The Park.

The pedestrian crossing outside of Christ Church Erith that had been out of use for two weeks after a car mounted the pavement and damaged the traffic light control unit has been a source of much local dissatisfaction and concern. One anonymous reader Emailed me to say:- "I'm absolutely amazed nobody has been hurt trying to cross that road during peak hours. I was very nearly run over by a blue Tesla Model S on Tuesday night following an evening of leaving drinks. It's incredulous they haven't at least installed temporary traffic lights. Even as a driver it's dangerous to signal pedestrians to cross as I cannot account for other drivers (and interestingly enough, I discovered last week that you are legally liable should you indicate to another person that they have right of way, this includes flashing lights or simply giving way)".  I was on the 99 bus by the crossing on Friday afternoon last week - a woman with a double buggy only just made it over the closed crossing, as an old BMW 3 series came zooming along from the direction of Queen's Road, just missing her. Had the woman and children been a couple of seconds later, there would have almost certainly been a fatality. Finally, last Tuesday, fully two weeks since the crash that broke the lights, engineers were on site to carry out repairs. The traffic lights are now fully functional once again. In that extended two week period of outage, no temporary traffic lights or other provision was made for the hundreds of local commuters who needed to use the crossing every day. I am astounded that there was not a serious accident at the closed crossing. One other reader suggested that if the council could not provide temporary traffic lights, then perhaps they could have employed a lollipop lady or man at the very least to cover the peak commuting periods. I get the feeling if the crossing lights had been out in Bexleyheath or Welling, the council would have done something far more proactive, but, as Erith is considered to be in the frozen North of the borough, the council could not care less. What do you think? Drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Another issue which has raised a great deal of concern locally is the proposed redevelopment of the area of park land in West Street, adjacent to Chichester Wharf, Erith. Jonathan Batten, the Chair of the Erith Think Tank recently published the following statement and call for action:- "This message has been co-written by Tina and Johnny. Thank you to those of you who were able to attend on Tuesday (12th), and to the representatives from Extinction Rebellion Bexley who also joined us. Detailed minutes from the meeting are attached. Due to illness, the meeting mainly focused on the West Street Park proposed development - plans have now been submitted by BexleyCo to the planning department, with a deadline of objections being December 15th (!!). Pictures of this are attached, including a map showing the location, to those who are not familiar. In short, this is a much used and appreciated area of green space on West street, including 21 mature trees. Green space is finite across Erith. Bexley Council own the land, and have transferred it to their development company BexleyCo for development. The proposed development includes 30 flats, all of which will be sold for market rate; no affordable housing - the planning application can be viewed here. At a previous meeting, the Think Tank attendees were torn between two opinions; either that the development should be stopped, or that it was unclear what dividends (if any) Erith would receive for the great loss of green space, and therefore it was impossible to make a valued judgement. Everyone felt that if it were to be developed, Erith should see some tangible improvement (in infrastructure, for example). We have written to all of the Bexley Councillors on the Planning Committee, the leader of the Council, and to BexleyCo, requesting where the profits from this development will be spent (in Erith), and stating that we cannot support this development until we have sufficient information to make a valued judgement. The leader of Bexley Council, Teresa O'Neill, responded thus: The planning application has been submitted by BexleyCo for 30 homes which, given BexleyCo will look to give Bexley residents priority & aim to create quality housing, will be an opportunity for local residents. The application will go through the usual planning process which will ensure local residents will be consulted and can comment in the usual manner. The application proposes a contribution to affordable homes - and BexleyCo have plans to create affordable housing - that will benefit Bexley residents. All of the above will be in addition to the fiscal contribution to provision of services for local people. We have further queried how flats sold on the open market will have 'priority' to Bexley residents. There will not be any tangible dividend for Erith from the profits of this development, nor any infrastructure included in this scheme. Point 8 from our Manifesto states: We aim to inform, in plain language, about plans for Erith's present and future. To this end, and because the BexleyCo have done such a poor job of consulting local residents, including ignoring a previous consultation on this same plot by Bexley Council in 2015 (no formal response or analysis of this consultation is available), Tina proposed, and it was agreed at the meeting that the Think Tank should organise an 'activation' event, in collaboration with Extinction Rebellion Bexley, to raise awareness of this development. This event will happen in the park from 11.30am on Saturday November 30th, and will include an 'exhibition' showing BexleyCo's plans, highlight the parks value and ecology, and propose an alternative vision for the space. We will be seeking signatures on a petition, and planting a tree (donated kindly by the Wasteless Market) as part of the 'Big Climate Fightback' led by the Woodland Trust at midday. We will also be releasing a press release, and inviting local press. We will be engaging with local residents until 4pm. We are seeking your thoughts and permission to move forward with this activation? Can you help us? We need activists on the day to set up, speak to the public and hand out flyers. Regarding the alternative vision - we are not just opposing the development, but want to proffer an alternative vision! There is an exciting initiative, Pocket Parks, that allows for groups such as the Think Tank, to apply for funds to improve and revitalise parks for the benefit of local communities. You'll see from the minutes that we had lots of ideas for how the West Street park could be improved, intensifying and promoting its use, and making it more of an asset to all of Erith, as well as adjacent residents. We will present visuals of some of these ideas at the exhibition on the 30th". Fascinating stuff. I will be attending the event in the park next Saturday from 11.30am with my camera. Do come along to help preserve our much needed public open spaces. 

The third - and as far as I can tell - the final famous actor who had links with the local area - primarily living for a while in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere (not Nuxley Village - there is no such place) - is one who is not particularly well known in the UK, but was very famous and well liked in the USA. As a child, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. received a boarding school education. Acting in school plays, he later trained briefly at the Yale School of Drama but didn't apply himself enough and quit. As an NBC network radio page, he auditioned when he could and found minor TV and stock theatre parts while joining up with the Neighbourhood Playhouse. Following WWII war service with the Army infantry in which he was a commissioned officer, he was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded, a director and friend of the family, Garson Kanin, gave the aspiring actor his first professional role in his Broadway production of "The Rugged Path" (1945) which starred Spencer Tracy. With his dark, friendly, clean-scrubbed good looks and a deep, rich voice, Zimbalist found little trouble finding work. He continued with the American Repertory Theatre performing in such classics as "Henry VIII" and "Androcles and the Lion" while appearing opposite the legendary Eva Le Gallienne in "Hedda Gabler". Zimbalist then tried his hand as a stage producer, successfully bringing opera to Broadway audiences for the first time with memorable presentations of "The Medium" and "The Telephone". As producer of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul", he won the New York Drama Critic's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for best musical in 1950. An auspicious film debut opposite Edward G. Robinson in House of Strangers (1949) brought little career momentum due to the untimely death of his wife Emily (a onetime actress who appeared with him in "Hedda Gabler" and bore him two children, Nancy and Efrem III) to cancer in 1950. Making an abrupt decision to abandon acting, he served as assistant director/researcher at the Curtis School of Music for his father and buried himself with studies and music composition. In 1956, Zimbalist was put under contract by Warner Bros. and moved to Hollywood. Zimbalist's first recurring role in a Warner Bros. Television series was as roguish gambler "Dandy Jim Buckley" on Maverick, opposite James Garner in 1957, and making five appearances as the character. In 1958, Zimbalist played the co-lead Stuart "Stu" Bailey in 77 Sunset Strip, a popular detective series running until 1964. During this period, he made several concurrent appearances in other Warner Bros. television shows, such as Hawaiian Eye, The Alaskans, and Bronco. He also starred as the lead in several feature films for Warners, such as Bombers B-52, The Deep Six, A Fever in the Blood and The Chapman Report. Zimbalist was in such demand during this time that he was given a vacation by Jack L. Warner due to exhaustion from his busy schedule. Zimbalist was most widely known for his starring role as Inspector Lewis Erskine in the Quinn Martin television production The F.B.I., which premiered on September 19, 1965 and aired its final episode on September 8, 1974. Zimbalist was generous in his praise of producer Martin and of his own experience starring in the show. Those who worked with him were equally admiring of the star's professionalism and likeable personality. Zimbalist maintained a strong personal relationship with F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover, who requested that the show be technically accurate and portray his agents in the best possible light, and he insisted actors playing F.B.I. employees undergo a background check. Zimbalist subsequently spent a week in contact with Hoover in Washington, D.C. and at the F.B.I. Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The men remained mutual admirers for the rest of Hoover's life. Hoover held up Zimbalist as a model for F.B.I. employees' personal appearance. After 77 Sunset Strip he appeared in other series, including CBS's short-lived The Reporter starring Harry Guardino as journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitious New York Globe. He also appeared in leading and supporting roles in several feature films, including Harlow, A Fever in the Blood (a film about a ruthless politician), Wait Until Dark and Airport 1975. Zimbalist had a recurring role as Daniel Chalmers, a white-collar con man, on his daughter Stephanie Zimbalist's 1980s television detective series Remington Steele, and in the television dramatic series Hotel. In 1990, he played the father of Zorro in the Christian Broadcasting Network's The New Zorro. Zimbalist relinquished the role after the program's first season due to the filming at studios outside Madrid, Spain, and the role subsequently went to Henry Darrow. He had a small recurring role in the 1990s hit science fiction television series Babylon 5 as William Edgars. Also in the 1990s, Zimbalist played Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series as well as in Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, Static Shock, and the animated films Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman; he also played villain Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and as himself in the 1998 Smithsonian Institution production of Gemstones of America. He performed as the narrator in "Good Morning, America" by Elinor Remick Warren. Zimbalist wrote an autobiography, My Dinner of Herbs, published by Limelight Editions, New York. Efrem Zimbalist Jr's local connection was uncovered by Jacqui Davies, a local author, who met him as a baby. She recalls:- "I was always told by my elder sister I met Efrem when I was a baby. He was in Upper Belvedere during latter part of World War 2. A lot of American pilots and service men visited; also still not sure why but I know the married couple who managed the Royal Standard pub opposite my Nan's house in Nuxley Road had a lot of well known people who popped in there. I do not know if they were into entertainment but it would not surprise me. I was around 2 or 3 years of age; I was born in 1953 so must of been around 55 or 56 after war time yes I thought maybe he came back to visit people in the area as had association during the war. There was also a lot of Canadians around at the time I was told. My story goes my mum who knew the people who managed the pub took me over there to meet him. Why is a mystery believe me I have tried to get evidence all these years but nothing. The rest of my siblings were not taken it seems it was just me. My mum use to help with parties doing catering etc she also worked for Roger Moore and his first wife Dorothy Squires they threw a lot of parties also. I tried to contact Efrem's daughter but I only had Facebook to do it on I doubt she ever got my message as generally fans run these sites. I was hoping for some evidence but drew a blank".

