeneration at Orbit Housing Association regarding Erith Park, the development on the site of the former Larner Road housing estate - somewhere which had a very poor image and reputation of being something of a "sink estate". The information she sent me showed just how far things have changed over the last few years. Back when the Erith Park development was in the very early stages in 2013, I wrote an article stating that I felt the new development was doomed to failure and that Orbit would be putting good money after bad. Caroline Field invited me to the site Orbit site offices on the then building site that was to become Erith Park, and showed me around. I was extremely impressed with what I saw. I then wrote the following piece which you can read by clicking here. Now the Erith Park development has won an important and prestigious award, which shows just how far things have come since the days of the now long gone and unlamented Larner Road Estate. The article reads as follows:- "A former council estate, which was blighted by social problems and crime for 40 years, has undergone a major community-led regeneration with police crime prevention techniques built into its 588 new homes from the outset. The 1970s Larner Road Estate in South-east London was widely known for its eight distinctive tower blocks, which presented a forbidding landmark to drivers travelling through Erith towards the capital from the M25. Local residents knew it as a troubled estate and it presented huge challenges for police. Calls about crime often required a two-car response, a direct reflection of the level of crime and disorder on the estate. Over the last five years, Larner Road has been transformed into Erith Park as part of a wide-scale regeneration of the area by the UK housing group Orbit and Wates Residential. The tower blocks have come down and been replaced by a low to medium rise development of apartments and houses for affordable rent, shared ownership and market sale, built into traditional street patterns. On Tuesday, 27 November 2018 as the last three homes were completed by Orbit and Wates Residential, the Metropolitan Police reported that there had been no recorded offences of burglaries, drugs related offences, weapons, robberies or personal thefts within the boundary of Erith Park over the last 12 months. Reported crime on the estate remains low in volume and impact and police have received relatively few reports of anti-social behaviour. Despite the high density of the housing on Erith Park, it now has 80 percent less crime compared to the rest of the ward it sits within, according to the Metropolitan Police. Key to this policing success has been the ongoing work of police officers trained by Secured by Design (SBD), the national police crime prevention initiative. Known as Designing Out Crime Officers, they are attached to local police forces around the UK to work with architects, developers and local authority planners to design out crime at the planning stage – long before construction begins. SBD measures improve the physical security of buildings, such as robust doors, windows and locks that meet SBD standards, as well as crime prevention techniques designed into the surrounding layout and landscaping. These techniques include increasing natural surveillance so strangers can be seen clearly and limiting cut-throughs and alleyways to avoid potential hiding places and escape routes. Metropolitan Police Sgt Matt Coe, said: “Designing out crime on the estate has not only reduced crime but also improved the outlook for people who live here. It’s a place where people are choosing to live. Whereas before, it had a poor reputation and was poorly regarded. “The big lesson I take away from Erith Park is the importance of having the mixed tenures: social, rental and private living. People who live here feel confident in the police and feel the police are doing a better job, even though we have fewer resources than in the past. So from a police point of view, our attention to detail in the design of the estate has been an extremely worthwhile investment compared to decades of reactive policing. Some people regard designing out crime as a long-term investment. I don’t think it is. Buildings are happening and going up very quickly. It’s not long-term, it’s long lasting and that’s the difference. It’s not something that is happening in the future, it’s happening now, but will last for a long time,” he said.  The driving force behind Erith Park has been Orbit, the UK’s largest developer of affordable housing, with over 42,000 homes under management. In 2005, Orbit started discussions with the local community about the estate’s future. In 2012 Wates Construction Ltd were selected as construction and development partner. The £120 million project has had the support of the London Borough of Bexley and the affordable housing was grant-funded by the Greater London Authority. Built in two phases, construction started on phase 1 in March 2013 with phase 2 completed in November 2018. Caroline Field, Head of Regeneration, Orbit, said the estate had sold well and has proved to be popular when properties have come up for rental or sale. “The perception in the wider community is that it’s an amazing transformation. Sometimes, on regeneration schemes, people say: ‘You may have built new homes, but it’s still the same place’. But with Erith Park, people can see the wider and deeper transformation – it’s not just window dressing.” Caroline added: “Residents on the old estate would never have let their children play outside unsupervised because it was unsafe. Today, children are allowed to do so. That’s the measure of what’s changed here.” In 2016 Erith Park achieved gold in the annual Considerate Constructors Scheme’s National Site Awards and a few days later won the London Regeneration Project of the Year in the London Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Awards. SBD is the national police crime prevention initiative, which works to prevent crime in the built environment. More than one million homes have been built to SBD crime prevention standards over the last 30 years with reductions in crime of up to 87 percent. SBD is managed by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI), which runs a wide range of crime prevention initiatives and activities on behalf of the Police Service throughout the UK. SBD is due to mark its 30th anniversary in 2019. 

