Green.

The photo above was once again taken from my former mystery location, which has finally been discovered. It is the top floor of the former Royal Alfred pub on the corner of Manor Road and Appold Street in Erith - click on it for a larger version; it shows the view looking Westwards along Manor Road, heading towards Erith town centre. What (apart from the somewhat similar appearance to the terraced houses with the "Coronation Street" style chimneys) really comes to mind when I look at the photograph is just how lush and green Erith is. People still complain about the concrete town centre, when in reality that was thankfully done way with a decade ago; we have Frank's Park nearby - a substantial wood that is open to everyone, and trees galore not only in public spaces, but also in many private gardens as well. When Manor Road was resurfaced back in July 2014,  a series of speed bumps were installed. Locals have since seen the law of unintended consequences come into play. The speed bumps are primarily located on the stretch of road to the East of Frobisher Road, in what would be the bottom left of the photo above, and are designed to slow traffic heading towards and from the long, straight section that connects to the various industrial estates that make up the Eastern half of Manor Road. The bumps are in the form of low, square shaped areas that are highlighted in fine red gravel. I stood for around ten minutes on Saturday morning, watching the behaviour of vehicles approaching these speed bumps, and it was not what I was expecting. Instead of slowing down before driving over the bumps, almost every single driver instead chose to swerve into the gap between the bumps, and continue without slowing down. This has the effect of forcing traffic in both directions to share the middle of the road. It would appear that the speed bumps are actually making the road more, rather than less dangerous due to the irresponsible behaviour of drivers. I am not sure what can be done to remedy this, other than constructing a barrier down the middle of the road, which would be neither practical or desirable. If you have recently travelled on the road, what were your experiences? Incidentally the dead bushes in the Erith Riverside Gardens which I reported on some time back have now been removed by the gardening contractor; I understand that the bushes have to be replaced before a deadline at Christmas. Around ninety percent of the bushes that were originally planted early in the summer were subsequently not watered by the contractor, and consequently they died due to lack of care by those being paid by Bexley Council to do precisely that. 

It would seem that the large Morrison's supermarket in Erith is about to make some changes; not long ago they outsourced the management of the large car park to a third party company; it would seem that this was not the end of the changes - word reaches me that they intend to operate a car washing / valeting service from within the car park - the idea being that you could drop off your car at the valet, go and do your shopping in the supermarket, and when you came back, your car would be cleaned and ready for you. I am sure that this will be popular with customers, though I doubt that it will be welcomed by the long established hand car wash and valeting service in Manor Road, only a couple of minutes drive from Morrisons. 

Did you know that a large, specialist fireworks factory used to be located on the Slade Green Marshes, very close to Joyce Green Lane, and the current Dartford Clay Shooting Club? The factory was founded by Joseph Wells in 1837 in Dartford; having learned his trade as an explosive lighter man on the River Thames in London. Wells Fireworks quickly became the leading display company in the UK and established a reputation for the manufacture and display of the finest quality fireworks. Using the Wells “Crown Brand” the company displayed at Cowes and Henley Regattas, Coronations and Jubilees to the Royal Family. Securing an international reputation for excellence this led to high value commissions including the LA Olympics, the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics, Rose Bowl displays and designing the original fireworks shows for Disneyland in Florida. Wells were taken over in 2003 by another concert / theatrical special effects company - Pyrojunkies who are based in Longfield, just past Dartford. Pyrojunkies produce all sorts of special effects for stage and television, and now fully incorporate the range of Wells fireworks, though nowadays they are made in West Sussex, and the Slade Green marshes factory site is now derelict (see the photograph above - click for a larger view) and likely to be redeveloped in the future. 

You may have read about the recent quite well publicised story about an elderly woman who has been penalised for inadvertently mistyping her car registration number when using a car a car park in Erith. You can read the original story by clicking here. The story has generated a lot of comments, all supporting the woman in her attempt to get the fine cleared. Eventually the parking ombudsman did annul the penalty, but only after many column inches had been written about the situation. Unfortunately this kind of behaviour by private car parking enforcement companies is becoming increasingly widespread. One of the main protagonists involved in the penalisation of motorists is a company called Smart Parking, who administer the park that Sylvia Bradford - the lady in the News Shopper story had used. There are a number of well documented cases very similar to Mrs. Bradford's one, where the person parking their car entered the registration number with an "o" rather than with a "0" - a very easy and genuine mistake to make. It is a sad fact that thousands of innocent people believe they have been unfairly targeted by companies which patrol privately owned car parks. Visitors to supermarkets, hospitals, airports and shopping malls have received demands for sums of up to three figures despite paying, because of misleading signs or a minor typo. Citizens Advice reports that complaints about “over zealous” charges have reached an unprecedented level as companies seek to maximise profits. It is an industry that is, so far, unregulated. Anyone can set up as a “parking enforcement company” and, although those who sign up to an accredited trade body have to abide by its code of practice, it is not mandatory to be a member. In 2012 the government established an independent appeals process for motorists in England and Wales, but in Scotland only the company that issues parking charges can adjudicate as to whether its decision is fair. Unsurprisingly, the verdict is usually “yes”. It would seem that Sylvia Bradford was stuck in a trap that many others have already fallen into. It is ironic that the car park she used was free - all you had to do was input your car registration number into the ticket machine and then be issued with a parking permit. The company Smart Parking make their money by issuing as many parking penalty notices as they can possibly get away with. One of the other ways they generate income is by exploiting a loophole in their terms and conditions, especially those relating to how long one is allowed to use the car park for. Smart Parking says that signs state that motorists will be charged for the full period that their vehicle is in the car park. But many motorists assume the clock only starts ticking from when they actually park. Confusion is compounded by the fact that the ticket machines calculate the required parking time from the moment payment is made. Motorists assume that they have until the time stamped on the ticket, when they might have already unwittingly used up ten minutes of their paid time finding a space. In order to use the system accurately, drivers are supposed to calculate how much time they want, including the time already spent inside the car park, which means they have to check the time they crossed the threshold and pay for an additional hour if it takes them over the tariff chosen. Those who choose the option to pay at the end of a visit must recall the precise time they drove into the car park. A newly widowed 80-year-old was recently chased for £160 after underpaying by just 10p in a car park that operates the system. Smart Parking unsurprisingly insisted the charge should stand. Smart Parking, owned by the Australian group Car Parking Technologies, revealed earlier this year that 75 percent of its revenue comes from parking breach charges and that the number of notices has doubled over the 12 months following the roll out of number plate recognition technology. It is a lucrative business, too, for firms who rely on foot patrols to identify contraventions and who pay “wardens” a commission of up to £30 for every ticket issued. Private parking firms cannot fine drivers like police and councils. Their demands are simply invoices for breach of contract and are governed by civil law. However, many firms try to blur the difference by calling them Parking Charge Notices (PCNs), similar to local authority Penalty Charge Notices (also known as PCNs), copying the yellow windscreen tickets issued by local authorities and employing debt collection agencies to chase for non-payment. In fact, debt collectors have no power to enforce payment or seize goods and many are unregulated sole traders. If a motorist refuses to pay up they can merely recommend that the parking company takes court action. Personally it strikes me as the easiest way to avoid the whole situation locally, at least, is to park in one of the other available car parks in town; there are a number of free, and rarely used car parking spaces in Erith High Street, adjacent to the Riverside Gardens - not only do you get a good car parking space, but you get a lovely view out over the River Thames and the picturesque gardens. What is not to like? It also avoids any potential involvement with Smart Parking - a company that seems to have little in the way of scruples. Alternatively you could follow the advice on this website, which may be helpful. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I am not sure if there is such a thing as the “Good Car Park Guide”, or indeed a Trip Advisor section especially dedicated to Travellers, but for the third time in not very long, the Eastern end of Morrison’s car park has been filled with Traveller caravans. They appear, seemingly out of nowhere, stay a couple of days, then disappear when the customary court order is served on them. Things were very tense in the supermarket on Tuesday afternoon; the store was in semi “lock down” – Police were standing in the entrance lobby, acting as surrogate security guards, whilst the roller shutters on the external windows were down – something very unusual in the store. I did notice something that concerned me greatly – the shutters were also down over the fire escape door, something that is illegal. I was told by a couple of members of staff that they had several instances of travellers coming into the store in groups, taking a trolley and filling it with high value items such as steaks and bottles of spirits, then making a beeline for the exit. There had also been an incident with a youth apparently vandalising a retail display. This situation seems to happen with disappointing regularity.