I know many readers have concerns over their security and privacy whilst online. Whilst most modern web browsers are pretty good at protecting users from the worst online threats, a new one is hoping to really stir things up. The Brave web browser has been created by software guru Brendan Eich, an influential figure who invented the JavaScript programming language, and co-founded Mozilla - the organisation behind the excellent Firefox web browser. Brave, an open-source browser based on the open source Chromium browser project, which is also responsible for Google Chrome - the most popular browser around, and is notable for two things. First, it blocks adverts, trackers and cross-site cookies by default. This feature is called Shields. An icon in the toolbar tells you how many items are blocked, with numbers in the 30s and 40s common. If the site is either well-behaved and you want to allow ads to be displayed, or so badly behaved that it does not work with Shields on (and you are desperate to see the content), you can disable Shields for a site by clicking the icon. Eich says in the Brave 1.0 announcement that the industry's fixation on ads, personalisation and data collection "not only violates privacy, but slows down page loads, drains batteries, and makes for a miserable experience". Currently the Brave browser has a tiny market share of around 8.7 million users. The browser can be downloaded for free for Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS and Android. I have been running it for the last week on my Apple Mac, and also on my Raspberry Pi running Raspbian Linux; if you are used to Google Chrome, the transition to Brave is extremely easy - your bookmarks and all of your preferences and settings are imported into Brave with a click of a button. The browser looks and feels very similar indeed to Chrome, so nobody should feel outside of their comfort zone. The additional privacy and security controls are mostly enabled automatically, though you can make any personal adjustments in the settings option. Although it is only at version 1.0.1, it is feature full and pretty robust - which bearing in mind it is using the long established Chrome code base, it should be. I have found a couple of minor bugs - nothing earth shattering, but worth me filing a bug report with the software engineering team. Several browsers have taken steps to block trackers and ads, but in many cases, they are limited or need to be enabled. Firefox started blocking some trackers by default earlier this year. Apple's Safari goes a step further by blocking almost all third-party trackers from sites you don’t visit frequently while allowing trackers from sites you check regularly but limiting their duration to 24 hours. Microsoft Edge is still testing a feature that also only blocks some trackers by default, which should arrive on January 15th. Google announced in May that it plans to launch some tracker-blocking tools, but doesn’t plan to block cookies on a large scale and hasn’t rolled out those tools quite yet; instead, the company has said it’s expecting to deliver a way to block certain “classifications” of cookies in Chrome by default in February 2020. Built-in ad-blockers are a little harder to find. Most of the time, you need to download an extension. Chrome automatically blocks ads that fail standards set by the Coalition for Better Ads. The mobile versions of Microsoft Edge have a built-in ad-blocker, but you need to turn it on. Brave’s privacy options go beyond blocking ads and trackers. It actually has two private modes: Private Window and Private Window with Tor. The first is like any other browser’s private or incognito mode: none of your data is saved to your device, but it may still be seen by the websites you visit, your network administrator, or ISP. For added security, Brave has a private mode that uses Tor, also known as The Onion Router, a browser that hides your information by encrypting it and passing it through three relays, bringing that level of security to your browsing. However, Brave notes you may want to switch to Tor’s own browser if security and anonymity are absolutely necessary. The bottom line for all of this is that Brave is built on well proven code from Google Chrome, but with several added layers of privacy and security protection baked in - all for free. You can download the Brave web browser by clicking here.

Rumours are circulating that after getting the old Erith Town Hall a locally listed status, Bexley Councillors have been discussing selling the building for conversion into flats. A couple of readers actually overheard a group of councillors discussing the proposed project. Currently I have no details of the proposal, but it has been known for quite some time that the building was likely to be repurposed, now that the housing functions of Bexley council - which were sited at the Erith Town Hall - have been merged with Bromley Council, there is very little use for the building now. The rumoured repurposing the building into apartments is of little surprise. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence.

The London Evening Standard once again showed its lack of knowledge, if not outright contempt for the local area in an article it published in its property section last week. The article goes:- "Abbey Wood is the first easterly stop of the central section of the Elizabeth line. Bindu Batta has bought a one-bedroom flat at Erith Baths, within walking distance of the station. The 36-year-old scientist had been commuting from Surrey and now lives in touching distance of central London. Using shared ownership she put down a deposit of £22,500 for a 40 per cent share of a £227,500 home. Her journey into central London from Erith is easy and the last train back is 12.55am, “so I can still go out”. Prices start from £73,125 for a 25 per cent share". The glaring error is that the Standard journalist has confused Abbey Wood with Erith - the Erith Baths development is a short walk from Erith Station, but as the article is written, it makes it sound like the walk is to Abbey Wood Station - the walk from Erith Baths to there is a major route march, and in reality it is two stops on the railway, or a substantial bus journey. Lazy, inaccurate journalism. The Standard does not really care about readers South of the River Thames.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "In the past week Barnehurst Ward has suffered one burglary in Twigg Close. This occurred on Friday 15/11/2019 between the hours of 05.15am – 07.45pm. Glass to the rear door was smashed and entry gained. Victim returned to an untidy search and items taken . There has also been an attempted burglary in Appledore Avenue on Thursday 14/11/2019 at 00.35 hours. Suspect was captured on CCTV wearing dark trainers with white soles, a hooded jacket and very quickly attempted the front door handle before walking away in the direction of Fairford Avenue. Following the burglary at 03.55am Merewood Road reported in last week's update we were contacted by a local resident also from Merewood Road who had CCTV footage of a male trying his door handle at 04.02am, In the background a white Audi A3 could be seen in the road with the driver's door open. The suspect was seen returning to this vehicle before making off. We have obtained a registration number from the vehicle and Investigations are ongoing. The team will be rolling out Smart Water kits to residents of Eastleigh Road this weekend. In the meantime we are concentrating on patrols in and around Merewood Road, ABC Roads. The next community contact session will be on Thursday 5th December 2019 at 11.00 in Barnehurst Golf Club. We will be holding a later session on Tuesday 17th December 2019 at 16.00 hours". Belvedere ward:- "School talks have been taking place at Belvedere Junior School this week. Year 4 had a talk about the local Police, what we do and how we can help. Year 5 and Year 6 received talks about bullying, cyber bullying and internet safety. All the pupils seemed to take an interest in the subjects spoken about and we hope that they took on board what was being said, along with having a bit of a laugh in the process. On Sunday 17/11/2019 the annual Sikh Parade took place around Belvedere. The parade went very well and the participants had a good, safe time. There was minor road disruption, which upset a few people, but overall no real issues. There was a report of a burglary at Dowling House a week or so ago. It seems like the door was either left open or the suspect had a key as no damage was caused to gain entry. Dowling House is a secure building with key fob/door buzzer access. Jewellery was the main items taken. Two males were seen to be snooping around the communal garden of Russet Court on the Thursday 14/11/2019, at around 12:30. They were challenged but claimed to be assessing the land at the school as they are looking to buy and develop the land. They were both Asian looking, aged around 30-35 years. The school stated they were not aware to be selling any land. Issues continue in Wadeville Close. The courtyard area of the supported living buildings are having two youths, aged around 14-15 years, loitering inside. They are reportedly smoking cannabis and using this area so as to not be seen. If anyone is seen loitering and look out of place please consider contacting the team. Our next street-a-week is on Monday 25/11/2019 at Wadeville Close. TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ORDER 2019 (WOOLWICH ROAD, BELVEDERE). Temporary closure of Woolwich Road starting on 2nd December for about 3 days. The London Borough of Bexley, being the Traffic Authority for the above mentioned road, in exercise of powers conferred by section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, HEREBY GIVE NOTICE that, to enable FM Conway's on behalf of the London Borough of Bexley to undertake highway improvement works, they intend to make an Order the effects of which will be the introduction of no waiting and no loading in Woolwich Road from outside 146 to 104 both sides of the carriageway. There will also be a road closure to vehicular traffic in Woolwich Road from the junction of Court Avenue to The Junction with Tyeshurst Close. During the closure there will be no egress or ingress to The View except for emergency vehicles. There will also be a banned right turn from Court Avenue, restriction will be removed when works allow. The Order will come into effect on 2nd December 2019 and is valid for a period of 18 months. However, the works are expected to be completed within 3 days. Whilst the works are in progress, an alternative diversion route will be provided via: Eastbound Diversion; Woolwich Road; Nuxley Road, Bedonwell Road, King Harold's Way, Brampton Road, Woolwich Road. Westbound Diversion; Woolwich Road, Brampton Road, King Harold's Way, Bedonwell Road, Nuxley Road, Albert Road, Woolwich Road". Bexleyheath ward:- "Wednesday 13/11/19 1400 – 1445 Theft of Purse in Card Factory Thursday 14/11/19 2255 Theft of Motor Vehicle St Francis Avenue Friday 15/11/19 1900 – 2355 Criminal Damage to Church Bexleyheath Broadway – broken window Sunday 17/11/19 1930 Robbery of a bag from young male on bus Monday 18/11/19 1200 Theft of Motor Vehicle Gravel Hill Close Monday 18/11/19 1145 Theft of Purse in Marks and Spencer. Please ensure that doors and windows to properties are locked and secured with keys (lift the handle and turn the key in the lock) where applicable – revisit home security and lighting now the dark lights are coming. Please be careful with purse/wallets whilst out shopping, make sure they are secured inside your bags with a zip type handbag". Crayford ward:- "Just one burglary and one theft from motor vehicle to report this week. Between 20.00 on 15th November and 09.30 on Saturday 16th November the rear window was smashed on a vehicle parked on Iron Mill Lane, the glove compartment was rifled through but it's not known what may have been taken.There was a burglary on Saturday 16th November between 09.30-11.00 in Woodfall Drive. Entry was made through the front door, the lock was damaged. There were untidy searches in all rooms but especially the children's bedrooms, cash and an iPad in a pink case were stolen. Burglary is one of the most awful crimes and this time of year with dark nights often sees an increase. Please do all that you can to prevent this happening to you, review your home security and refer to www.met.police.co.uk for further tips and security advice. The Crayford Winter Festival takes place on Saturday 30th November between 15.00-19.00 in Waterside Gardens, we will be there along with our colleagues from Neighbourhood Watch, we look forward to seeing you there!"