Just when the hoary subject of government issued personal ID cards in the UK has been dead and gone for a long time, the subject pops up again like a bad penny. Last Monday, in an interview with the Dailey Telegraph, Digital Minister Margot James MP said the Government should play an active role in the development of technology-based identification that she believes could speed up how people access public services online. She said: “I think there are advantages of a universally acclaimed digital ID system which nowhere in the world has yet. There is a great prize to be won once the technology and the public's confidence are reconciled." She touted the government's role in the development of digital identities – but pointed to work on an existing system called Verify in an apparent bid to demonstrate UK government's expertise. For those in need of information on the subject, Verify is one of the albatrosses around the Government Digital Service’s neck. The digital identity system, launched in 2011, has been struggling with low user take-up and internal Whitehall battles for years. In July, a government watchdog downgraded its chances of success and in October the government opted to cut public support for the system, offering it up to the private sector. Margot James is not the only government minister keen on a new ID card system; Amber Rudd – now secretary of state at Verify's beleaguered Department for Work and Pensions – called for a state-backed system based on NHS numbers. At the time, she also shrugged off the public's possible concerns, arguing that people were perfectly happy handing over their data to technology giants, so they should give it to the government. However, the government has yet to make any concrete policy proposals about a national ID system – and it can be sure critics won't dismiss concerns about security and surveillance as easily as its ministers have. A comment I found online seems to sum up the situation quite admirably:- "Politicians, like nappies, should be changed frequently, and for the same reason".

A regular reader contacted me early last week to inform me that Morrison's in Erith were hosting a crisp packet recycling facility from a company called TerraCycle, and sponsored by Walker's Crisps.  In the first instance, Walkers are asking customers to collect a batch of packets and drop them off at a collection points manned by volunteers - but with only 191 participating collection points around the UK this could be a long journey for many people. A public drop-off location is a communal collection point where the public can take their TerraCycle waste for recycling. TerraCycle is eliminating the idea of waste by recycling the "non-recyclable". Whether it is coffee capsules from your home, pens from a school, or plastic gloves from a manufacturing facility, TerraCycle can collect and recycle almost any form of waste. They partner with individual collectors such as individual members of the public, as well as major consumer product companies, retailers, manufacturers, municipalities, and small businesses across 20 different countries. With public help, they are able to divert millions of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators each month.  When you take your waste to a public drop-off location, you are helping the site administrator raise money for the charity of their choice through TerraCycle points. This is a great idea, and the site will take empty and washed out packets from any crisp manufacturer, not just Walkers. The problem at the time of writing is, that none of the staff in Morrison's Erith know anything about the TerraCycle recycling scheme. This in itself is not very surprising, as communication between senior staff and the shop floor appears to be somewhat poor. I predict that the whole matter will become clearer over the next few weeks. It has to be a priority to increase the amount of materials that we recycle. Over the past 100 years, the amount of waste that humanity produces has increased by almost 10,000 percent. Of that staggering volume, it is estimated that 25 percent ends up in our oceans, forming five gigantic areas composed exclusively of rubbish. Since only a small percentage gets recycled the majority is effectively mummified in landfills, leaching out methane and other toxic outputs over time. If it is not buried, it is typically burned in incinerators. While a very small percentage of incinerators do produce some energy as an output, in the process they also destroy all possible value except the caloric (or energy) value inherent in the materials. The main reason most of our waste is sent to landfills and incinerators, and why few of our outputs are recycled (like they technically can be), is tied to the economics of waste. It is simply more expensive to collect and recycle most things than the results are worth, and it’s cheap—because we allow it to be cheap—to send waste to a landfill or an incinerator. To their credit, Erith Morrison's do have facilities for recycling batteries, and most recently - and successfully - a collection point just inside the main entrance where customers can deposit used Tassimo coffee cartridges. Whilst I think this is a laudable move, I still struggle with the whole concept of cartridge based drinks systems - per cup they work out to be very expensive, and your drinks machine is tied into using one proprietary cartridge - if the supplier goes out of business, or stops making the cartridges, you are stuffed. On top of this - and to my mind far more importantly, the cartridges are not environmentally friendly. Personally I would suggest that using loose ground coffee would be a better option - and the used coffee waste can be subsequently composted. Hopefully if more large companies like Walkers take responsibility for their waste recycling through schemes such as TerraCycle, this situation will change markedly for the better. 