Now a note from Dana Wiffen - the Chairman of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association:- "The deadline for the signing of the petition to protest the proposed closure of Bexleyheath Police Station (online and paper version) is Thursday the 12th October 2017. This allows for the on-line petition to be downloaded and printed and the paper versions to be collated and counted. All will be presented at City Hall on Tuesday 17th October by members of Bexley Neighbourhood Watch Committee and Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board to our Assembly Member Gareth Bacon. His office will then present to the London Assembly in early November 2017. If you have not signed the petition, yet, can you please do as soon as possible. Click here to go to the online version of the petition. IT IS OUR ONLY CHANCE OF STOPPING THE PLANNED CLOSURE OF BEXLEYHEATH POLICE STATION. If you have collected signatures can you please let us have them by the 12th of this month either by posting or dropping to the police station. Thank you for your support". Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association:- Barnehurst ward:- “Another fantastic week crime wise for the ward with only two incidents reported both being motor vehicle crimes. The first being on Thursday 28th September between 11am – 1.30pm a disabled parking permit was stolen from a Mitsubishi Gallant at Hall place car park, entry was gained to the vehicle by unknown suspects barrelling the door lock. The second was a criminal damage where a vehicle was keyed/scratched on a driveway in Parkside Avenue this occurred overnight from the 29th September, If you have any information please give us a call or contact crime stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. With the winter nights now drawing in and the temperatures dropping please keep an eye on any elderly/vulnerable neighbours. If you have concerns we are more than happy to pay a discreet visit to them, just drop us an e mail at Barnehurst.snt@met.police.uk giving a brief outline of why you feel they are vulnerable. Thank you to all our twitter followers, with your help we have broken through the 300 mark. Let's get some more - follow us @MPSBarnehurst to see what your team are up to and up to date crime prevention advice. Finally join us for a coffee and a chat at Barnehurst Golf course on Thursday 12th October at 1PM”.  Brampton ward:- “Overall Brampton ward has had another busy week: 3 x Theft from motor vehicle in Pickford Lane, Pickford Close and Hudson Road; 2 x criminal damage to vehicles in Belvedere Road and Barrington Road; 1 x Burglary in Fairlawn Avenue –the team cocooned the road; 1 x shoplifting in Pickford Lane; 1 x common assault in Rydal Drive. A vehicle was stopped in Brampton Road and the driver was arrested for Possession with intent to supply as class A drugs were found on him. The male arrested did not live on Brampton ward. The team have been patrolling the woods later in the evening to explore the ASB issues and have had 12 stop and accounts in the last 3 days. On the 28th we completed a full day of road safety on the ward and also used the speed gun in Brampton Road, 2 motorists warned about their speed. This was in conjunction with Christchurch ward”. Colyers ward:- “There was 1 reported burglary on Colyers Ward between 26/09/17 and 04/10/17. There was also 1 reported theft from motor vehicle during the same period. On Saturday 30th September 2017 at approximately 6pm the victim has left his address in Avenue Road, Erith locked and secured. The victim returned at around 08:50pm to find muddy footprints all over the address and untidy searches in some of the rooms. The point of entry appeared to be through the back garden which is extremely muddy and through the back door. The glass in the back door has been shattered and there is a tool mark near the handle on the door. The victim discovered that items of jewellery and cash was stolen. Investigation is ongoing. The victim parked his vehicle a silver Nissan Almera on Frinstead Road, Erith on 25/09/2017 at 6pm. The victim indicated that on 26/09/17 at 8am they noticed that both the front and back number plates had been pulled off the vehicle. No suspect was seen but possible CCTV footage”. Crayford ward:- “Just one report of a burglary in Heath View Avenue, you are reminded to try and make your home look like it is still lived in when you go on holiday, this can be done with light timers, and there are also a plug in light that simulates a TV being on. Asking your neighbours to put your bins back can also help make it look like people are home”.  Erith ward:- “We have some street briefings coming up in October and a free bike marking event: Street Briefing - Franks Park ( near the play park ) on Sunday 22nd October 6pm; Street Briefing - St Fidelis ( near the play park ) on Saturday 28th October at 6pm; Bike marking – Outside the Erith Police Station ( Next door to farm foods ) – 28th October 2pm. Weekly crime update - Shoplifting; £200 29/09/2017 13:15:00 Sam 99p, Cross Street; Theft of Motor Vehicle 29/09/2017 08:00:00 Riverdale Road Theft from Motor Vehicle 29/09/2017 09:00:00 outside Erith Road; Shoplifting; £200 01/10/2017 11:40:00 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc,James Watt Way; Fly-Tipping 30/09/2017 21:00:00 Wickes Building Supplies Ltd, Fraser Road; Burglary Res 01/10/2017 21:48:00 - Chandlers Drive; Theft of cycle 02/10/2017 17:05:00 O/S, Erith Library; Vehicle Interfere Mildred Road; Making off 03/10/2017 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way; Shoplifting; £200 03/10/2017 13:50:00 West Street Criminal Damage U500 03/10/2017 20:15:00 Erith Road; Criminal Damage U 500 03/10/2017 Holly Hill Road. Following concerns raised to us about drug use in Lesney Park Road PC Gill + PC Tom conducted a vehicle stop + seized cannabis. For up to date news on what we are doing follow us on Twitter - @MPSErith". Lesnes Abbey ward:- “No Burglary from Dwellings. 2 Attempted Burglary Dwellings Wolvercote Road (Wyfold House) and New Road (Abbey House). Crime prevention - Check you have closed and locked all your doors and windows before leaving your property. If you have UPVC doors and windows double lock them with keys to secure them properly. Leave some lights on if it will be dark before you get home; Install low wattage ‘dusk to dawn ‘ outside lighting; If you have a burglar alarm remember to activate it. Motor Vehicle Crimes: 1 Theft from Motor Vehicle. Wolvercote Rad; 2 Thefts of Motor Vehicles. Wolvercote Road and Abbey Wood. PC’s Telfer and Quarshie – Awuah stopped 2 males on Overton Road East, male searched by PC Telfer resulted in drugs being found, male was issued with a Police Notice for Disorder ticket ( PND £90 ) reason for the ticket, the male already had a cannabis warning before. The same male was found to be riding a mechanically propelled vehicle on a public road without valid insurance, the relevant paperwork being completed by PC Quarshie – Awuah. The scooter was seized". North End ward:- “No burglaries have been reported in the ward for the last week. The male we stopped last week riding his moped in the Cinder alley has admitted the offences in interview and we await an update on when he will be charged. A male arrested for cannabis possession in Page Crescent back in July has been to court and pleaded guilty. He was ordered to pay fines totalling £235. Northumberland Heath ward:- “This week we have had a burglary in Cray Road, Unfortunately the residents were on holiday at the time. Entry was gained via a downstairs kitchen window which was forced open. Several pieces of jewellery and cash were taken. The burglary took place between Wednesday September 27th and Sunday October 1st. An elderly lady had her handbag stolen at the Cemetery in Brook Street Erith on Sunday October 1st. The bag contained cash and her bus pass. One report this week of Motor Vehicle Crime in Shinglewell Road. The victim parked their car having taken their children to school and went for a run, on returning to the vehicle the rear passenger window was smashed but nothing had been taken. The team also held a coffee with cops event at Tea on the Pantiles this week”. Thamesmead East ward:- “Good News, no burglary reported this week, however, please see below regarding motor vehicle crime. Between Friday 22nd and Friday 29th September, theft from motor vehicle occurred at Mangold Way (Number plates stolen); During the early hours of Saturday 30th Sept, a vehicle was stolen from Manorden; Theft from a motorbike reported between 1700 and 2100 hours, Eastgate Close; Mobile phone stolen from a motor vehicle, (window smashed) Holstein Way, during the early hours of Monday 2nd October. On Monday 2nd October the team seized a motorbike after the rider was seen riding with no insurance. The rider was also found to be in possession of a small bag of cannabis. He was reported for the driving offence, and received a 90 pound fine for possession of cannabis. Ward Panel Meeting took place on Monday 2nd October. 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”.