Erith ward:- "At 01:50 on the 21/11/19 four men tried to unsuccessfully break in to the car park at phase one of Erith Park. Their attempt at entry involved trying to rip out the wiring for the gates, and a push with their car. Photo above for your information". Northumberland Heath ward:- "This week we have had some ASB in the Kebab Express on Bexley Road, the team have viewed the CCTV, identified one of the suspects and conducted a home visit to speak with the youths parents. We will continue to identify further suspects and further home visits will be conducted. We will not tolerate ASB on our ward. The team has issued a CPN (Community Protection Notice) to a male this week who has been involved in ASB and being investigated for drug supply. One male was arrested for malicious communications. We have had two Motor vehicle crimes on the ward this week as follows:- On Thursday the 14th November between 08:45 – 09:00 a silver Mercedes VRM GV07 HLO was stolen from Detling Road. Two suspects were seen, one white male and one black male, no further description. On Tuesday the 19th November overnight a vehicle was broken into on Belmont Road, house keys and bank cards were stolen from the vehicle. Please be mindful not to leave valuable items in your vehicle, especially if they are on display, this will make your vehicle a target." Slade Green and Northend ward:- "A burglary took place at sometime between Sunday 17/11 and Monday 18/11 in Springhead Road. There are no actual details at this time as to if anything was stolen as the property is being renovated at the owner is yet to get back to police but entry appears to have been made by smashing a window in the back door. Enquiries are ongoing. In the early hours of Tuesday 19/11 a vehicle in Manor Road had jewellery, a purse and cash stolen from inside. The victim has stated they are quite sure they forgot to lock their car doors but luckily cancelled the banks cards before they could be used. A local CCTV camera did pick up footage of unknown suspects trying car doors during the early hours. Please ensure your vehicle is always locked and do not leave ANY valuables inside your vehicle, even if they are seemingly out of sight. This coming Saturday 23/11 is the St Augustines Christmas Fete in the church hall from 1100-1400. We cannot be there due to days off etc but please pop along to show your support if you can. PC's Mark and James are leaving us for the next month as they are both attending a firearms course in the hope of furthering their career, we wish them well. During this time, our ward is being covered by officers from neighbouring wards including North Heath, Erith and Barnehurst who we thank in advance for their help". Thamesmead East ward:- "Vehicle Crime - Thamesbank Place Friday 15/11/19 between 8:30pm – 11pm Victim returned to vehicle and found that the rear window had been smashed with 'no entry gained or anything stolen '. Whilst in the process of cleaning up the broken glass the victim was approached by a neighbour who stated that at approximately 11pm the night before a vehicle similar to the victims drove into the car park turned around and drove out slightly before reversing back in. Shortly after she heard the window break and the vehicle drive off, but did not see who broke the window. This coincides with the time that victim heard the alarm going off. Mangold Way Friday 15/11/19 between 5:30pm – 9am Saturday 16/11/19 Victim returned to vehicle when she was approached by a neighbour who stated that all four tyres on victim's vehicle were flat. A local garage has confirmed that each tyre was stabbed twice. No suspect/s seen. Other Theft - St Martin's Close Saturday 16/11/19 between 4pm – 12pm Sunday 17/11/19 Victim was returning home when victim received a call from a flatmate stating the door to victim's room was left open and victim's things were scattered around the room. On returning to victim's room it was discovered a laptop and £500 which had been previously withdrawn to pay the rent, had been removed by suspect/s unknown. Criminal Damage - Fleming Way Tuesday 19/11/19 between 1pm – 4pm Victim's kitchen window smashed by means of climbing onto a recycling bin no suspect/s seen.  Good News. A vehicle was recovered following a telephone call from a local resident who stated the vehicle had been at the location for 3 days. Various checks were completed confirming the vehicle had been stolen from Plumstead". West Heath ward:- "We have had two burglaries reported to us over the last week. The first took place in Glenview between Saturday November 9th and Tuesday November 12th at 8pm. The victim was on holiday at the time of the incident and this was reported by a neighbour. The rear patio was forced and a side door was damaged .It is not known at this time if any property was stolen. The second burglary took place in Penhurst Road Between Tuesday November 12th at 6.15pm and Wednesday November 13th at 10.30am. Entry was gained via a kitchen window causing the burglar alarm to activate, thankfully the suspects made off and nothing was taken. Several motor vehicle crimes have taken place this week. One theft of a black Mercedes Benz from a driveway in First Avenue on Wednesday November 13th between 02.30am – 06.00am. A vehicle was broken in to in Lodge Hill between Thursday November 14th between 09.30am and 05.30 on Friday November 15th. The driver's window was smashed but nothing was taken. Vehicle broken in to in Gipsy Road overnight on Thursday November 14th 8.30pm to Friday November 15th at 8.10am when the victim discovered the vehicle door ajar. Several pairs of Ray Ban sunglasses were stolen from the vehicle".

The end video this week was taken from the BBC News website; it features former Erith and Thamesmead MP Teresa Pearce, and how she and other MP's suffer from abuse and intimidation from members of the public. Teresa Pearce is not standing in the next election - she is going into retirement. I personally do not envy anyone who stands for public office; the stresses would appear to be immense, and you never get to switch off - the role is pretty much 24/7. Send any feedback to me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Locally listed.