A new calendar showing various views of the river front at Erith is currently on sale. Its creator, local resident Tim Hutton writes:- "Essentially, the calendar came about as a way of sharing a selection of photographs I've taken of the Thames from the perspective of Erith. In 2016 I began running on the Thames Path as a means of increasing my own personal fitness. Using the popular 'Couch To 5K' running app, I would run 3 mornings a week along the Thames Path. In line with the app, week by week you increase the distance that you run, reaching the 5km goal at the end of the programme. What became immediately apparent were the stunning views of the river that were on offer from the path. This was a motivation to carry on and complete the 'Couch To 5K' and later 'Couch To 10K'.  Before and after running, I would take photographs of the river from the Thames Path in an attempt to capture those views and changing colours as the seasons progressed. I decided to compile the best of the photos in the calendar to hopefully make people aware that we have all this on our doorstep and at the same time hopefully encourage people to make use of the path for exercise, whether it be walking or running. The reaction to the calendar has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm hoping to be able to repeat this next year with a series of new photographs". You can read more about the local calendar, and even buy copies online by visiting Tim's website here. 

Erith has been awarded £1.6m from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, following a successful bid by the Council. The funding will be used to make further improvements to the town by rejuvenating existing open spaces, bringing empty buildings into use, nurturing innovation and enhancing all the things that make Erith great, making the most of its unique setting by the River Thames. Councillor Louie French, Bexley’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth said: “I am pleased that the Mayor has recognised the potential that Erith has and awarded us Good Growth funds. We want to make the town the prosperous and forward-looking place it used to be, and we are excited about the cultural, employment and housing opportunities it could offer.” More information about the upcoming projects will be available in the new year. The Good Growth Fund is open to a broad range of public, private and third-sector organisations in London who want to drive regeneration in their local area.  Funds are awarded to innovative, best practice regeneration activities that focus on the local community. Improvements which have already been made in Erith as part of The Greater Erith Programme, a London Borough of Bexley partnership project with the Mayor of London, including the restoration of the iconic Carnegie Library building. 

Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "In the past week two residential burglaries and one non-residential burglary have been reported to Police on Barnehurst Ward. On Tuesday 04/12/2108 In Downbank Avenue a resident returned home at 09.30pm to find the front door open and damage caused to a rear garden door. An untidy search had been carried out within the property and items taken. In Beverley Road on Thursday 06/12/2018 suspects gained entry by entering the rear garden and smashing a rear window to a patio door. CCTV footage showed two IC1 males, walking down the side of the driveway at 06.30pm hours. At 07.00pm hours the two suspects reappeared from the property and walked down Beverley Road towards Manor Way. One male appeared to be very tall and the other male very short. Both males wore baggy clothing and one had a white pair of trainers on. Due to the night vision we were unable to obtain clear facial footage. On Friday 07/12/2018 at 04.00am suspects forced open window shutters and smashed the inner window to gain entry to Barnehurst Golf Club. An alarm sounded and suspects were believed to have fled as nothing was taken. On a good note we now have a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in Eversley Avenue so another road off the list. A reminder that our next community contact session will be on Thursday 20th December at 11.00am at Barnehurst Golf Club". Belvedere ward - no report this week. Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had two reports of burglary on the ward. One was reported along Garden Avenue Bexleyheath, a vehicle was taken. Entry was gained by front UVPC door forcing lock. Second report Braemar Avenue. Entry was gained theft of keys and vehicle taken. Regular burglary patrols are conducted by the team. Hawthorn Road - theft of vehicle owner still had keys. Upland Road theft of Motor Bike, and two reports of theft from motor vehicles on Warren Road and Royal Oak Road. Car parks on the Broadway patrolled for anti - social behaviour and drug activity. Also patrols are conducted in the car park areas and the Broadway to reduce anti-social behaviour including Martens Grove Park. Drop In Surgery an indoor one to one consultation session Central Library Townley Road Bexleyheath. Wed 19 December 2018 10.30AM- 11.30AM. If you do wish to pass on information to Police then please contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Please do not hesitate to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, email and the ward phone. If you are after crime prevention advice, please look at the Met Police website which has lots of information that you may find useful. Remember in an emergency please dial 999 and 101 for non-urgent reporting". Crayford ward:- "Thankfully a relatively 'Q' week for reported crime in Crayford this week. On Saturday 8th December at approx. 15.20 it was reported that a burglary had taken place at the closed premises at Skoops in Crayford Ward. The owner attended and saw the shutter was up and chased off two suspects within. It would seem that a large amount of damage had been caused within the building. Between 19.30 on Friday 7th December and 8.40 on Saturday 9th December the front window of a bronze Honda Civic was smashed in Valley Road, nothing was taken from within. On the early hours of Friday 7th December a male tried to enter a fire exit in to the Bear and Ragged Staff Pub; he was described as wearing a dark hooded coat with the hood up, a balaclava covering his face, wearing a rucksack and gloves. We held a street briefing at Town Hall Square on Sunday 9th December to listen to concerns of residents living there, notably about anti-social behaviour and will be following these concerns up. We don't have any forthcoming meetings and will endeavour to arrange and promote some in the coming weeks". 

Erith ward:- "We have been attending a few sheltered housing schemes this week for their Christmas events raising money with raffles and bingo. We have been carrying out weapon sweeps across Erith again this week. Due to a high number of shoplifting in Morrisons we have been patrolling the store early mornings in uniform and in plain clothing which has been going very well (thank you to Morrisons for providing us with a few coffees) ongoing talks with all store management in Erith (photo above - click on it for a larger version). Harassment warning has been issued following an ongoing neighbour dispute. A camera (CCTV) has been requested for the area of West Street.  Crimes of note from this week: Theft from MV Saturday 08/12/2018 Erith High Street – car door forced open items taken; Burg Res Monday 10/12/2018, West Street – front door opened items taken; Possible Cannabis Monday 10/12/2018 Erith Pier; Criminal Damage U500 Wednesday 28/11/2018 Chichester Wharf – car damaged; Shoplifting <£200 10/12/2018 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way – items taken from store; Burg-Bus/Com Monday 10/12/2018 20:00:00 Wickes Building Supplies Ltd, Fraser Road – items stolen from store; Theft from MV Monday 10/12/2018 16:15:00 Erith Veterans Club – car broken in to, items stolen. The next Community Contact Session is on Wednesday 19th December at 3pm in Costa Coffee". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Unfortunately we have had a spate of house burglaries since Thursday 6/12/18 with the common theme being entry gained via UPVC doors or windows forced open with a blunt object. Small easy to carry and conceal items, such as purses and wallets but especially cash, seem to be the preferred targets. Traditionally this escalates at this time of year so please ensure doors and windows are securely locked A red Ford Focus vehicle registration number PK11 ARZ has been reported stolen from the local area Four sets of number plates have been taken from vehicles parked and unattended. If you happen to see registration numbers LB05DMF, EA07APX, RX15XGG or AY63YBN please contact police so further enquiries can be made. Should you wish to protect your vehicle from this type of offence drop us a line and we may be able to provide appropriate anti-theft devices On Sunday 9/12/18 police stopped a vehicle being driven in Avenue Road and found inside were a small amount of cannabis consistent with personal use along with an axe. The vehicle was also seized for having no insurance. The investigation is ongoing. High visibility patrols have been conducted in Walsingham Walk which has come to police attention. On Monday 10/12/18 police seized one black and white handled knife concealed in the car park unattended but readily accessible". 

