Redevelopment.

After many years lying empty and derelict, the former Co-Op department store in Dartford is being redeveloped. The landmark Art Deco style building is going to be part of a £35 million redevelopment plan which aims to breathe new life into the town centre in and around Spital Street; in a a recent press release, Dartford Borough Council announced that the project will prioritise local business sustainability and long-term economic growth. The Council states that the project will be carried out in two phases by summer 2026. It hopes to have begun construction on phase 1 of the development shortly; This will involve converting the old Co-Op building into a cultural venue to open in 2027, boosting the nighttime economy with new businesses. The following phase 2 aims to create a low-rise neighbourhood in Hythe Street, which the Council is hoping will consist of 69 new homes with at least 25 built within 2 years of planning approval. Approximately 20% of these homes will be affordable housing. The Council also states that the development will create around 100 full-time jobs during construction and a further 100 permanent new jobs when the commercial and leisure spaces are open to the public and trading. It is somewhat refreshing to note that the Council will retain ownership of the businesses and will prioritise the needs of the community over profit. Unlike certain other local councils whose priorities are somewhat more murky, I have to say that I am quite impressed by the proposals and the architects impressions of the redevelopment, which will sympathetically reuse the Art Deco former Co-Op and keep many of its design features. I also hope that the interior stairwells and large metal and glass internal doors are retained, although no doubt time will tell.

The Apple iMac celebrated its' 27th birthday in the last month; The computer would be simple to use, and connect easily to the then newly popular Internet. It would also look unlike anything Apple or any of its competitors had ever made before. That computer, the original iMac, became Apple's most successful product in years. The mixture of beautiful design and functionality not only stabilised the company, but set Apple on the path to its greatest successes in the early part of the new century. The first iMac was introduced in May of 1998 and arrived on the market on August 15th of that year, although it only reached the UK that October. The goals of the iMac project included making a machine that could easily connect with the Internet, that would achieve something close to "plug and play" functionality. A product that would get people talking about Apple again, at a time when the company had been doing very badly, and was in danger of going bust or being taken over.  Apple came up with a form factor drastically different from the PCs that were popular at the time. At the same time, it was reminiscent of Apple's all-in-one Mac line that it introduced in 1984. The original iMac was the first major Apple product designed by newly appointed Senior Vice President of Industrial Design (now Sir) Jony Ive, who had been the top designer for all of the company's products for several decades. The machine's unique look was a major part of the selling of the iMac. The fact that the computer used what at the time were some revolutionary technologies was a moot point - the technology was hidden behind a non - threatening, friendly exterior and intuitive user interface. The sales of the new iMacs were spectacular. Reportedly it sold 278,000 sold in its first six weeks, rising to around 800,000 by the end of 1998. According to Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson: "Most notably, 32 percent of the sales went to people who were buying a computer for the first time, and another 12 percent to people who had been using Windows machines".

Following the article I published last week about my level of dissatisfaction with the domestic waste collection service subcontracted to a third-party company by Bexley Council. I have had quite a few responses to my request for reader feedback. It would seem that experiences vary considerably in respect of what people think of the quality of service offered. Some like Malcolm Knight of the excellent Bexley is Bonkers blog are broadly satisfied with the service that is received. Whereas others make my level of annoyance look positively mild in comparison. The following submission gives an idea of one particular opinion of the management and organisation of the local dustbin collection service. There have been others, but this one is in my opinion one of the most cogently argued and certainly makes for an interesting discussion. I have had other opinions including one almost diametrically opposite to the one published below, but the author requested that it was for my eyes only and not for publication. If you have anything to add to this discussion then please send it to the usual email address. Guest writer Chris sent me this opinion of the situation:- "As a capitalist formation, a company like Country Style Group, must make a profit for the owners or shareholders. Companies are set up by people investing money into them with the expectation of making a profit. Breaking even will never satisfy them because there are alternatives that are profitable. Therefore, companies that do not make a profit will fail, the owners will move their investment. The lack of investment will curtail the company’s necessary maintenance and replacement of equipment, and keeping up with the inflationary costs of premises and wages. All this means that, if profits are threatened, the company must respond. They must either put up their prices or cut costs. Given that their sole customer – the council – will resist price increases, the alternatives are to reduce services and wages or numbers of staff. That these events will be described as “increasing efficiency” cuts no ice with me. Of course, the question of response to complaints and shortcomings is hampered by the sandwiching of the council between the company and the complainants, separating the ultimate recipients – the households – from the organisation delivering the service, so that orders to redress some issue become mere requests. Added to this the periodic renewal of contracts may appear to favour the council as the paymasters, but in fact favours the company because the change in supplier is ultimately a cost and inconvenience which the council and residents will bear. The solution to me is obvious – remove profit from the equation. Put the running of waste collection back directly in the hands of a council department so that the primary goal is carrying out waste collection with efficiency and cost as secondary considerations. But then, I am an old leftie who sees this as part of the need to have all the basic services and critical resources – like energy, water, transport infrastructure and environmental management under the direct control and ownership of the public. I would not include food production because there is no (present) pressure on it – there is a surplus in fact". Comments to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I have written on multiple occasions about the situation at Bexleyheath Police station, and the potential closure of the front desk - which is where members of the public can report crimes or other security issues. There have been reports in the press that due to budget cuts, the front desks at many London police stations were to be closed overnight to save on staffing costs. It would appear that this is now going to be happening. The only local police station where the front desk will stay open 24/7 will apparently be Plumstead. This is due to a number of issues, including pressure from local MP Abena and the fact that Plumstead Police station is designated as an anti-terrorist centre, and I believe also because of its relative proximity to Belmarsh high security prison. Regarding the situation with Bexleyheath Police station and their front desk, a statement has been released, which I publish in full:-"You may have seen reports in the media today about some of our front office counters closing. This has been part of a series of tough choices the Met is undertaking in order to cover a £260m funding shortfall. However, we are keen to make sure that any changes impact communities as little as possible. While we are a shrinking service, we are determined to use our resources to best tackle the issues that mean the most to you, putting more officers visibly in the community. Having spoken to local politicians and community members, many have said they would prefer to have more front counters that are open during the day, rather than fewer counters with around the clock service. For now, our front counters remain open as usual, and we will update you on when the changes will take place. When it is time for the changes take place, we would like to reassure you that there will still be a front counter available to you in Bexleyheath. If you would like to report a crime at a police station, you will still be able to, with the front counter at Bexleyheath remaining open from 10am to 10pm on Monday-Friday and between 9am and 7pm at the weekend. Fewer than 1 in 2000 crimes since 2012 were reported at a police station outside of these hours, however we will provide a further update when these changes will come into effect. In addition to this, you will still be able to report crimes online, or by dialling 101 if it is not an emergency. If it is an emergency, always call 999 and ask for the police.  All these services remain available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and are how 90% of crimes are reported.  Tackling crimes in your local area remains one of our key priorities and we are increasing the number of PC’s and Police Community Support Officers within our neighbourhood teams. You can find out who is in your neighbourhood team both on the Met website and on www.metengage.co.uk. Our officers will continue to police your neighbourhood, and please feel free to approach them with any questions or concerns you may have. If, for whatever reason you do not feel comfortable talking to us, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11 or via their untraceable online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org".