In a move that surprised some locals, Bexley Council have given Erith Town Hall locally listed status. Councillor Louie French signed the listing approval document, which states: - "Erith Town hall meets the criteria for inclusion on the Local List. The structure has historical and architectural significance and contribute to the townscape, for the reasons set out in this report. The inclusion of the properties on the list would make their preservation and enhancement as heritage assets a material consideration when determining relevant planning applications". Bexley maintains a Local List of buildings and structures that have been identified as positive elements within the local environment due to their local historic or architectural significance. Locally listed buildings are of local significance, as opposed to national significance. They are heritage assets that contribute to the understanding of the borough’s past and inform its present character. They add to the quality of the local environment. Buildings on the Local List are not subject to additional statutory controls, but their conservation and enhancement is an objective of national, London-wide, and local planning policy, and therefore is a material consideration when determining planning applications. Erith Town Hall opened on 2 June 1932 and is of historic importance locally in that it provided services for the locality as part of the Erith Borough Council (and formerly Erith Urban District Council). Erith Town Hall remains an attractive and prominent landmark building located within Erith Town Centre and retains the original Council Chamber. The design of the Town Hall building borrows features from the adjacent Carnegie library. ‘Italian Renaissance’ is quoted within the Erith Observer (published 10th June 1932) as the style in which the building has been constructed. The external surfaces feature red brick of attractive proportions and decorative stone features including window casements. The protruding front pediment exhibits the Coat of Arms of the Erith Urban District Council and is inscribed with the motto ‘labour overcomes all things’ (Erith Urban District Council was granted their own coat of arms by the College of Arms On 27 February 1906). There have been some unsympathetic alterations, namely the replacement of approximately 50 percent of the original metal-framed windows with that of UPVC. The metal railings to the perimeter walls (located to the front of the building) are also missing in places. The side access to the Council building (located along Bexley Road) has also been blocked-up and replaced with a UPVC window. The scale and ambition of the Erith Urban District Council was realised in the construction of the Town Hall as we know it today, which was part of a government scheme of public works to enable jobs (particularly for military veterans and the unemployed). The Town Hall was constructed almost entirely with local manpower and ninety per cent of the materials used for the construction were purchased in Erith. The building housed the Council’s administrative functions and thereby was an important point of contact for local people for a number of decades, until the formation of the London Borough of Bexley on 1st April 1965. To the present day, the building continues to operate some of the functions of the London Borough of Bexley, namely council tax and benefits, which were outsourced to Capita in 2011. The building is the only remaining purpose-built Town Hall within the borough. It is currently utilised for some of the statutory functions which are provided by Bexley Council. Personally I find it somewhat surprising that the building has been included in a local listing, as it is my understanding that one of the prime conditions for local listing is that the building in question should be substantially unchanged since it was constructed; this cannot be said of Erith Town Hall, which had an additional storey added (the raised roof level) in the early 1990's. I also am aware that the Council are looking to dispose of the building, now that its main function - as the centre for council tax and housing benefits has been merged with Bromley. Erith Town Hall is nowadays somewhat underused. It also makes me wonder that the cost of converting if for another use - for example as a hotel, might be greater than the cost of demolishing it and replacing it with an entirely new structure. As mentioned earlier, Electricity House, which is directly opposite, is of a similar vintage, and is already being targetted by Bexley Council in an attempt to buy out the leases prior to an expected compulsory purchase order being sought. What does the future hold for Erith Town Hall, now that it is covered by a local listing? Only time will tell. 

After a recent survey, more than half of Britons believe fireworks should be restricted to official and professionally managed displays only, and that the private use of fireworks should be banned. Since 2003, under 18’s have been prohibited from buying or using fireworks. The measures come under the Fireworks Act 2003, which also bars any member of the public from possessing high-powered "category four" fireworks of the kind used in professional displays. Now many activists, animal lovers and others have been campaigning for a further strengthening of the law, and as a result Police have been getting tougher with people using fireworks illegally. The clampdown is intended to tackle the problem of anti-social behaviour involving fireworks, Further hard line enforcement is due to come into force next year, including curfews on the setting off of fireworks, recognised training for display operators and the introduction of a tougher licensing system for suppliers. In a surprise move, giant supermarket brand Sainsbury's announced that they were no longer going to stock firework products as a result of negative feedback from pet owners, and also as a result of information from the Police about the use of fireworks in anti - social behaviour. I have since discovered that Canada, South Africa and Australia have limitations or bans on private firework displays, and the UK needs to seriously consider if it needs to follow suit. I was also made aware by a reader that an organised campaign to get heavy restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks is already under way. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

The Association of Bexley Charities '78 - Autumn Fair 26 October 2019. An announcement from the group:- "We are holding our Autumn Fair at the United Reformed Church, Geddes Place, Bexleyheath DA6 7DJ (near the Broadway Shopping Centre) on Saturday 26th October 2019 from 9.45 am  - 1.00 pm. There will be a variety of charity stalls selling Christmas gifts and cards, CDs and DVDs, collectables, jewellery, chutneys, jams, cakes, books, children’s toys and games and model railway accessories. Refreshments will be available and the entrance fee is 50p (accompanied children FREE)".  

News reaches me that the beleaguered owners of the P2 Events Centre and the former children's nursery in the aforementioned Electricity House located at 33A Bexley Road, Erith have put both spaces up for rent. As I recently wrote, the temporary planning permission for the two areas of the building has been withdrawn by Bexley Council. Details of the former children's nursery space can be seen by clicking here. The proposed annual rent of £39,000 per year is in my opinion frankly eye watering. That is nothing in comparison to the P2 Events Centre, details of which can be seen by clicking here. The proposed rent for this shabby space is a staggering amount for what was formerly the Erith Snooker Centre - an incredible £95,000 a year - that is £7,916 a month. They will never get anything like this amount, especially as the future of the entire Electricity House is in some doubt. This is all under a background of Bexley Council negotiating with the individual leaseholders in order to buy out the leases in Electricity House prior to what I and many others believe to be a compulsory purchase order and then site redevelopment.

Erith is rightly known for its many engineering contributions to the world, and to the great inventions that have come from the small riverside town. The fire sprinkler, the sprung mousetrap and the first automatic machine gun were invented by Sir Hiram Maxim at his works in Fraser Road, and the first heavier than air flying machine - the Maxim Flyer. Maxim began his aerial experiments at Baldwyns Park, England, in the late 1880's, leading to the construction in 1893 of his enormous biplane Test-Rig, which weighed about 7,000 pounds. The machine's two steam engines each produced 180 h.p. and turned two pusher propellers each 17-1/2 feet in diameter. Since the device was intended to be a test vehicle it was held to a track, preventing it from rising more than a couple of feet. The Maxim Flyer took briefly to the air on its third test run, on July 31, 1894, with Maxim and a crew of three aboard, it lifted with such force that it broke the reinforced restraining track and careened for some 200 yards, at times reaching an altitude of 2 or 3 feet above the damaged track. It was believed that a lifting force of some 10,000 pounds had likely been generated. Maxim never took to the air again, and the flyer became a fairground ride, which to this day is still in use in Blackpool. You can read more about the Maxim Flyer by clicking here. Other local inventors of note include Edward Butler - who invented the Butler Petrol Cycle, which he tested along Manor Road in Erith in 1884 - two full years before Karl Benz built his first vehicle in Germany. Butler gave up on his invention, hence why Mercedes Benz are now credited with the invention of the car. I wrote at some length about this in the past, which you can read by clicking here. Apart from these big local engineering organisations, there have also been numerous smaller and less well - known enterprises, one of which I am featuring this week. The following information should be of particular interest to the significant number of my readers who are Radio Amateurs, but it should also be interesting to a general audience - or so I hope.  This is the story of a important, specialist electronic component supplier that for many years was based in a small industrial unit in Pier Road, Erith, opposite the spiral entrance to the old multi storey car park that used to be above the hideous brutalist concrete shopping centre. Thanks to local resident, regular reader and occasional contributor Miles, who brought this bit of local history to my attention, and who also sent me the price list scan above - click on it for a larger view. The company was called Quartslab, and it imported, manufactured and sold quartz oscillator crystals for the communications industry. A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a precise frequency. This frequency is often used to keep track of time, as in quartz wristwatches, to provide a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits, and to stabilise frequencies for radio transmitters and receivers. The most common type of piezoelectric resonator used is the quartz crystal, so oscillator circuits incorporating them became known as crystal oscillators. You can read more about crystal oscillators by clicking here. Quartslab became the largest supplier of crystal oscillators for use in electronic devices. Their story started in the 1970's. Quatrslab founder Dave Court, G3SDL received a significant quantity of commercial land mobile radio equipment for conversion to the 144 MHz amateur radio band. Finding a supplier of the necessary crystals at a reasonable price proved rather difficult. This was in the pre-Internet age but nevertheless a new quartz crystal factory in Singapore with good prices and a reasonable delivery time was identified and the crystals duly arrived. During a discussion with Dave Collings, G8EOK the idea of importing crystals for commercial mobile radio equipment on popular 144 MHz channels was discussed and Quartslab's predecessor company C and C Electronics was born. This enterprise was started with £200 capital and operated from rental accommodation in South East London. C and C expanded rapidly, and moved into the supply of crystals for professional as well as hobby radio applications and imported quartz crystal from suppliers in Canada, Denmark, India and Japan as well as Singapore. In 1978 the two Dave Cs decided to form a limited company and QSL or Quartslab Marketing Limited was established. In 1979 a change of address was triggered when the two QSL directors embarked on married life. This was the period when Quartslab traded from PO Box 73, Summit House. In the early 1980s Dave Court resigned his position as Director of Quartslab Marketing Ltd, due to increasing responsibilities in his full time occupation. Thus the most successful period of Quartslab’s existence commenced with the company trading from Pier Road in Erith under the sole stewardship of Dave Collings (now G4YIB). Quartslab went from strength to strength and started to manufacture small quantities of crystals itself to meet the demand for very fast delivery times. A good friend of mine, Bob Mersh G8JNZ who unfortunately is now deceased, was very close to the two Daves, and also told me that Quartslab manufactured the transmitter crystals for a large number of London's AM and FM pirate radio stations - something that they understandably kept quiet about. The situation carried on in much the same way for two decades and into the 21st century. At Christmas 2006,  the two Daves met again; the conversation turned to crystals and the next phase of the story was decided. Dave Court (now EI3IO) had started a telecommunications consultancy, Connogue Limited as well as a number of other initiatives, following his career in radio communications and had settled in Ireland after living in Denmark during the 1990s. It was agreed that Quartslab should move to the Emerald Isle and become part of the Connogue group of companies. In 2009 some major changes took place in respect of Dave Court’s business activities, which involved a move to Bahrain. Luckily another Dave (G4AKY) agreed to take over the reins of one of the British Isles’ most successful crystal companies and QuartSLab has returned to South East England, where it started over 35 years ago. The company is still very much active, and is now based in Sevenoaks, Kent. The Quartslab industrial unit in Pier Road was located where the currently empty units at 66 - 68 Pier Road are - right next to the Energie Gym. The old industrial units were demolished during the redevelopment of Erith Riverside Shopping Centre.

