Erith Pier for sale?

The popular press have been banging on for weeks regarding the heatwave we have either been enjoying, or suffering with, depending on your point of view. Personally I am glad we now have cooler conditions, as I am sure do many others. One local area that has benefitted from the warm weather and clear skies has been Erith Pier, which has seen a marked increase in visitors. This is great, as the pier has historically been somewhat under used, and really only known to Erith residents and others living nearby; it now seems to be getting some wider recognition, which can only be welcomed. I have heard rumours from a couple of sources that there may soon be some changes taking place on and around the pier. Firstly, I have heard that Morrison's supermarket (which owns Erith Pier) are looking to sell it off - and that a meeting has recently taken place between representatives of Bexley Council and Morrison's senior management at Morrison's headquarters in Bradford regarding the potential sale of the pier to a currently unknown third party. I am also led to understand that the Port of London Authority will have a say in any change of ownership, as the pier is regarded as a key asset to the River Thames, and in addition to its leisure uses, it is still employed to moor commercial river traffic on occasion. On top of this, discussions regarding the potential extension of the Thames Clipper river bus service are still ongoing after successful test voyages last Autumn. Bexley Council announced last September that:- "We would welcome a clipper type service if it offers another option for people travelling to and from the City and central London. We don’t own the pier and, while we understand it does not currently have the facilities to allow vessels to dock, we would hope they can be provided if the service is extended along the Thames. We support greater use of the river, particularly for leisure and tourism.” Sean Collins, CEO and co-founder, MBNA Thames Clippers said in a News Shopper interview that:- “Our Gravesend trial service was a complete success. Bookings completely sold out, and we have had incredibly positive feedback from passengers, many asking us when it will become a permanent extension to our current network. The purpose of the trial sailings was to provide us with the required information to enable us to evaluate the potential of such services for the future. The infrastructure and vessels required to operate such service would need to be built, as well as evaluating other potential stops for the route to support the routes viability". There are considerable barriers to setting up a MBNA ferry terminal on Erith Pier; the problems can be divided into two specific types. Firstly there are the engineering and physical challenges to enabling a ferry to dock at the pier. A free floating pontoon extension to the existing pier structure would be needed; this would project out into the deep water channel closer to the middle of the river. This would, however create problems of its own. Whilst the floating pontoon would enable ferries to dock at the the pier whatever the state of the tide was, it would also create a hazard to other shipping that uses the river. Commercial vessels, including cargo ships and bulk freighters use the deep water channel, and if a jetty was protruding into the channel, this might create a hazard to navigation, especially at night and at times of reduced visibility. There are several ways to manage this, the most obvious one being to make the floating jetty movable - to swing it out into the deep water channel only when a ferry was approaching the pier. Unfortunately this would add complexity, and therefore cost to the design, and for safety reasons would almost certainly require a supervising operator to be located on site. The jetty, whether movable or fixed, would require hazard warning lights, a fog horn, and a radar reflector. The pier itself would also require some shelters for waiting commuters to occupy in inclement weather - the wind coming off the Thames at Erith in winter can be absolutely bitter, not to mention the freezing rain. Who would foot the bill for all of the alterations and upgrades is uncertain - at this point the results of the discussions between Bexley Council and Morrison's supermarket have not been released, so at present it is only open to conjecture. This discussion really represents the second challenge to the expansion of the functionality of Erith Pier - what will there is at both council and supermarket level to make substantial changes to how the pier is operated. In the past there has been incredible resistance to change. I know from personal experience that dealing with these organisations, when any mention of Erith Pier is made, it tends to provoke the response of "The answer is no, now what is the question?" Long term readers may recall that I had a small involvement some years ago with an abortive project to bring the Ross Revenge - the Radio Caroline ship to Erith Pier to open it as a public attraction for the Summer season. The objections and bureaucratic barriers that were put up to block the temporary project were simply staggering, and even the involvement of Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead was not enough to get the project the green light, and it ended up being abandoned. On a more positive note, I am also aware that a number of cultural and social events are being planned around Erith Pier for the Autumn, following on from the hugely successful Erith Lighthouse pop - up restaurant project from last year. More on these undertakings in the weeks to come.