As regular readers may already be aware, I am a big curry fan; I only normally go out for a curry a couple of times a year - one of which is usually following the Bexley Beer Festival each Easter. I was interested to see that a new curry house has just opened locally in Bexleyheath. The old Akash in Bexleyheath Broadway is no more. It has closed, been completely refurbished and re-opened under new ownership and management as the Masala Inn. It has only been open for a few days, but it has already got a couple of good reviews on Trip Advisor. The new restaurant was officially opened by the Peter Reader, the Mayor of Bexley on Wednesday. I am looking forward to giving the place a try in the not too distant future. You can view the Masala Inn website by clicking here - but be warned it is a work in progress, with much content still to be added - but at least the menu page works OK. 

Bexley Council are trumpeting their vision for the development of the Borough by 2025; it makes for interesting reading, but unfortunately much in the way the latest Dan Brown novel does. The council have published their plans, but unfortunately they don't have a great deal of basis in reality; the reason for this is that they have confused their desire for something to happen with the reality that it probably will not actually happen. Pretty much all of their plans are based on the assumption that the extension to the Crossrail system from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet will actually take place, when the latest developments indicate this is becoming increasingly less likely to happen. The whole Ebbsfleet theme park project, is to my mind looking much less likely to take place, especially since the main creative content backer Paramount pulled out of the project back in June. The main reason for the proposed Crossrail extension was to provide a means for visitors from Central London to easily travel to and from the site in Ebbsfleet where the theme park is (was?) to be based. The connectivity with Belvedere, Erith and Slade Green was merely incidental to the major aim of linking London to the Kent based theme park site. Almost all of Bexley Council's future development plans for the Borough are based around the assumption that this railway extension will take place; they have made almost zero provision for a "Plan B" if this does not actually happen. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The ending video is a short piece from the Manager of Erith Leisure Centre - a man who started off as a customer of the place, and now runs it. 

£1.90 for a wee.

The photo above shows the Wind, Wave and Sail sculpture which is located on the small triangle of land that separates Erith Riverside Shopping Centre from Morrison's car park. It was erected in 1998 and funded by Morrison's. It is meant to represent the connection between Erith and the River Thames - to be honest it is not bad, but pretty unimaginative - too literal in my opinion, but nevertheless the town is better for it. 

You may recall that two weeks ago I covered a story involving a break in and burglary at The Cross Keys Centre in Erith High Street. I published a series of still images taken from the high definition CCTV cameras that surround the building. Well, due to some excellent work carried out by Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, and the Erith and North End Safer Neighbourhood Police teams, I am extremely happy to say that three youths have now been arrested for the offences. Thanks to everyone who helped identify the youths; it is somewhat ironic - the youths were caught partly through the actions of the local community, and when the renovation and conversion work to The Cross Keys Centre is completed, it will become a great asset and resource to the local community. I think we can chalk this one up as a victory for the good guys. 