Recently I wrote that I did not want to describe Erith as one large building site; I am now of the opinion that to all intents and purposes it is. The entire town is undergoing a degree of regeneration not seen in a couple of generations. Not since the old and beloved Victorian town centre was demolished to make way for the brutalist concrete monstrosity that was the 1970’s era shopping centre (of which my enduring memory as a small child was the ever present smell of stale wee). Whatever issues or subjects Erith residents of a certain age disagree with, the unifying subject is that the heart of the town was ruined when the shopping centre was constructed. Only really in the last few years have things started improving, firstly by the fundamental re- engineering of the old shopping centre to form the current Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, which is a very pleasant place to be, and light years away from the gloomy and threatening old structure. Morrison’s have added a lot to Erith; in fact the Erith store was the first the then Northern based supermarket chain opened in the south, back in 1999. I recall being served by Sir Ken Morrison on the first day of opening (though I had to be told who he was, as I was clueless). Morrison’s employ well over five hundred local people, and put a lot of money back into the local economy. I would estimate that they are second to, or equal with ADM Oils as being the largest employer in the town. A new primary school will be opening next year on the Erith Quarry residential development, and the Riverside Baths development has now been fully occupied. On top of this, the Post Office building in Erith High Street is currently up for sale and possible redevelopment. If you have any information about other developments in the local area, please feel free to drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence.

Now for the weekly local safety and security reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Obviously this week's updates are overshadowed by the tragic incident that occurred on Sunday afternoon at Barnehurst Avenue junction with Merewood Road. At the moment enquiries are ongoing but residents can be reassured that this was a one off incident and there is absolutely no reason for residents to be concerned. Apart from this I am pleased to report no burglaries since the last update. However there have been sporadic incidents of vehicle crime. In Normandy Way at 5:45am a male was seen running away from a vehicle which he had tried to break into. There was visible damage left on the car door. In Birling Road on Sunday 13th October at 8:20pm there was a theft of a moped. Local cctv shows two males of medium build wearing black helmets and dark clothing taking the moped off the victim, driveway. The suspects arrived at the scene on their own motor bike. Overnight of Sunday 13th October in a residential parking bay of Badlow Close there was an incident where the victim's vehicle has had its front driver's side window smashed. An untidy search of the vehicle has then occurred. It appears nothing was taken. On Saturday12th October at 11pm in Beechcroft Avenue a vehicle parked on the roadside has had its windscreen and driver's side window smashed. All four tyres have also been slashed. Local cctv shows a blue BMW 3 series pull up. Two males leave the car and approach the victim's vehicle. One male is seen walking around the vehicle slashing the tyres while the other throws a brick through the windscreen. The male that slashed the tyres then throws a brick through the side window. The victim has no idea why this has happened. The next community contact session will be coffee with cops at Barnehurst Golf Course at 11am on 23rd October". Belvedere ward:- "On Friday 11th throughout the early hours of the morning, there was a brick thrown at the front window of number 51 Ripley Road. Damage was caused to the double glazed window as the first pane of glass smashed completely. Also on Friday 11th and into Saturday 12th there was a further burglary at 38 Elmbourne Drive in which the rear patio doors were damaged (glass smashed) in order to gain entry. On Sunday 13th there was a further attempt to gain entry to the stand alone garage at 14 Lower Park Road. Once again, this proved to be an unsuccessful attempt. There was a burglary at 16 Halifield Drive this week, on Monday 14th between midnight and 3:45 pm. It appears that a hall way window had been left slightly open allowing possible entry to the property. On Thursday 10th October, PCSO Worrall and PC Holmes discovered a silver Audi A5 after we were alerted by Councillor Hinkley to its whereabouts in Lower Road. The vehicle was taken to the Police car pound for further examination. PC Holmes then recovered a second stolen vehicle from Picardy Manorway an hour later. On Wednesday 16th , PCSO Worrall was also alerted to a motorcycle that was in St. Thomas Road. Subsequent checks showed that it had been stolen a few days earlier from a nearby street. The owner was then contacted and has been reunited with his vehicle". Bexleyheath ward:- "There was an attempted shed burglary in Heathfield Avenue overnight on the Saturday the 12th of October. No entry was gained to the shed and nothing was taken. Between Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th of October there has been a residential burglary in Parkhill Road. Rear patio doors were smashed to gain entry to the property. Cash and jewellery was stolen. Between Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th of October a white Audi, registration GK13DPZ was stolen from Dale Road. It's unknown how the vehicle was taken as the owner has the keys. Stops and searches continue across the ward, including the war memorial, car parks for possession of cannabis. The team will be working several more late shifts than usual from now into November for Operation Autumn Nights, to tackle ASB that tends to increase at this time of the year. If you are aware of any issues in your local area please do get in contact with the team". Crayford ward:- "I am really pleased to say that there have been absolutely no catalytic convertor thefts this week. In fact, motor crime has been very much reduced this week other than one theft of motor vehicle which occurred between 22.00 on 10th October and 13.00 on 11th October when a white Audi Q5 S Line, number plate GK13 DPZ was stolen off a driveway in Dale Road without keys. There was an attempted burglary at Aldi on Monday 14th October at 4.15 am. Seen on CCTV, two male suspects aged between 15-18 years and on bicycles broke through a door and realising they could not continue in to the store then left. Four worn tyres were stolen from a business in Crayford Way surrounded by a six foot fence on Monday 7th October. There have been two distraction thefts this week in Crayford, please be very aware of this sort of crime. A blue I Phone XR was stolen from a shop in Crayford High St at 10.50am on 9th October, the suspect is seen on CCTV and is described as IC2, possibly Algerian. The other theft occurred at the Post Office on 12th October at 16.30. The suspect and his accomplice kept changing their minds about how they wanted their money resulting in a loss to the Post office. The main suspect is described as IC2, about 5'4”, medium build and was wearing a hat. (colour not given on report) His accomplice was described as having a beard, greasy hair and thin. Our next community contact session will be on Wednesday 23rd October at Crayford Library between 2-3pm". Erith ward:- "For residents that attend our ward panel meeting we have had to have a change of location this month, we are having it on the same day Wednesday 30th Oct, but the location has been moved to Erith Pier Road Police Station, Feel free to email me if you would like more info. We are having a free bike marking event outside Erith Pier Road Police Station on the Saturday 2nd November between 11am and 1pm this will be FREE so pop along with your bikes. Also we are carrying out a crime survey and are looking at getting 1000 of these completed in Erith, these are for you are residents to complete, Any of my NHW members across Erith who would like to deliver and collect these to the area they cover PLEASE get in contact with me. Crimes of note from the week, Theft from MV Wednesday 09/10/2019 11:00:00 14/10/2019 Friday Road, Theft from MV Monday 14/10/2019 09:00:00 Avenue Road, Theft of MV Wednesday 16/10/2019 18:40:00 James Watt Way, Theft Wednesday 16/10/2019 19:17:00 Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, in James Watt Way". Northumberland Heath ward:- "There was an attempted burglary of the garage area opposite Thorne Close around 10pm on Thursday 10/10/2019. Suspects in 2 vehicles (a white van and a grey mini) were disturbed by a passer by. No garages were broken in to. Bolt cutters were left behind by the suspects and have been taken for forensic examination. There has been an increased amount of shop lifting reported in the last week at BP on Bexley Road. CCTV images are being looked at by the team to identify who may be involved. ASB has been reported in recent days outside BNN shop in Brook Street. The team will be patrolling the location to try and prevent this becoming a bigger issue. A dangerous dog warrant was executed by the team in Beechfield Road on Saturday 12/10/2019. A dog was removed from the premises after it had recently attacked another dog. One fine was issued to a male who was found with cannabis on him during a stop and search last week".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Six vehicle crimes have been reported in the last week. All of them took place overnight. 2 of them were thefts of number plates. The other 4 were Catalytic converter thefts. They all took place between the Monday 14th and Wednesday 16th of October. The number plates were stolen from Bilton Road and Alexandra Road. The Catalytic converters were taken from Boundary Street X2, Frobisher Road and Manor Road (these were both taken overnight between Monday 14 – Tuesday 15th). All of the catalytic converters were taken from Japanese made cars, Honda, Toyota etc. Please be aware that if you are the owner of one of these vehicles to try and park your vehicle in a well lit place or garage if possible. On Wednesday 16/10/2019 PCSO Mark attended the Slade Green Big Local Stakeholders conference where the last few years of The Local Plan were discussed as well as an update on activities in the last 6 months. Our next CCS is on Tuesday 22/10/2019 from 12 Midday at the Welcome Café in St Augustines Church. Please come along and say hello". Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries this week. Haldane Road Wednesday 9/10/19 at 10;22pm a witness stated that they had seen someone pull up to the house and smash windows. On police arrival smashed windows were seen, the house appeared empty as there was no furniture to suggesting anyone lived there. Kale Road Thursday 10/10/19 between 10am - 2 pm passenger window smashed and vehicle broken into nothing taken. Yarnton Way Thursday 10/10/19 between 7:30pm – 9pm victims front number plate removed by suspect/s unknown an attempt to remove the rear plate was unsuccessful. Wolvercote Road between Thursday 10/10/19 11pm – 8am 11/10/19 side window smashed glasses and perfume taken by suspect unknown. Wolvercote Road Friday 11/10/19 at 4:30am Victim went down to his car, noticed that the car window had been smashed. In the distance a male in dark clothing was seen smashing the window of another vehicle. The victim chased the male down Wolvercote Road, towards Yartnton Way but lost sight of the suspect. Kale Road Friday 11/10/19 at 8:30pm victim could hear shouting and looking out of his flat window could see a group of males and females possibly arguing. One of the male suspects was seen by the victim to kick his car. Victim shouted out his window and the suspects ran off but not before kicking both wing mirrors off. Damage to rear nearside light also seen. Templar Drive Friday 11/10/19 between 3pm – 8:30am Sat 12/10/19 Victim has noticed the glove compartment was open and the driver door was unlocked. £25 in Euros and car key to work lorry taken. Templar Drive Friday 11/10/19 between 4pm – 1:45pm Sat 12/10/19 victim noticed that suspect/s had been in his vehicle and removed personal items as well as a brown pouch containing £50 without his permission. Yarnton Way Saturday 12/10/19 between 7pm – 7:30pm Victim reports the theft of his mobility scooter after leaving it unattended when it ran out of charge. Victim returned an hour later and it had been stolen". West Heath ward:- "We returned from rest days this week to find out we had one attempted burglary in Elmstead Crescent on Tuesday October 8th. At 11.15am the occupant was sitting in the lounge of their property when they heard the back door handle being tried. The suspect was disturbed and ran away slamming the outer door behind them. On Tuesday October 8th between 7am and 11.15am police were driving in Long Lane when they heard an alarm going off in Nicola Terrace. A side door to a property was smashed in and an untidy search of the property conducted but at this stage it is not known if anything was taken. In relation to motor vehicle crime, one theft of a BMW in Little Heath Road between Sunday October 13th 10.30pm – Monday October 14th 6.45am. Criminal damage to a vehicle in Preston Drive on Tuesday October 15th between 8.30am – 6.10pm. Last week we held our quarterly ward panel meeting which was well attended. Our promises for the next quarter remain unchanged focusing on Motor Vehicle crime, Burglary and ASB/Drugs. The next drop in police surgery will be held at the Bostall Library in King Harolds Way on Friday October 25th at 1pm".