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "On Wednesday 05/12 around 11pm a resident in Wessex Drive heard a noise downstairs and upon investigation saw the lock to the front had been tampered with and 2 males driving away in a vehicle. Enquiries are being made into this crime and patrols of Wessex Drive will be taking place. At some time between the Thursday 6/12 and Saturday 8/12 a pushbike was stolen from a garden in Guild Road, no further information at this time but please keep all bikes securely padlocked if you have no shed or garage. Community engagement took place with Erith SNT attending the Orbit Sheltered Scheme Christmas Pop up event at Lambert Court. PCSO Mark had fun calling numbers at bingo (photo above) and hosting a few rounds of Play Your Cards Right before a buffet lunch was had by all and the day was rounded off by an entertainer singing some festive favourites. On Tuesday this week PCSO Mark attended Peareswood Primary school again to do some more reading with the year 1 pupils. This was followed by escorting the school choir to Sherwood House sheltered scheme in Erith (opposite Mcdonalds) where they brilliantly sang some favourite Christmas tunes which was much appreciated by the residents. PC's Mark and James have been doing some successful and excellent plain clothes work very early in the mornings this week especially around the cinder path area where we had received some intel of a suspicious male. A male matching the description was stopped and spoken to with no offences seen but strong words of advice given. Our next Community Contact Session is at 12 o'clock on Wednesday December 19th in Slade Green Library". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary - Overton Road, Sunday 09/12/18 between 00:01 – 08:00 Unknown suspects have entered the venue by the rear kitchen window (which was not locked) and stolen the property from within. Motor Vehicle Crime - Sydney Road, Tuesday 04/12/18 between 6pm – 12pm Wednesday 05/12/18 overnight theft of motor bike without keys by unknown suspect/s Kale Road Sunday 09/12/18 between 5am – 1145am By unknown person/s approaching victims vehicle, smashed driver side window taking property from within. Front windscreen also damaged. Manordeane Road, Sunday 09/12/18 between 3:25pm – 3:45pm VIW1's vehicle has had its offside front window smashed, vehicle notified off road for 2 years no insured / taxed / MOT".  West Heath ward:- "Unfortunately this week West Heath have suffered three burglaries. There were two burglaries on Thursday 6th December in Chessington Avenue and Mayfair Avenue. Both burglaries were committed during the day, entry forced from the rear of the properties with the glass either smashed or removed to gain entry and muddy footprints left at both scenes. There was an untidy search of both properties and items of jewellery taken. The third burglary happened in Dryhill Road overnight between Friday 7th December at 2330 hours and Saturday at 1030 hours where bags and documents stolen. West Heath will continue their burglary patrols both in high viz and plain clothes. A vehicles number plates were stolen from a car in New Road on Monday 10th December between 7am -3.30pm".

The end video this week is a bit of a curiosity; it is not strictly local being based close to Westcombe Park Station and adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel South entrance approach road. Observant commuters to and from London on the North Kent line to Dartford via Greenwich may have noticed a small side line that heads off towards the River Thames a little while after passing through Charlton Station on the way towards London. This little known railway line is the historic Angerstein Wharf Branch Line. The line only carries freight and there are not many trains each day, sometimes none at all. It is the oldest full gauge freight railway line in the world. The Angerstein Wharf Branch railway line was opened in 1851, and linked the North Kent Line near Charlton Station to Angerstein Wharf on the River Thames. It was promoted and built by John Julius Angerstein, a local land owner, investor, businessman and art collector – whose collection of paintings formed the nucleus of The National Gallery. Because the line passed over his land and was built with his own money he only needed to seek Parliamentary Powers to build the bridge over Woolwich Road – he is thought to be the only individual to have gained Parliamentary permission to build a railway in the UK. The line was leased by the South Eastern Railway in 1852 and bought outright in 1898. During the line’s life it had links to the South Metropolitan Gas Works (whose gas holders remain near the southern entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel) and the London County Council (later London Transport) Central Tram Repair Depot at Penhall Road (which gradually became the place where London’s Trams were scrapped after the system closed in the early 1950s). Although much quieter today the line is still in use, with trains four or five times each week conveying sea-dredged aggregates from a terminal at Angerstein Wharf. The line never carried passenger trains, although the odd enthusiast excursion train has used the track. The video below shows a little known (and I surmise little used) passenger crossing of the historic railway line. Do give it a watch and let me know what you think. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.