You may recall that I gave extensive coverage to the 2016 Erith Fun Day last week, with its first appearance on the large field behind Erith Sports Centre. It has been relocated from its previous location in Erith Riverside Gardens, as the Fun Day had outgrown the original venue. The new Sports Centre site is much larger than the old venue, and this reflected both in the increased number of stalls and stallholders at the event this year, and the number of visitors compared to the past. I only became aware of one shocking fact this week, well after the Fun Day had concluded. One of my regular local sources of information dropped me a bombshell. It turns out that the new venue for the Fun Day is not quite as welcoming as had been thought. My source writes “I was shocked to hear that the nearby Leisure Centre run by Parkwood Leisure was charging £1.90 for use of their toilets, at Saturday's Erith Fun Day, when our members said they were volunteers and ask if they could use them for free they were told NO as were the Police;  I think this is a disgusting rip off. Are they not able to enter into the spirit of the local community fun day and even if they charged a nominal fee say 20p it would not have been so bad, I have emailed them directly and will write to their head office if I don't get a reasonable reply”. This is utterly disgraceful – there were only three portaloos on the Fun Day field, and these were heavily used by the visitors to the event, leaving it very difficult for the organisers and volunteers when they needed the lavatory. Bearing in mind that Erith Sports Centre plan in being the venue of choice for future Fun Days, one would have thought that they would have been more welcoming and encouraging of a long – term relationship, but it would appear not. How the sports centre can even contemplate exploiting local volunteers by charging them £1.90 each and every time they needed to use the loo is both exploitative and utterly outrageous. My contact subsequently wrote to the leisure centre, and got the following reply:- Thank you for taking the time to put in writing your comments about the toilet facilities here at Erith Leisure Centre. Unfortunately everyone who is not a member of the site needs to pay an admission charge to use the facilities, which would include the use of the toilet facilities. The Erith Fun Day was nothing to do with the centre, but the management here had a meet with the organisers beforehand who assured us there was toilet facilities available for people to use on the field, as we would be charging anyone who wanted to use our facilities on the day. I can only apologise that this wasn't communicated to you by the Fun Day organisers. Going forwards we will not be changing our admission policy for non members using the site. I hope this clarifies the situation. Regards, Lara Butler Senior Duty Manager Erith Leisure Centre". I cannot say that I am surprised by the response - and it shows just how little the management of the sports centre care about being part of the local community. My source responded with:- "Thank you for your reply, I realise that access to some leisure centres toilets are not always easy but I thought that charging £1.90 to volunteers and members of Bexley Police is harsh and not community minded. It would have been easier to have said something like "due to our facilities being available for members only we are unable to offer use to these facilities to volunteers and police officers". The other option had you wanted to enter into the spirit of the occasion would have been to have had a stand at the event and offer tours of your leisure facilities and handed our membership forms therefore possibly benefitting from increased membership and you could have perhaps also offered a 20p surcharge to volunteers and police officers for the use of your toilets. It's sad this was an opportunity lost in building better community relations and in fact in some areas you have managed to do the opposite, your PR obviously needs a rethink!" If anyone can think of a suitable (and legal) method of practical protest at this policy, please do let me know. And before you suggest it, we are not going to do a mass wee - in - the - swimming pool protest!

Housing seems to be the number one issue in and around London and the South East at present, and looks like this will continue for the foreseeable future. The inescapable fact is that there are too many people chasing too few properties. Erith and Slade Green have had a reputation as being the most affordable places to live that are located with an acceptable commute of central London. With the advent of Crossrail, and the strong likelihood of a new river crossing at Lower Belvedere, the profile of the local area with potential new residents has never been higher. House prices are now rocketing. My own house, Pewty Acres has increased in value by nearly six and a half times the original purchase price in the last twenty years – most of it in the last five. I have said it before – even though I earn substantially more money than I did twenty years ago, I could not afford to buy my own house nowadays. I am sure that this is true for a great many people, and it does not bode well for those looking to purchase their first home. The London Chamber of Commerce have recognised this, and have released a report that states key workers such as those in the health service may be priced out of working within commuting distance of their work. Currently more than fifty percent of London’s emergency service workers live outside of the capital. Just over half of police, fire and paramedic staff now commute to London, adding to the stress of shift work, The London Chamber of Commerce (LCC) said. Travel and housing costs in London have soared by around a third in recent years.  Meanwhile, pay in the NHS has increased by up to 4 percent in recent years, the report stated, sparking concerns have been raised that workers are being priced out of London. Erith is seeing the largest amount of residential accommodation construction since the 1950’s, with Erith Park, Erith Quarry, Tower Hill, and the forthcoming Riverside Baths site development all either under way, or about to begin. All of these sites are primarily aimed at commercial tenants or owner occupiers, with the exception of Erith Park, which is a mixture of new social housing and for – profit sales. The proposed redevelopment of the Arthur Street Estate is as I understand it solely for the exising social residents, rather than to accomodate many new residents. The only existing “key worker” accommodation is Tramway House, which is located on the corner of West Street and Walnut Tree Road. On top of this lack of affordable accommodation comes the increasing problem of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) – a term which fifteen or so years ago used to nearly always mean student accommodation. Nowadays that has very much changed; the market has expanded for a number of reason – including that HMOs are popular with buy-to-let investors because, it is believed, they have higher income-generating potential than ordinary or ‘vanilla’ buy-to-let properties (though, according to industry statistics, the earning potential of HMOs has recently become outclassed by that of multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs)). By splitting single properties into multiple bedsits that are each let out on separate tenancy agreements, landlords can also reduce their exposure to loss of earnings through rental arrears or voids.  Due to the additional legal requirements placed upon HMO landlords, not every buy-to-let mortgage lender will agree to finance HMO properties. This has led to the emergence of a specialised HMO mortgage market, catered for by a smaller subset of lenders. Because the choice of products is narrower, HMO mortgage borrowers are often subject to stricter criteria. Often they need larger cash deposits, as the average loan-to-value ratio is slightly lower than for an ordinary buy-to-let mortgage, while the minimum property value tends to be higher. Borrowers who are financing unlicensed HMOs may also be required to prove that their local authority has no intention to license the property in the future. It is also common for HMO mortgage lenders to stipulate the number of rooms permitted, the type of tenancy agreement and tenant demographic permitted and even the type of lock installed on internal and external doors. All this being considered, Bexley as a borough has pretty much turned a blind eye to HMO landlords until relatively recently. In October 2010 the Coalition Government amended the legislation. They included a ‘Change in Use’ from C3 to C4 within the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO). This allowed landlords to change their properties from a C3 Dwelling House to a C4 HMO without the need for planning permission. They also gave local authorities the power to remove permission for the C3 – C4 ‘Change in Use’ by means of an ‘Article 4 Direction’. Councils have used this to designate whole areas and limit the number of HMOs in a geographical area. Bexley Council somewhat unwisely opted out of the article 4 direction, thus leaving local residents at risk of an HMO springing up next door at very short notice indeed. The reason that Bexley Council did not sign up to the article 4 direction has been debated by Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers. His analysis of the situation (with which I concur) is that if they did sign up to article 4, they would have a statutory obligation to inspect HMO properties to ensure that they complied with the law; as they would not be able to charge a fee for this, they opted out of the arrangement – something which looks like it has already bitten them on the bum. A FaceBook page “Say No to HMO” has been set up to protest against the spread of HMO’s in Bexley. Sky News held an investigation into illegal houses of multiple occupancy earlier this week; they featured a single house in Kingsbury, in the London Borough of Brent, which had a total of seventeen men living in it in utterly squalid conditions, and paying a total of £3,400 a month in rent to an absentee landlord. This kind of thing is happening all over the place with many “beds in sheds” being discovered by local authorities. The situation is only going to get worse locally, as Bexley council don’t want to take any of the proactive steps that other councils like Brent have already taken. Nothing new there then!