The end video this week features highlights of local football team Erith Town FC, playing in a match with Welling Town for the Buildbase VA Vase.

The Auction.

The photos above (click on either to see a larger version) were taken yesterday at the very first event to be held in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith since it was taken over by local arts, heritage and community group The Exchange. As covered in the last update, the former library has been open every day for the last week to allow viewing of the 230 art works on display. The works had been created by members of the Centrepieces mental health arts charity. Founded in 1999, Centrepieces is a registered charity which helps adults in their mental health recovery through art. The organisation’s work centres on an effort to improve the confidence, well-being and self-esteem of people suffering with mental illness, while offering an opportunity to build a social community and promote a better understanding of mental health to the wider public. Centrepieces provides the resources for people to participate in art workshops and activities, and to exhibit and sell their artwork. Running regular workshops, which encompass art practices from sculpture and painting to mask making and photography, they are committed to providing their artists with the tools and the environment for creative expression. Yesterday the exhibited artworks were put up for public auction to raise money both for the artists themselves, and also for Centrepieces. I was in attendance, as were a large number of people, some of whom had travelled from as far away as Colchester in order to attend and bid for items. The former library restoration is very much a "work in progress" with most of the first phase refurbishment efforts being focused on the lower ground floor, and on the (now completed) replacement of the roof of the building. Phase two of the restoration will concentrate on the main library space on the ground floor - where the exhibition and auction took place - and on the upper floor which used to contain the Erith Museum, and the private apartment that once housed the Chief Librarian and his family. I don't currently have the total amount of money raised by the event, but I think it will be substantial, as many works were sold, and some even became the subject of a bidding war. A very successful event, especially considering the absolutely foul weather on the day. 

The whole situation in regard of Electricity House and the two major occupants of the 80 year old building has taken a new and intriguing twist. Extremely reliable information has been passed onto me from a regular anonymous local source. The former Bright Steps children's nursery - forcibly closed after it lost its Ofsted licence to operate after a child was smacked by a member of staff, and the owner of the nursery covered this up by deleting CCTV recordings in a subsequent Police and Ofsted investigation - is now up for commercial rent, as can be seen on the estate agents website. As well as this, the contentious P2 Events Centre - located in the former Erith Snooker Centre in the upper floor of the same block, is also up for rent, after efforts to market the venue for social and business meetings seem to have fallen flat. The P2 Events Centre has attracted unfavourable attention due mainly to the misleading photographs and information presented on their slick website. If you look at the middle of the three photographs above - click on any of them for a larger version - you will see the image of the main hall portrayed of the P2 Centre from their website. The lower of the three images is the actual hall - image taken from the estate agents' website that are trying to rent out the facility. As you can see, reality is markedly different from the image portrayed on the P2 Events Centre website. I get the feeling that many potential customers were attracted by the glossy (but entirely false and very misleading) images on the website, but when they came for a viewing, their hopes were brought crashing to the ground when they saw the dismal reality of the run down and scruffy venue. As I have said on more than one occasion in the past, I am strongly of the opinion that the owners of both facilities in Electricity House are playing a very clever game. I do not believe for one instant that either the nursery or the events centre were ever intended to be viable business propositions; instead I feel that their owners have been carrying out a sophisticated "land grab" on the now end of life 1930's building, so that when it becomes the target of a compulsory purchase order by Bexley Council, the owners can claim that due to the investment that have put into the old building, their compensation should be considerably greater that the norm for such a building. Basically they have spent pennies on making the P2 Events Centre look like a viable business, but in reality is it nothing but "smoke and mirrors" to try and deceive Bexley Council when it comes to deciding compulsory purchase remuneration. Incidentally, information has recently come to my notice that Bexley Council are indeed quietly approaching the various lease holders in Electricity House with regard to buying out their leases prior to compulsory purchase of the old building, which is a prime site for redevelopment. If the owners of the nursery and the events centre can get sitting tenants into the building prior to any compulsory purchase negotiations, this will undoubtedly strengthen their bargaining position with the council.

A press release from local organisation The Exchange:- "The Exchange are pleased to present a three week Pop up Cinema and Grotto Bar in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith. They will be sifting through the library bookshelves for cinematic inspiration; poetry, classic literature, short stories, comics and graphic novels will get the big screen treatment. Films include Black Panther, O Brother Where Art Thou, Beauty and the Beast, Persepolis, Pulp Fiction, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Its a Wonderful Life.  Tickets are £4 for Adults; £2 for under-16s.  The accompanying Grotto Bar is being created using decorations donated by local company James Glancy Design; the menu includes a tasty selection of festive drinks and snacks including mulled cider, mulled apple juice and spiced nuts. For more information and to book tickets, visit: www.theexchangeerith.com/events"

Two weeks ago I wrote at some extent about the problems with the deployment of smart energy meters in the UK, and how the project was in danger of failure. Since I wrote that piece, additional information has come to light, which means a follow - up article. Parliamentarians are set to haul civil servants in for a grilling after the National Audit Office (NAO) confirmed the UK will miss its 2020 smart meter rollout target, piling an extra £500m onto the cost of the £11bn project. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) underestimated how long it would take to implement the infrastructure and technical standards for the second generation of Smart Meters (SMETS2).  Smart meters come in two forms at the moment, SMETS1 and SMETS2. SMETS1 is the get-it-up-and-running basic specification. Most of these meters are operator-specific, a bit like having your mobile phone handset locked to a particular network, and, as the NAO noted, nearly 950,000 of these have already lost their smart features as a result of customers changing supplier - if you change your energy supplier, a vast majority of SMETS1 meters become dumb meters, just like the one it replaced. Full functionality came with the SMETS2 standard, which supported all of the data-broadcasting features that were supposed to make smart meters a viable economic prospect in the first place. The audit office's report stated:- “Significant technical delays resulted in the first SMETS2 meters only being installed in July 2017, over three years later than first planned. In their absence, energy suppliers have installed 12.5 million SMETS1 meters, 7.1 million more than the Department’s planned 5.4 million. Pressing on at full speed to get SMETS2 units installed by 2020 “is putting increasing timetable pressure on the programme” according to the NAO, risking “cost escalation and/or technology being rolled out before defects have been addressed". The NAO calculated that savings to consumers will now be less than £18 per year. Ten years ago, when the Cabinet Office was pondering whether to commit the country to the £11bn project, that per-household benefit was supposed to be £23 by 2020. A meeting is scheduled to be held on the 9th January where a Parliamentary committee will question senior civil servants as to whether the 2020 completion date for the smart meter project will have to be extended due to the failure of take up of the meters by the general public. I get the feeling that this story has plenty of time left to run. 