Following the 1996 Dunblane massacre by Thomas Hamilton, many categories of firearms were banned in the UK. I have written about this, and my own experiences of the handgun ban in the past and I'm not going to restate that now. It has always been a case that ownership of a firearm in the UK was a privilege and not a right, and that privilege was extremely tightened in 1997 when the updated laws were enacted. I'm not going to debate the efficacy of the ban, but I have noticed there are a few loopholes that perhaps need to be addressed. Offensive weapons such as stun guns. Tasers and many kinds of knife and machete have also been banned by legislation, and it is an offence to own or use in public. One item that is still perfectly legal for anyone in the UK to own and operate is any kind of catapult. Some more can injure or kill and or lethal weapons in their own rights. At present it is still possible to buy online or even walk into a shop and purchase a catapult. Historically, there have been incidents where youths have attacked and even killed wild birds in the local area, especially in Thamesmead. There are current proposals to make owning or using a catapult by anybody under 18 will become an offence. It is understood that there are legitimate uses for a catapult especially by anglers who use them to spread bait across rivers and lakes. But these catapults are usually low-powered and designed purely for the purposes of attracting fish and not for causing injury or death to animals or potentially even people. I think an analogy could be made with air weapons. It is legal for anybody over the age of 18 to purchase an air rifle or air pistol which has 12 ft lb of energy or less at the muzzle. In order to legally purchase an air weapon with a higher output power one needs to have applied for and been granted a firearm certificate with all the associated checks and security investigations. It strikes me that something similar may need to be enacted with respect of catapults.

One of the unique selling points of Erith that seems to get overlooked by many people is its rich maritime heritage - after all, it is the only place in the whole of the London Borough of Bexley which has public access to the River Thames. The Riverside Gardens and the Pier are lovely places to spend time on a nice day, and it is a pity that more local people are not aware of these assets. What is also remarkable - to me at least - is that there are some very attractive houses and apartments located right on the river front. One would have expected that these properties would attract a premium price, but this is actually not the case at all. A four bedroomed, terraced town house in Wharfside Close, right on the river walk sold in 2023 for £375,000, and a two bedroomed apartment sold in October 2024 for £230,000 - astonishingly reasonable, when one considers that a similar house or apartment with decent river views in somewhere like Deptford or Woolwich would sell for around ten times as much, and in somewhere really upmarket like Putney, the sky would be the limit. The Wharfside Close properties are large and modern, they have off street parking and there is even a dedicated children's play park area. The views out over the River Thames and Erith Pier are stunning, and you have Morrison's supermarket next door. I find it strange that the properties do not command a higher price. Wharfside Close is no more than five minutes walk from Erith Station, two minutes from the Riverside Shopping Centre and the bus terminus, and less than ten minutes by car to the M25 and A2. I feel that at some point soon, the market for these places is going to take off.

The end video this week is some historic black and white newsreel footage of both Crayford and Erith from the 1960's. Comments and feedback to me as usual at hugh.neal@gmail.com.