Currently there is a lot of debate as to where in Erith, and how the £3.9 million development grant should be spent. Suggestions have been made by a couple of readers, one of whom’ s thoughts I published last week. Several people have commented that the retail block facing the infamous fish roundabout could be a prime candidate for redevelopment. The large and nowadays rather run down and scruffy brick building is called Electricity House – though many locals are unaware of this. It was the location of a very early speech by then parliamentary candidate Margaret Roberts (later Thatcher) back on the 17th February 1950. You can read a transcript of her rather boring presentation here. It was built back in 1938 and opened in November 1939 as a showroom and offices for the local electricity company, which at the time was run by the council. Pre – war services such as gas, water and electricity supply were quite commonly managed and supplied by local councils; the idea of private companies being involved was something that did not happen until after the war had ended. Electricity House was also a place where new electrical customers could view domestic appliances which they could buy via hire purchase (it sounds like an early version of BrightHouse, but without the crippling interest rates). As well as the showroom, Electricity House was home to what contemporary accounts say was a very upmarket dance hall with a fully sprung Canadian Maple floor; there was also a small Pathe cinema. The local electricity business was astonishingly successful – probably much helped by the fact that it offered the cheapest metered electricity in the entire UK at the time – one penny per unit. Ten thousand local people signed up for electrification in the first month alone, attracted by the offer of free connection to the local power grid – unusual at the time – many suppliers would even charge for the copper cable to connect new customers. In 1939 the Erith electricity board made a (for then) massive profit of £13,000. The idea was that the money would be used to improve local services and amenities for all, but the advent of war meant that early in 1940 Electricity House was handed over for war work, and once peace was restored, the money intended to benefit local people was absorbed by the LEB during nationalisation, and nothing was ever seen of it. Much of Erith was still lit by gas until relatively recently. I believe that some houses in West Street did not get electricity until 1947 when the London Electricity Board was formed, and the local council control of power was nationalised. Almost two years ago I heard a rumour that Electricity House was to be coming up for sale. The story went that the current owners of Electricity House realised that the building is end of life, and no longer fit for purpose. The current commercial tenants don’t pay very much rent for the place, and as the building is old and very scruffy, it is unlikely to attract new tenants prepared to pay higher rents. The only real money earning part of the building is actually the roof, which hosts a number of cellular telephone repeaters and their associated antenna masts. The most profitable course of action would be for the owners of the site to sell the building to a property developer, and for the current building to be demolished to make way for a modern alternative which would attract new and more prosperous tenants prepared to pay higher rents. Personally I would rather see the existing building extensively refurbished, but I somehow doubt that would be commercially viable. The longest term tenant in the building is Erith Snooker Centre, which occupies a large portion of the upper floor, and has been there since at least 1946. Others like the various African stores, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and The Celestial Church of Christ (which seem to both share the former tyre warehouse; part of the building that faces Erith Council Offices) would all have to find alternative accommodation if this redevelopment went ahead; two years later and nothing has happened – the site seems to be still limping along, with a reduction in rental income now that the largest tenant – AGlory African health and beauty has relocated into the former Owens ironmongers shop in Cross Street. Earlier this week I did some detective work into the whole Electricity House situation, and I found that I was not the only person interested in the building. It turns out that there may actually be some substance in the rumours of a redevelopment of the site – or at the very least someone is speculating that some development may be in the planning stage. Erith Snooker Centre has been put up for sale, and has been successfully sold to a new owner. The club is the single biggest occupant of Electricity House, and pays £28,000 a year in rent for the premises. A new owner has purchased the club for £305,000, with the existing lease with the snooker club lasting until 2047. The return on investment would be something like eleven years. I immediately smelled a rat. There is no way that the snooker club / Electricity House would last eleven years in the same building, let alone until 2047 – when the building would be 109 years old. My impression is that a canny investor has bought the biggest chunk possible of Electricity House in the full knowledge that they won’t make a profit from the rent from Erith Snooker Centre. In my opinion, they, like me, can see the development potential of the entire building, and they are “land banking” their part of it in the hope of being bought out by another developer with deeper pockets – and thus making a large profit for what is a relatively small investment. It will be instructive to see what happens. If anyone knows anything further, please drop me a line with the details. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com - thanks!

The photo above was taken on the 17th July 1966; it shows Erith High Street. In the far left distance you can see the Prince of Wales pub, which was on the site of what is now the McDonald's drive through. The block of shops in the middle of the photograph is now the Sherwood House residential home, and the Tip Top Bakery was on the site of what nowadays is Erith Health Centre. 

And here is (as close as possible) the same location exactly fifty years later - and it could not really look any more different; nothing at all survives from 1966. If you have any photos of old Erith, please send them to me - I would like to re - photograph the same site so that "then and now" comparisons can be made. 