Now for an article from guest contributor Dave Collings:- "I thought that you and your readers might be interested to know about the closures of the Pop In Parlours in the Borough. (Now called Well Being Centres). There have been several of these providing a valuable service to our older population for many years. The number of parlours have sadly dwindled and the last 3 are being closed this week. Age UK Bexley used to run these parlours in property owned by Bexley Council. The people attending the parlours only discovered this month that the closures were imminent. Meetings were arranged by Age Uk Bexley and well attended by the consumers. The decision had already been made prior to these meetings and there was no flexibility regarding the closure date. As well as providing a much needed resource for the  older community, the closure has had a serious effect on the clubs that hired rooms in the parlours. Age UK Bexley assured one of the clubs that this would not affect the room hire and we would be invoiced as usual in the new year. Fortunately we checked this with Bexley Council to find that in fact the buildings will be closed and no longer available for hire after the end of December 2018. They stated that they had only recently been told that Age UK were withdrawing from the buildings. Clubs that have been running for many years may be forced to close as it is not easy finding alternative venues for evening and weekend activities. This will have serious repercussions for the North Kent Radio Society who have met at the Graham Road, Bexleyheath facility for over 30 years". A fascinating insight into the local situation; it would seem that Bexley Council have taken a very narrow - minded view on closing these community assets. Whilst I understand that the Age UK centres have not been getting the amount of use that would justify them continuing as dedicated meeting places for retired people, it does seem that the needs of other community groups that have historically shared the buildings has been overlooked. There is a solution, which to date has not yet been communicated to the clubs and community groups in the borough. That is, why not transfer your meeting place to the former Carnegie Library in Erith? The Exchange welcome community groups and clubs to use the newly refurbished building as their meeting place. In many ways it has much more to offer than the old well being centres - subject to discussion in individual cases, of course. A declaration of interest here; I am a trustee of The Exchange, so I do have a direct involvement in the matter. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Following my article last week on the response to the Bexley Council Growth Strategy document by residents of Slade Green, I have had the following response, which I publish in full. "Re your article about the Bexley Growth Strategy draft consultation (you say 'the proposed Bexley regeneration consultation project') ... you talk about more 'lurid' claims not having come to pass, but omit to say that quite a lot of residents in Slade Green wrote in to respond to the consultation on the draft and that Bexley toned down what was in the draft when they published the actual Strategy. You also fail to mention the role played by Bexley's officers, who contradicted each other at the various public consultation events (some within my own hearing at the consultation event in Slade Green) with some telling Slade Green residents that there would be compulsory purchases and some saying there wouldn't be. (Despite local residents groups asking several times, I still haven't seen a straight answer to that, perhaps you might be able to extract an answer from someone?) Despite the toning down the Strategy still calls for 8000 new homes in Slade Green with a high street (strategy states 'of similar size and function to existing centres such as Northumberland Heath and Bexley Village'), offices and mansion block housing close to Slade Green station in areas where there is currently low rise housing (see page 30, pages 110-112). The area around Crescent Road still falls in the 400m radius area for 'Urban High Density' mansion blocks in Erith (see pages 107 and 108). (Here I must note some bias on my part - my mid-terrace house in Slade Green sits well within the area the strategy says will be mansion blocks). The Strategy doesn't go into much detail on Crossrail, you have to realise just what is implied by the 'dedicated infrastructure' referred to (page 86) and dig around to understand that that is new tracks alongside the existing tracks. I think it will be difficult to have two extra tracks between Abbey Wood and Dartford and avoid an impact on housing. (I participated in several weeks of the Public Inquiry into the proposed Strategic Rail Freight Interchange this summer and note that no-one from the GLA or Dartford disputed claims by the appellant that their freight trains would not interfere with the running of the proposed Crossrail extension because Crossrail would be on dedicated tracks)". Some interesting and enlightening information; if any other reader has a view on the Growth Strategy, then please contact me via Email in confidence - hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Proposals have recently been published relating to the possible local listing of Erith Town Hall - pictured above - click on the image for a larger view. Bexley maintains a Local List of buildings and structures that have been identified as positive elements within the local environment due to their local historic or architectural significance. Locally listed buildings are of local significance, as opposed to national significance. They are heritage assets that contribute to our understanding of the borough’s past and inform its present character. They add to the quality of the local environment. Buildings on the Local List are not subject to additional statutory controls, but their conservation and enhancement is an objective of national, London-wide, and local planning policy, and therefore is a material consideration when determining planning applications. Erith Town Hall opened on 2 June 1932 and is of historic importance locally in that it provided services for the locality as part of the Erith Borough Council (and formerly Erith Urban District Council). Erith Town Hall remains an attractive and prominent landmark building located within Erith Town Centre and retains the original Council Chamber. The building is the only remaining purpose-built Town Hall within the borough. It is currently utilised for some of the statutory functions which are provided by The London Borough of Bexley. Personally I find it somewhat surprising that the building has been proposed for a local listing, as it is my understanding that one of the prime conditions for local listing is that the building in question should be substantially unchanged since it was constructed; this cannot be said of Erith Town Hall, which had an additional storey added (the raised roof level) in the early 1990's. I also am aware that the Council are looking to dispose of the building, now that its main function - as the centre for council tax and housing benefits has been merged with Bromley, Erith Town Hall is now somewhat underused. It also makes me wonder that the cost of converting if for another use - for example as a hotel, might be greater than the cost of demolishing it and replacing it with an entirely new structure. As mentioned earlier, Electricity House, which is directly opposite, is of a similar vintage, and is already being targetted by Bexley Council in an attempt to buy out the leases prior to an expected compulsory purchase order being sought. I would not be at all surprised if the council refuses the local listing application in order to make the old town hall as attractive as possible to a developer. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