One somewhat surprising issue which has been brought to my attention this week by an eagle eyed reader is that Bexley Council are advertising that they have trees for sponsorship. Really. Their announcement reads:- "The London Borough of Bexley now provides the opportunity for individuals, families, community groups and businesses to sponsor the planting of new tree parks and some highway locations within the borough. Planting a tree can leave a long-term legacy, and trees not only look beautiful and support wildlife but help clean the air, reduce extreme temperatures and reduce stormwater runoff. If you have either a location in mind or a particular tree species you would like planted we can work with you to see how we can best meet your aspirations". The levels of sponsorship range from £250 per tree to £400 per tree - and no name plates, dedication notes or burial of cremation ashes beneath the sponsored tree are permitted. You can see the full terms and conditions by clicking here. Personally I find this somewhat ironic - after all, Bexley Council has been spending money paying contractors to cut down trees all around the borough for the last few months - and now it is expecting local residents to pick up the bill to replace them? Bearing in mind the council have already got our council tax money - which amongst many other things is supposed to cover tree planting and maintaining the natural environment - in essence they are asking the public to pay twice for something. Bare faced cheek in my opinion. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Erith is somewhat unusual in that it is a town that still has an old – style “cottage hospital”. Nowadays the hospital is mainly used for blood tests and X-rays, and an excellent urgent care centre which has a very good reputation. Back in the 1980’s there was a small surgical unit in the hospital where routine type procedures were carried out. There were two wards accommodating a maximum of thirty one in – patients in 1986. Nowadays the most common reason to visit the hospital is to have an X-ray, blood test, or receive treatment for a minor injury. The X-ray department is located in a rather unusual out building. You can see a photo of the building above – click for a larger view. The bunker was built in 1938 by the then Erith Borough Council as part of the Emergency Medical Service introduced by the Ministry of Health to deal with the anticipated large-scale casualties from enemy bombing during the Second World War. The provision was mainly hut based accommodation, and although another five of these concrete structures were planned on the site, no others are known to survive. The only other underground hospitals known are the one at Dover Castle built by the military as a Field Dressing Station as part of a combined HQ accommodation and the underground hospital at Jersey built by the Germans with forced labour for their defence from the allies. Neither of these examples are comparable with this structure at Erith. The bunker was converted from an emergency field hospital into an X-ray department in 1950. The bunker structure was granted Grade II listed status in 2003, due to its history and uniqueness. It certainly still has a war – time atmosphere; on the one occasion I had to visit the bunker, I half expected a brace of Hawker Hurricanes to fly overhead! Recently, reports have emerged that Erith Hospital is in serious need of a review, following the ambitious growth plans published by Bexley Council. Last week, Director of adult social care Stuart Rowbotham gave Bexley councillors an update on local health services, highlighting the importance of Erith Hospital. He said in an interview published in the News Shopper that:- “The services currently provided there are both very valued by residents, but badly in need of review. We have radiology from a WW2 bunker – the hardware is in bad need of replacing. It’s hard to recruit and retain radiologists, and if that goes you can’t run an urgent care centre there. There’s a domino effect there – the urgent care service there is hugely popular but used for the wrong things. It can’t continue from what is an inappropriate clinical site. That hospital, at some point in the future, will need to be reconfigured. We will need to work with the CCG as it distributes primary care and general practice We, like many others, operate in a highly challenged hospital system. A particular concern is Greenwich and Lewisham trust, and of course Kings which has an infamous overspend situation. This winter just gone was one of the most difficult on record, we had significant breaches of A and E waiting times of almost all hospitals. It was a harsh winter in terms of the weather. Planning starts now for Winter 2018/19. These pressures flow through into social care and that brings a cost pressure – but we need these hospitals to work best because they serve our residents.” What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Have you ever put some key search words into a search engine such as Google or Bing, and got back some really unexpected results? For example, searching for “bicycle safety” and getting results from payday loan websites. If you have, this is down to a criminal activity called search engine poisoning. Search engine poisoning attacks are designed to skew results so that dodgy sites - anything from malware infected websites to payday loan sites - appear prominently in the index of sites related to popular search terms. In many cases the tactic is so successful that malware sites appear in the first page of results for popular search terms, in sometimes much higher than legitimate websites. More recently, miscreants have begun trying to manipulate image search results. The murky world of high interest payday loan sharks is to blame in many cases. The lenders always require details of potential new customers – what they refer to as “leads” and they are prepared to pay substantial amounts of money to grab as many leads as they can. One way that they do this is by hiring “lead generators” – dodgy, semi legal outfits that have been involved in hacking innocent, completely unconnected websites to redirect to payday loan websites and similar. The other side of this, is if you were actually searching for, as previously mentioned, a bicycle safety site, your search would result in your enquiry being redirected to a dodgy loan website – and your details potentially being siphoned off your web browser for the lead generating company to sell on to the highest bidder. All search engines suffer poisoning to some degree or other; web analytics from security company Sophos indicate that currently Microsoft’s Bing is the worst affected – which is surprising as it is relatively small in comparison to the elephant in the corner – Google. It would appear that whilst Google does suffer from search poisoning, their security is tighter, and less gets through. You have been warned. 