One of my regular readers dropped me a line earlier this week, with an observation that has been made by numerous local people. He writes:- "I wondered if you might be interested in the undernoted exchange between myself and Bexley Council’s WM and Recycling Dept following my complaint that our separated waste (plastic tins and glass bottles) were being collected in one single bin. ME –“On several occasions I have observed plastic, cans and glass bottles, etc being collected up in a single skip so what is the point in households slavishly separating such items”? COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON – “We don’t have sufficient refuse lorries with dual collection chambers so we just put it one lorry and when we eventually have additional vehicles with two compartments in the fleet this will no longer be a problem, so please continue to separate your rubbish in the requested manner for recycling”. ME – “Surely if Serco, who are your appointed refuse collectors, were instructed to have the correct vehicles when they tendered for the contract this should not be an issue”. COUNCIL S/P – “We have to subscribe to the cost of these vehicle purchases so it can take some time for the fleet to be updated with the right equipment”. Also I assure you that when the vehicles return to the depot such amalgamated items are then separated”. ME – “I find it hard to believe that broken glass, bottles, tops, plastic, tin cans, fruit juice cartons, yogurt pots and other items from this same bin are sifted and separated as you have suggested”. COUNCIL S/P – “I can honestly say, hand on heart, that this is the case”. Frankly Hugh I believe this must be a load of codswallop with householders just being bullied into separating things which collectively end up in landfill and is probably just one big con to keep feather bedded councillors and staff in none jobs. Sadly I failed to ask him where this separation took place so that I may go along and witness it".  What do you think? Have you seen the same kind of behaviour from the waste disposal contractors? Leave a comment below, or email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. Following the observations, with the owner's permission, I forwarded them to Malcolm Knight, of "Bexley is Bonkers" for his feedback - Malcolm knows far more about Council recycling policy than I, and it seemed sensible to refer the matter to someone with more knowledge on the subject than myself. Malcolm responded thus:- "I suspect that in this case the story from Bexley Council is closer than usual to being the truth. I have studied Newham Council fairly closely and over there residents only have two bins. Plastic, tins and paper in one and everything else apart from glass in the other. Glass can only be recycled via the large communal bins found in the street. I suspect that may be significant to the separation process. My guess is that paper, tins and plastic are fairly easy to separate but glass isn’t. There is no food or garden waste service in Newham. Bexley should be asked how they separate glass from the other things when Newham apparently cannot. The subject of vehicle renewal is on the public record but you say your deadline is only minutes away leaving insufficient time to search through BiB’s 3,200 blogs or Council papers. My recollection is that Bexley’s vehicle renewal is due every ten years and the Serco contract provided for replacements in 2015. Certainly there are a  lot of 15 reg vehicles on the streets. Those vehicles were specified to have two entry points and separate compartments. It would be disappointing if some of the old style vehicles are still in use and that should perhaps be questioned. The budget allowed for replacement, in fact the financial studies showed that it would be cheaper to bring refuse collection back in house. It’s on the public record but presumably quietly dropped. It may be that if a modern ‘two entry’ vehicle becomes unserviceable a less ideal one might be hired causing a short term separation problem which your correspondent has noticed. What I don’t know, (in all my 29 years in Bexley I have never visited a recycling centre) is what sort of separation machines are in use – if any. I suspect, from the Newham experience and common sense, that it is not good practice to mixed glass with other commodities. I understand that the proportion of refuse going to landfill has increased in Bexley over the past year but this is a mathematical consequence of the reduced amount of garden waste collected following the introduction of the charge. It should not be indicative of a long term deterioration in recycling or of additional landfill. On this occasion I think the Bexley spokesperson is probably right or at least very nearly so".

Don't forget that next week marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the Maggot Sandwich. If you would like to submit a guest article for inclusion in the blog update, please ensure that you send it to me by Thursday evening at the very latest. It takes me a couple of days to check and edit submissions prior to publication early on Sunday afternoon - each blog update takes a minimum of ten hours work. Send your submissions to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The end video this week is another bit of crime busting. Can you identify the individual in the light coloured people carrier on the left side of Riverdale Road? He illegally fly - tips rubbish onto the pavement before driving away in the direction of Northumberland Heath. The offence took place at 3.48pm on Wednesday the 1st of June this year. If he's done it once, he will no doubt have done it again. If you know who this criminal is, please let me know and I will pass the information on to the Police.

The old college comes down.

Bexley is Bonkers author Malcolm Knight is doing a first class job of documenting the construction works currently under way between Abbey Wood and Plumstead stations as preparations continue for the launch of Crossrail in 2018. The station will allow very fast rail access to large swathes of greater London and the outer boroughs that have until now been difficult to reach by public transport. It will also make travel into business areas such as Canary Wharf much speedier – the new Crossrail station at Canary Wharf is utterly huge – I work in an office building right next door, and have watched it go up over the last four years. When it opens, it will have six storeys of shops, a cinema, numerous restaurants, bars, a landscaped park and a roof gardens located over the rail tracks. The aim is to increase the working population to two hundred thousand people over the next fifteen years. Abbey Wood and Woolwich are cited as being two of the areas which will most benefit from the huge increase in cross – London travel capacity that will result from the huge capital project. The work being undertaken at Abbey Wood will be the largest addition to the local train network since the North Kent rail line originally opened back in 1849. As I have previously mentioned, the whole area between Woolwich and Erith / Slade Green is likely to experience a strong increase in house prices, as commuting times to both Central and West London will be cut considerably. It will be instructive to observe what actually happens; for example, Woolwich has been labelled as an “up and coming” area for over a decade, with nothing much actually happening. I think that when the Woolwich Crossrail station opens in 2018, things will finally get moving. When the realisation that Woolwich based commuters could be in Canary Wharf in eight minutes, the City in fourteen, Bond Street in twenty two minutes, and door to door at Heathrow in fifty minutes, I think new residents will flock into the town. I just hope that the whole of Woolwich benefits, and not just those fortunate enough to be able to afford  a place in the Royal Arsenal Riverside development, which to my mind is too isolated from the town proper – it is a high end gated development that to my mind is too introspective. Matters may improve if moves to migrate Woolwich Arsenal station from Travel Zone Four to Zone Three actually come to pass (the word is – “don’t hold your breath”). Whilst modern flats have been built over the giant Tesco superstore (which I understand is safe from the Tesco cutbacks I featured last week), most of the relatively affordable accommodation in Woolwich comes in the form of former council properties. It does beg the question, if former council / housing association housing stock is being sold off, where can people find somewhere to affordably rent? The usual answer is that people in that position end up moving further outwards and into the suburbs – into places like Abbey Wood and Thamesmead, where the Peabody Trust is investing £200 million to create what they call a new “garden suburb” that will include apartments along Thamesmead’s three miles of River Thames waterfront, and be connected to the new Crossrail terminus at Abbey Wood. As I have previously written, Erith is also in the middle of the largest boom in house building for at least a generation; we have Erith Park (a mix of social and commercial flats and houses on what used to be the old Larner Road estate), The Erith Quarry development (high end housing, a new Primary School and environmental landscaping), along with further housing on the site of the old Bexley College campus in Tower Road (more on this shortly). There are also housing developments in Slade Green – the upmarket Ratio housing scheme in Slade Green Road, along with the Howbury Centre rebuild project. The latest in this long and extensive list of newly built housing is one that many locals have been worried about, due to the potential implications to Erith Riverside Gardens. London and Quadrant housing association are holding a public exhibition on Wednesday the 11^th February from 4pm until 7pm  in the new Bexley College building in Walnut Tree Road. L and Q propose building a total of seventy one homes for people on a range of incomes on the former site of Erith Riverside Baths, which has been empty since the old swimming pool building was demolished due to vandalism after the replacement pool was opened at Erith Leisure Centre.  The main concern that many locals have is that any development of the old Riverside Swimming Baths site has will involve building on part or possibly even all of the Riverside Gardens – an area that is sacrosanct to Erith residents, but not seemingly to some Bexley Councillors. It will be instructive to see what plans London and Quadrant have for the prime riverside location. I will be attending the exhibition at around 5.15pm – as soon as I can get to the college after work; fortunately though I work in Docklands for much of the time, I start very early, and can normally get away at or around 4pm.