At long last, it may finally come to pass that Erith Station gets step - free access to the London bound platform. Local MP Teresa Pearce has been campaigning for years on the issue. The fact remains that if you are a wheelchair user, or a parent with a heavy pram or buggy, it is not possible to take a train towards London from Erith. You have to go on the Kent bound platform to Dartford Station, then change there to pick up a London bound train. This means you go three stops in the opposite direction, only to then come back on yourself. Apart from the inconvenience this brings, there is the added expense of what should really be an unnecessary journey. You can see Teresa's campaign website for step free access to Erith Station by clicking here. As you can gather, the campaign has been running for seven years now, and only in the last couple of days has anything positive come of it - better late than never I suppose.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Barnehurst has suffered one burglary in the last week. This burglary occurred in Edendale Road on Tuesday 27th November 2018 between midnight and 06.00am. Entry was gained via the front UPVC door which had not been double locked. Coats were taken off the bannister on ground floor and items taken. It is believed suspects were looking for keys to a high value vehicle that was parked on the drive way. We cannot stress enough the importance of double locking your front door and if you have an alarm please set it every morning / night. The Barnehurst team posted six hundred letters to property's inviting residents to a street briefing in Westfield Road. Approximately one hundred residents attended and crime prevention advice was given with regards home security. Our next community contact session has been cancelled due to change of shifts, please see next week's alert for updates". Belvedere ward, From a Neighbourhood Watch Member - Abbey Road:- "Around 10 am a neighbour who lives on an elevation saw from her front bedroom window a man walking slowly down the alleyway (leads to Laymarsh). ‘He was looking from left to right and then peered over the fence into the garden of the 1st house. Then he walked back along Abbey Rd, turned into Shortlands Close and returned with 3 other men. They all walked back into the alley and started peering over the fence, at which point I opened the bedroom window and shouted 'Oi!' and they all immediately pulled their hoods over their faces and walked back to Shortlands Close - making obscene gestures at me. Shortly after they'd disappeared from sight they reappeared in a white unmarked Transit van and drove off towards Abbey Wood. The 1st man to appear yesterday was tall, red haired and wearing black tracksuit bottoms with a white stripe down each leg, a sweater and something with a grey hood and a yellow hi viz jacket. The other 3 who appeared later all looked much the same as each other I'm afraid and I can't recall anything distinctive other than that one of them seemed to be all in grey. The van was parked out of sight, not on the main road, but when it appeared after they'd all rushed off with their hoods pulled up. A family member was fairly sure that he could see them inside. It was a scruffy unmarked white Transit van with a ladder on the roof and although it was almost out of sight by the time he took the photo the reg no looks like either ND59 XGM or NO59 XGM or even XGN'. We have had no other reports of any other suspicious activity however as it is darker earlier we are all being vigilant". Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had two reports of burglary on the ward. One was reported along Lynsted Close Bexleyheath. Entry was gained via the front door of the property. The other was reported along Latham Road Bexleyheath, entry was via the rear kitchen door window. Regular burglary patrols are conducted by the team. There has been three reports of mobile phones being stolen along the Broadway on the Monday 26/11/2018 & Tuesday 27/11/2018. Two were stolen from pockets and one from a handbag that was placed on a pushchair. The team conduct regular hi-visibility patrols. Also patrols are conducted in the car park areas and the Broadway to reduce anti-social behaviour including Martens Grove Park. As a result a group was stopped in the cinema car park. One was arrested for possession with the intent to supply. Also another male was arrested for possession of drugs. Regular patrols are conducted by the team along Gravel Hill because of children running out on the road causing a danger. Team is liaising with school officers on the borough. Our next drop-in surgery is on Friday 7th December between 2pm and 3pm at Café Nero on the Broadway. Please feel free to drop by. 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". From a Pinnacle Hill, Bexleyheath, Neighbourhood Watch Member:- "I have had a report from one of my watch members. Earlier this month while a mother and her adult daughter (the ladies) were in a shop in Bexleyheath, they were subjected to a 'bag dipping' by two Eastern European looking women in their thirties (the women). One of the women dropped an item on the floor next to one of the ladies. While that lady helped the woman pick up the dropped item, the second woman took the lady's mobile phone from her bag. Luckily, she had felt a tug on her bag, and soon became aware that her mobile phone was missing. When the women were challenged, they remonstrated saying that the missing phone must be in the ladies bags. A call was made immediately to the missing phone and it rang from where it had been placed on a shelf in the shop. At this the two women made off running from the shop. The phone was recovered. These events bear the hallmarks of professional 'bag dipping' style pickpockets. The purpose of placing the phone on the shelf was to ensure that no one had seen or noticed what they were doing. Only finally to have taken it when sure no one had. Everyone should remember, not only when shops are busy and crowded, but at all times that pickpockets work together and do more than just bump and distract to steal people's belongings". Crayford ward:- "Here is our news for this week. Just to let you know, I'm away next week, it may be an idea to email John Cullingham, Scott Gardiner or Chris Murphy directly to remind them to do the update!! Sadly, another week where burglars have been out and about. On Wednesday 21st November between 02.00 - 6.30 a house in Wyatt Road was entered through the front door. It was believed the door had been locked and secure. Keys to a Citroen Relay van were stolen and used to steal the van parked outside, other items stolen included cash, driving licence, mobile phone, power tools and credit card. On Monday 26th November between 00.20 and 06.00 a house was entered through the porch door and internal front door of a property in Barnes Cray Road. After a messy search, keys, a watch and handbag were stolen as was the grey Audi Q7, number plate LX15 NBY that was parked outside. It is believed the vehicle has since been involved in a local incident in Welling. The cards have been used but now cancelled and some items from the vehicle have now been recovered. There was an attempted burglary in Shearwood Crescent between 02.00 - 03.00 on Tuesday 27th November. The owner heard a noise near the door and opened it and scared off the prospective burglar. On 13th November the front and rear number plates were stolen from a red Hyundai Sovereign V8 auto whilst parked in Barnes Cray Road. On a more positive note, a prolific shop lifter who frequents Crayford was arrested, charged and taken to court this week and sentenced to four months in prison. Two dangerous dog warrants were executed this week, one dog was seized pending further investigation. Please don't be a needless victim of burglary, lock your doors and windows are locked when you go out and ensure your home is secure when you retire to bed". Erith ward:- "Good news - no Burglaries this week in Erith, bad news we have been hit hard with theft from motor vehicles. Please make sure you fully remove any items from your car when you lock it up at night. Don't leave anything on show. Date for you to note Friday 30th November - This Friday we will be in the Blackberry Patch Orbit office from 7pm. Feel free to pop in if you need to speak to us about anything. Theft of MV 21/11/2018, Thanet Road - By suspects by taking the vehicle without the consent of the owner; Shoplift <£200 21/11/2018 Matalan Retail Ltd; Theft from MV 22/11/2018, Neptune Walk - vehicle entered via unknown means and searched; Theft from MV 24/11/2018 James Watt Way - By suspects forcing entry to van and stealing equipment; Theft from MV 23/11/2018 Morrison's, Pier Road – no more details at this time; Theft from MV 24/11/2018 St Johns Road - Unknown suspect has unscrewed both front and rear VRM plates; Theft from MV 24/11/2018 James Watt Way - By suspect by using an unknown object to smash a window then taking the property from within; Shoplift <£200 08/11/2018 Farmfoods Ltd, Pier Road; Theft of MV 26/11/2018, Avenue Road – car taken; Theft from MV 27/11/2018 Windrush Court, Erith, – Car broken into smashed window and messy search". Northumberland Heath ward:- "The team have been conducting patrols through Northumberland Heath's current ASB and crime hotspot areas. In all of the areas patrolled, all appeared well. PC Smith from the North Heath team conducted an arrest enquiry in Frinstead Road, one male was arrested for shoplifting offences. We have unfortunately had one incident of note reported this last week: Residential burglary overnight between 26th-27th November in Frinstead Road. Entry was gained through a side entrance into the property, car keys stolen from inside the property and then the vehicle was stolen from outside. If you have any information in relation to any of these incidents please report this to the police and continue to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour or activity you see".

Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Three vehicle crimes to report in the last week. On Thursday 22/11 at around 10pm, a van was deliberately set on fire in Frobisher Road, CCTV footage from a phone has so far been inconclusive in identifying anyone involved. Overnight on Saturday 24/11 a car window was smashed in Jenningtree Road and a similar incident happened overnight on Sunday 25/11 in Whitehall Lane. Nothing taken in either incident and enquiries are ongoing. An empty flat in Frobisher Road was broken into sometime last Thursday 22/11 and the water tank was taken along with taps and other fixtures and fittings. The relevant Housing Association are aware and have secured the property. Last Friday there was a large fire at a tyre place out on the Industrial Estate of the marshes. We assisted LFB for over 5 hours with the road being closed at Ray Lamb way which caused a standstill for traffic all the way back to Erith town centre for the whole time. This was due to LFB discovering gas canisters inside a shipping container at the location and all safety measures had to be taken. The road re-opened at around 4.45pm and it took around an hour to get all the traffic back down onto the estate. We attended the St Augustines Christmas Fair last Saturday and gave crime prevention advice to everyone that attended. On Sunday, we assisted Belvedere SNT with the annual Guru Nanak Sikh parade through parts of Erith and Belvedere. The event went without any issues except the usual disruption to traffic for several minutes as the parade passed. This coming week PCSO Mark is attending Peareswood Primary School to do some reading with the pupils. On Saturday it is the Slade Green Big Local Christmas Fair at St Augustines church hall starting at 11am and we will be in attendance with Mark doing a stint as Santa from 1pm". Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries this week but the Thamesmead East Ward has been subject to a rise in car crime. Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicle - Grange Crescent on Saturday 24/11/18 between 3pm – 26/11/18 8am Tyre slashed/stabbed and punctured by persons unknown; Leatherbottle Green Sunday 25/11/19 between 5:50pm-7pm Both wing mirrors smashed; Glimpsing Green Sunday 25/11/18 between 5-6:30pm Concrete block thrown onto bonnet of car causing damage; Wolvercote Road been cut open, nothing taken from vehicle; Wolvercote Road Monday 26/11/18 between 6:30pm -28/11/186:30am Window smashed money taken unknown quantity; Parkway Monday 26/11/18 between 8:25am-5pm Brick thrown through window by unknown person; Fieldfare Road Monday 26/11/18 between 7:50pm-8pm Suspect unknown smashed passenger window of victims vehicle. Theft From Motor Vehicle - Southmere Drive Saturday 24/11/18 between 6pm-10am Indicator cover stolen; Lensbury Way Sunday 25/11/18 8:30pm-8am Window smashed car manual stolen; Hartslock Drive Saturday 25/11/19 9:30am-12:30 Various documents stolen from vehicle including victims Passport; King Fisher Close Wednesday 28/11/18 between 6:30am-6:50am Sat Nav, phone and wallet taken from victims vehicle. The next meeting will be Tuesday 11th December at Lakeside Medical Centre in Yarnton Way between 1-2pm". West Heath ward:- "Over the last week on Wednesday 21/11/18 a car's wing mirrors were damaged in New Road SE2. There was a residential burglary in Brampton Road in the early hours of Monday 19/11/18, resident woke to find their back door had been forced open but nothing taken. Sometime between 0945-1450 hours on Monday 19/11/18 there was a second burglary in Brampton Road, the rear patio doors were smashed and an untidy search conducted and jewellery and vehicle stolen. There was another burglary in King Harold's Way sometime between Sunday 18th - Tuesday 20th November. While the occupants were away, entry was gained via the dog flap and items taken. In the early evening around 1745-1800hrs on Sunday 18th November there was an attempted burglary in Abbotts Walk. The occupant heard a loud bang and on investigation found a male in their doorway and the glass panel of the door smashed. The male ran off on seeing resident and 3 males were seen running off. On Tuesday 20th November a vehicle was stolen in Gipsy Road without the keys being taken and in Lansdowne Road on Friday 23rd November between 10pm and midnight items were stolen from a car. We have been made aware there may be a possible scammer in the King Harold's Way area. Two males, claiming to be builders working nearby, and noticing damage to residents roofs and offering to look in the loft. Once in the property the males spray a wall while the occupant is distracted then offer to repair the roof for an exorbitant fee. Due to the recent rise in burglaries on the ward the team have increased our high visibility burglary patrols both on foot and mobile CCTV patrols. We now have keys to the alley gates in target areas and have been patrolling the rear alleys and are stop and searching any suspicious persons".

The end video this week shows one of the two new Woolwich ferries before it was delivered to the UK. You can see the vessel on trial in Poland prior to its journey to Woolwich. Both ferries are now in place, and undergoing further end user acceptance testing on the River Thames before they go into service early in the New Year.