Bexley Brewery are going from strength to strength; they are now wholesaling draught real ale to a large number of pubs and clubs, not just in the local area, but as far as outlets in Margate and Dover. You can see a map, along with a list of Bexley Beer retailers by clicking here. They have also diversified their range of quality real ales to include a Golden Ale and a Porter, as well as their existing Red House Bitter and BOB (Bexley's Own Beer - my own favourite). They are holding a publicity session and "meet the brewers" at the Penny Farthing micro pub in Crayford next Wednesday evening. I have yet to visit the Penny Farthing, and unfortunately have to be elsewhere on Wednesday evening (all will hopefully become clear in the update next week). I would strongly encourage you to pop along to the local micro pub if you can; not only are such independent hostelries the best way to sample quality real ale and cider, but with Bexley Brewery staff on hand to answer questions, it is bound to be an excellent evening. 

The News Shopper reported earlier this week that a rather unsavoury lady called Sandra Okoh was sentenced to five years in prison for running an Erith based employment agency “Blue Feathers Guarding” which employed security guards and paid them only around £3 per hour, often on 24 hour shifts, whilst still charging their clients the full going rate. The employees did not complain or seek employment with other agencies as many if not all of them were in the UK illegally, and liable for deportation if they were found out. Okoh and two of her fellow company directors (who were prosecuted and jailed last year, as I reported at the time) used this fact to treat their employees as virtual slaves. Employees could not complain, as doing so could see themselves prosecuted and subsequently deported. It is thought that Blue Feathers Guarding actually turned away legitimate applicants for guarding vacancies on the grounds that they were not able to exploit such workers as they could with the illegal migrants. This sorry situation was only discovered when staff at the Cross Street Law Centre were alerted by a former Blue Feathers employee who acted as a whistle blower on conditions of anonymity. The employment agency was subsequently raided by The Home Office’s South London Criminal Investigations team, supported by the Security Industry Authority, raided the company's Viridian Way offices in October 2012.  When they searched the premises they discovered a large quantity of forged identification documents relating to staff who they had illegally employed. The game was up, and the people behind the company were suitably punished. All this is well and good, but unfortunately the News Shopper then dropped the ball – they completely missed the bigger picture. The Cross Street Law Centre was forced to close due to cuts in their funding in March last year – a fact reported on by the News Shopper at the time. This means that future detection of illegal employment practices is considerably reduced now, as there is nowhere in the area that a whistle blower could turn to. Secondly it raises the issue of the number of people that found work, albeit illegally in the past, and what has subsequently happened to them? It strikes me that we have a vibrant underground economy that is passing under the radar of both the benefits agency and the immigration service. Whilst not the most desirable of situations, it occurs that in a pragmatic sense this is not always a bad thing. Local people living illegally still have to eat, heat their houses and travel – all of which means returning money to the local economy. From conversations I have had in the past from people well – placed to know, it is entirely possible that if all the people illegally working in the UK were able to be accurately identified and deported, that large parts of the British economy and infrastructure would crumble. It is an interesting theory, and not something I would wish to see tested in practice. What do you think? Comment below, or Email me directly at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I recently discovered that South East London and North Kent once suffered from a serious earthquake. On April the 12^th 1884, and powerful earthquake shook an area from Woolwich to as far as Margate. Initially residents thought that one of the armament storage warehouses at Woolwich Royal Arsenal had exploded – as had happened back on Saturday the first of October 1864, when two massive gunpowder stores on the marshes in Lower Belvedere detonated – which was one of the largest non – nuclear explosions in British history. It was understandable therefore that almost twenty years later many who experienced the massive explosion would automatically assume that the earthquake was caused by another accident whilst handling explosives. You can read more about the Belvedere explosion by clicking here. The earthquake was a different beast altogether; the epicentre of the quake was in South Essex, from there the shock waves spread out causing disturbance over an area somewhat in excess of 53,000 square miles. It measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and caused buildings to sway and develop structural cracks, chimneys to collapse, slates to cascade down roofs, and several fires were caused. In North Kent, well away from the epicentre, the effects were still profound. People were understandably terrified – the ground beneath their feet was moving, and great clouds of dust rose into the air. Some people were knocked over, whilst others were sick with fright. Some even wondered if the day of judgement had come, as the motion of the earthquake caused many church bells to ring spontaneously. Eventually the earthquake passed; fortunately there were few serious injuries and no reported deaths. To date the Kent earthquake of 1884 remains one of the most serious geological events to have taken place in England. Let’s hope we are not scheduled for another, as the potential damage both to life and infrastructure would be proportionally worse nowadays – there were few gas mains, almost no electricity cables and certainly no fibre – optic lines for an earthquake to destroy back in 1884 – the same most certainly could not be said of today.

I may use an Apple iMac as my main home computer, but I am most certainly no Apple fan boy – I don't have an iPhone (or any mobile phone whatsoever, for that matter), I don't have an iPad or other such portable device. I like Apple computers because they are very well made, ergonomic and mainly because Apple OS X is based on BSD Unix – a rock solid, industrial strength operating system that has been around since 1977. It predates Windows and Linux (love Linux, not so keen on Windows) and was a wise choice when Apple were looking for an alternative operating system after they realised that their own proprietary Mac OS9 was not cutting the mustard. Many of Apple co – founder Steve Jobs quotes on life the universe and technology are enshrined by Apple fan boys as some kind of gospel; personally I find much of what he said at public meetings to be crass and somewhat self – serving. One thing I most certainly do agree with him, is his stance on the multimedia web browser plug in Flash. Flash has been around for nearly twenty years and it has always been a vector of malicious computer attack, and also the cause of many crashes – back in 2010 Steve Jobs said “Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first-hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash. To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other video streaming companies. Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained. When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads”. Since Jobs made this speech, Google have removed Flash use from YouTube and exclusively use the H.264 codec – which all modern web browsers support natively. Having said all that, Adobe (who now own the Flash brand and technology) persist in publishing new versions of the now outdated media player. Flash has serious security flaws which malicious attackers exploit to do nasty things to your computer, and however regularly Adobe issue patches and updates, the insecure design of the underlying architecture means that hackers soon find a loophole and Flash is once again compromised.  My advice to you is to Uninstall it and see how you get on across the web. If you really need it, go into your browser settings and make it click-to-play. That means Flash files aren't automatically opened on every page, reducing the risk of being owned by a dodgy advert or malware injected .swf file. In Google Chrome, go to Settings, click on the Advanced Settings link, click on Content Settings under Privacy, scroll down to Plugins, select "Click to play" and save. In Safari, open Preferences, go to the Security tab, click on Website settings alongside Internet Plugins, select Adobe Flash, and alongside "When visiting other websites", select "Ask" or "Block". You can whitelist certain sites in the box above. In Firefox, type “about:config” (minus the quotation marks) into the browser address bar and press “enter” and click on the "I'll be careful" button, and search for plugins. click_to_play. If it says "false" in the Value column, double click on it to change it to "true". Then restart Firefox. You now have true control over your web browser, and thus your computer.

The photos above were sent to me by a local photographer who chooses to remain anonymous. The shots show the demolition of the old Bexley College campus in Tower Road. I understand that the demolition has not been straightforward, and it is taking longer than was initially anticipated. The site will be ready for re - use for housing once fully cleared. More on this in a future update.

As regular readers will be already aware, I have been warning of the pernicious nature of bookmakers and their Fixed Odds Betting Terminals – often referred to as the “Crack Cocaine” of gambling, as it is possible for a gambler to lose up to £100 every twenty seconds. Betting shops are limited to five such terminals in each shop location; it is said that the main reason there has been an explosion in the number of betting shops on most high streets is that the betting shop chains open extra shops just so that they can get more Fixed Odds Betting Terminals out there – and until recently, cash strapped local authorities have accepted the extra bookmakers outlets, as they would rather get council tax payments from a working business, than leave an empty shop unit that earns no revenue. Things now do appear to be changing, however. The government recently raised the rate of duty on gaming machines, which has had the knock – on effect of making many bookmakers far less profitable, as the FOBT machines have historically been the most lucrative source of income from betting shops. Traditional gambling on sports events has lost a substantial amount of ground to the electronic machines. The number of betting shops is being slashed on many high streets; Ladbrokes, the second biggest gambling chain in the UK closed ninety of its 2,250 stores in the last year, including the one that used to be located in Erith High Street, which nowadays still stands empty. It expects to close more this year, as does its rival William Hill, which recently cut 420 jobs and closed 109 betting shops. Whilst the loss of jobs is to be regretted, the employment situation is not all bad; in many cases the old betting shop units are being converted into restaurants – this trend has been strongest in central London and the West End, but there are indicators that it may spread to other areas. If we really have weathered the recession, but the betting companies are now laying higher taxes and rates of duty, we may see a real retreat of them from the high street, and hopefully the return of healthier alternative businesses.

The Erith and Belvedere Football Club correspondent Brian Spurrell reports:- "Erith and Belvedere FC are among the last ten teams left standing in a national competition whose final takes place at Wembley!  Their FA Vase fifth round tie at Holbeach United was postponed yesterday, which means they’re still in the hat for the quarter-final draw to be made by the FA tomorrow lunchtime.  The Deres’ Barnehurst neighbours Phoenix Sports were soundly beaten 4-1 at North Shields, so E&B are the south-east’s last presence in the competition. The Deres, currently 2nd in the Southern Counties East league, travelled to Holbeach (8 miles east of Spalding in Lincolnshire) on Friday, staying in a hotel to prepare for the tie.  Many of their supporters were en route to the game when news broke that it had been postponed owing to a partially frozen pitch.  So they’ll try again next Saturday. Holbeach United are 3rd in the United Counties League, and the other postponed tie was between Glossop North End (2nd, North West Counties) and Dunston UTS  from Gateshead (3rd, Northern League).  The six teams already through to the quarter-finals are:
Ascot United (5th, Hellenic League)
Highworth Town near Swindon (8th, Hellenic League)
North Shields (2nd, Northern League)
St Austell (3rd, South West Peninsula)
Shaw Lane Aquaforce from Barnsley (4th, Northern Counties East)
Tadcaster Albion (1st, Northern Counties East)
So tomorrow could either bring us a massive home game or a very long away trip!  The FA website will have the news tomorrow afternoon.  Meanwhile the Deres face Canterbury City in a league game at home (Park View Road, Welling) on Tuesday night".

The news that Ocado are building a large distribution centre just off Bronze Age Way is very encouraging news indeed. Three thousand brand new jobs for an area with a higher than average level of unemployment is excellent news. The location of the new warehouse complex makes good sense – there is plenty of unused land in the area, it is relatively cheap, especially when one considers its relatively close proximity to central London, along with excellent road links to the A2, M20, M25 and the South Circular. Coincidentally Ocado have just published their first quarter showing profits, so hopefully business is picking up for the online retailer. Construction of the new distribution centre is due to begin later this year, and should be fully operational early in 2017. There has been no word yet as to when the company will start recruiting for roles in the local area. Ocado will be joining Tesco, Asda and Lidl, all of whom already have warehouses and distribution centres in the local area – underlining the combination of relatively cheap real estate and excellent communications that the area between Erith and Lower Belvedere offers to the retail and service industries.

I was perhaps a little premature when I announced the formation of a new ten officer Police squad to patrol Thamesmead after the recent spate of drug and gang related violence, there has been yet another shooting last week. Police were called to Erebus Drive in West Thamesmead after gun shots were reported at around 4.30am on the 1^st February. This is one of the upmarket areas of Thamesmead, which is adjacent to the Woolwich Royal Arsenal Development, and not where one would normally expect gang related shootings. A chap called Clive Massi was found with a number of people in a couple of cars – he was suffering from one or more gunshot wounds. Ambulance staff tried to stabilise him and got him to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries two hours later. The usual talk – backers on the News Shopper website have made assumptions as to what had happened – and I must admit that the circumstances reported make the situation look like it had some kind of gang involvement, but until the Police complete their investigations nobody will know for sure. Whatever the specifics of the event, locals will understandably continue to not feel safe walking the streets.  I am unsure if the new Police team have actually started work yet, but it would seem that they are desperately needed in an area which is getting an unenviable reputation for lawlessness. Until September 2011, I used to spend a great deal of time in the area in and around Erebus Drive. My late Dad’s nursing home was (and is) in Pier Way, which leads in Erebus Drive, and the river frontage with some very nice (and expensive) riverside apartment buildings. Not quite as fancy an address as the Woolwich Royal Arsenal next door, but desirable nonetheless. Whether the residents will feel the need to club together to hire private security to patrol their estate, as already happens in the Arsenal is debatable.

The end video this week is something that you may not have seen before. It features a singer / songwriter who really ought to be a lot better known. He is a blues / rock guitarist of amazing virtuosity call Joe Bonamassa. The music press have dubbed him "the new Eric Clapton" - though personally I think he sounds a little more like David Gilmour. The video shows him playing at the Royal Albert Hall. He's well known to musos and listeners to the DAB radio station Planet Rock, but thus far has not broken through to the mainstream. Incidentally, the somewhat dilapidated Fender Stratocaster that Bonamassa is playing in the video was lent to him by the family of the late Irish blues master Rory Gallagher, who was a large influence on the playing style of Joe Bonamassa. The track "Sloe Gin" is a Bonamassa trademark - listen to the blistering solo at the end. The guy is a master craftsman of the guitar. Comments below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.