With the current spate of hot weather, thankfully which appears to have abated for the time being, the authorities have been very keen to ensure the everyone carries a bottle of water when out and about; I understand the thoughts behind this - dehydration can become a serious matter when temperatures exceed thirty degrees Celsius. One aspect that seems to have been overlooked, however is that of what I term as "wee mileage". Wee mileage is a concept I developed back in November 2009; I expounded it at the time, but perhaps it deserves a revisit. It encompasses irregular and unreliable public transport, the woeful lack of public toilets in this country nowadays, and the propensity which many have for going out for a quiet pint on the odd occasion. The aforementioned factors create an artificial boundary as to how far one can travel from home, if intending to indulge in a tipple whilst out and about. Once you have left the hostelry or beer festival at the end of the evening, there is a finite amount of time available for travelling before one will be compelled to pump ones' bilges. Obviously this will vary between individuals and their personal bladder capacity / ability to hold on, the amount of liquid they have imbibed, and the ambient air temperature.  I am presupposing that one does not cheat and avail oneself of a convenient bush or dark alley. Wee mileages seem to be higher when employing a cab, mainly due to the fact one can take a last minute leak before starting the journey, and the cab will take you door to door with no waiting around at a chilly bus stop or draughty railway platform with the bladder clock ticking. This is the principal reason that I have never attended the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival at Olympia (this year the event takes place between the 7th and the 11th of August). The exhibition hall is admirably equipped with public conveniences, but once you leave the venue and head back to civilisation from West London the trouble starts. One would have to navigate the tube back to Charing Cross Station (it is possible to make a loo visit there - they used to have the temerity to charge a fee, but now I understand that they are now free to use). After this it is fifty minutes overland by train to Erith Station, in a train that has a loo - but that is almost always locked and out of use to stop vandalism. Just too much to endure - and thus far too high a wee mileage for me to even consider. A similar restriction occurs when taking bottles of water whilst out and about in hot weather - people guzzle water, then find that there are few if any loos around. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Yet again another good week for Barnehurst Ward with no burglaries to report. There has also been no reports of vehicle crime on the ward. We have however had an incident reported for Criminal damage to a property in Eversley Avenue at 01.00am on 25/07/2018 whereby a window was smashed by persons unknown. Proactive patrols have been carried out to areas of concern, Hampton House, Merewood Road and alleyways on the ward have been covered throughout the shift when the team are on duty. The team popped into all shops in Barnehurst Road and Erith Road to speak with shop managers and staff and on Saturday held a community event at the local Sainsbury whereby customers were given crime prevention advice. Purse bells and personal attack alarms were given to vulnerable residents. Crime prevention leaflets covering all aspects from scams to home security were also made available for residents to take home and read. This was our first community event at Sainsbury and it proved very successful so we plan to hold more events here in the near future. These events give residents the opportunity to raise any concerns and to get to know their local policing team. With regards Bogus traders, there are so called traders going round targeting vulnerable and elderly residents. Do not be forced to make quick decisions on the doorstep. Get a few quotes from reputable companies. Be aware of companies that only use mobile numbers. Anyone who signs a contract on the doorstep following a visit that was not arranged does have 7 days in which to cancel it by law. Cancellation rights must be provided in writing to the customer at the time the contract is agreed (usually on the doorstep). If you don't want to speak to traders, don't answer the door and if you feel intimidated by anyone, close the door and call Police. Please look out for Vulnerable neighbours who may one day end up being a target. If you wish to meet the team to discuss any issues you may have, please join us at Barnehurst Golf Club on Thursday 2nd August 2018 at 1pm". Belvedere ward:- "There was an attempt break in at 4 Beckett Close on 21/07/2018 at around 13:45. Two men knocked on the front door of a house then went round the back and tried to break in. The occupant was home and this potentially scared them off. No entry gained. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the area around this time please contact us. We have been receiving complaints about the HMO at 83 Barnefield Road. This has ranged from noise, drunken behaviour and potential drug use. Again if anyone has any information about these issues please contact us. Further to the above we have had reports of drug dealing from a HMO at 41 Coleman Road. If anyone has any information please get in touch with the team. In other news PC Mike Cuell has joined the team for the next couple of months". Bexleyheath ward:- "We want to start off by saying that we have had no reports of any residential burglaries on the ward which is always nice to hear. Below is or brief summary of what has been going on our ward: 20/07/2018 - Theft from motor vehicle. Property taken from vehicle overnight along Freta Road; 21/07/2018 – Theft of pedal cycle along the Broadway – Bike owner allowed another person to ride their bike and had stolen bike; 21/07/2018 – Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle by Bexleyheath Methodist Church; 21/07/2018 – Criminal damage to motor vehicle along Long Lane. Vehicle badge taken and vehicle scratched; 23/07/2018 – Criminal damage to property along the Broadway, shop sign damaged. We are holding our next contact session on the 3rd August between 2pm and 3pm at Café Nero along the Broadway. Please feel free to make others aware if they wish to pop in and have a chat. Please be aware of bogus callers and people dropping cards/leaflets through the door, if you need gardening/building work doing please do seek references from neighbours or friends. The team had been conducting targeted patrols in relation to the schools braking up for the holidays to help reduce any sort of anti-social behaviour issues. If you do want to pass on information to Police then please feel free to contact Crime stoppers on 0800 555111". Erith ward:- "Still motor vehicle crime is high on the ward: 19th July – Theft of motor vehicle – Ashburnham Road – Motorbike stolen from outside home address; 19th July – Theft of Motor Vehicle – West street – Car stolen from behind Café; 19th July – Criminal damage to motor vehicle – Diana Court – Front windscreen screen found by police; 20th July – Robbery – Pier Road – Money and phone stolen; 20th July – Attempted burglary – Alford Road – tried to force entry; 20th July – Attempted burglary – Morrison's – Timber and tiles removed from roof to try and gain entry; 21st July – Theft of Motor vehicle – Bexley Road – Left car due to broken down – gone the next day; 21st July – Criminal damage of Motor vehicle – Salford Close – Windscreen smashed; 22nd July – Burglary – Compton place – Phone stolen; 23rd July – Theft of Motor vehicle – Christchurch Avenue – Stolen overnight; 23rd July – Theft of motor vehicle – Battle Road – Unknown method; 23rd July - Theft from motor vehicle – Parkside Lodge – Erith Road – Broken into items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle – Christchurch Road – items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle - Park Crescent – Items taken; 25th July – Theft from motor vehicle – Chandlers drive – item taken; 25th July – Attempted burglary – Salford Road – Garage broken into – tools taken. This seems a lot of crime this week – but the SNT are working hard to combat issue within the ward. Pro-active patrols by whole team being done down at West Street due to residents' concerns. Our next coffee with cops will be on 3rd August at Erith library any concerns about the ward come and have a chat with local officers". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Great news again this week, no burglaries have been reported on the ward. Three theft from motor vehicles over the last week. On Monday July 16th at 1600 an orange topper light was stolen from a parked company vehicle in Walsingham Walk. A company minibus had number plates stolen in Brook Street on Friday July 2oth. Wing mirrors were stolen from a parked vehicle in Avenue Road overnight on Saturday July 21st. The team held our Ward Panel last Wednesday evening and it was decided that we would focus on anti-social behaviour in the Recreation Ground Sussex Road following a number of reports of motorbikes being ridden erratically. Our other promise is engagement and trying to recruit further Neighbourhood Watches on the ward. PS Dan young dealt with a male in Erith this week who was in possession of cannabis by completing a Community Resolution form. The next drop in Police Surgery will be held on Thursday August 2nd between 12pm – 1pm at the Library in Mill Road Erith". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Unfortunately we have 2 burglaries to report this week. On Thursday 19thy July at lunchtime a distraction burglary occurred at Cloudesley Road. A male pretending to be from the waterboard gained access to an 87 year old victim's property by deception and took jewellery and a wallet. He was caught in the act by the victim and ran out of the house. On Saturday 21st July between 11pm and 6am, an empty property was broken into in Manor Road. Fortunately, there was nothing there to steal but there is damage to the kitchen window where entry was gained. Crime prevention leaflets were delivered to neighbours at both locations. PC Telfer stopped a male on Forest Road Monday afternoon who was found in possession of cannabis. The drugs were seized and the relevant warnings were issued. We have a Community Contact Session at 12 midday in Forest Road Café this Tuesday 31st July. Please come and say hi if you are nearby. Please take care during this spell of very hot weather ensuring all downstairs windows are shut at night and if you are in the back garden, as well as having plenty of suncream on, please make sure any windows at the front of the home are closed as this can be the perfect opportunity for burglars to creep into your home unnoticed while the music is playing in the garden. It sounds maybe a bit far-fetched but it does genuinely happen. If you would like any further Crime Prevention advice, please let us know". Thamesmead East ward:- "Good news - Whilst on routine patrol PC's Pruden and Quarshie - Awuah dealt with a domestic which ended amicably and a neighbour dispute resolved. Burglaries - During the early hours of Sunday 22/07/18 an attempt to break into a garage had occurred in Mangold Way. Damage only to the garage door ,which has since been made secure. .Sheds and garages - Firstly, check that your insurance covers the contents of your shed/garage from theft. If you're off on holiday and wish to post anything on social media, make sure your posts aren't public and that they're only seen by your friends. Motor Vehicle Crimes - A motor cycle was stolen from outside of Trefoil House, Kale Road on Wednesday 18/07/18. Another motor cycle which only had the steering lock on was stolen from an address in Drake Crescent between the hours of 6:00pm on Sunday 22/07/18 and 6:30am Monday 23/07/18.A motor vehicle parked in Woburn Close was stolen between Sunday 15/07/18 and Monday 20/07/18.A motor vehicle was reported stolen from outside Clydesdale House, Kale Road, on Sunday 22/07/18 had not been used for some time, was last seen on 05/07/18. The number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked near Hinksey Path between the hours of 9:00pm and 11:59pm on Friday 20/07/18". West Heath ward:- "There was 1 reported burglary on West Heath Ward between 18/07/18 and 24/07/18. The victim in Hartley Road Welling found her window opened and her belongings moved but not sure whether anything was stolen. There were also three reported thefts of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicle during the same period. A black Honda motor bike index LS15THK was stolen from Langley Road Welling on 24/07/18. A white FORD transit van index NV58FMF was stolen from Cumberland Drive Bexleyheath on 19/07/18 A white Vauxhall index BD09WXC was reported stolen on 21/07/18 by the victim Lodge Hill Welling when his friend failed to returned the vehicle on an agreed date. A number plate was stolen from a vehicle in New Road. West Heath Ward officers engaged with parents, teachers and pupils at Hillsgrove primary on the last day of term and the team is looking forward to more engagements with the schools after the holidays. Our next Community Contact Session (CCS) will be on 30/07/18 at Burchabro Road from 6pm -7pm".

The end video this week is of particular relevance to readers with an interest in local history. It features historical weapons expert Ian McCullam, and a presentation on the Maxim 37mm Automatic Cannon, a large calibre machine gun which was manufactured prior to World War One in the Maxim weapons factory in Fraser Road, Erith. Ian goes into some detail describing the development of the gun, and what customers purchased the fearsome weapon. Leave your comments below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Erith Lighthouse closes.

The photo above shows a rather unusual view of the ADM Oils Thames - side edible oil refinery, along with a moored bulk freighter, which was offloading a cargo of oilseed rape seed for processing into vegetable oil and soft spread. ADM Oils is the largest producer of edible oils and vegetable fats in Europe, and one of the largest in the World.  The ADM Oils facility is located at the end of Church Manor Way, as you can see by clicking here. Answers on a postcard please - where was the photo above taken from? Prize is an air guitar last played at the 1988 Donnington Monsters of Rock festival, and has not been played since, so it is probably a bit out of tune by now. 

Fellow local Blogger, Darryl Chamberlain of the 853 Blog has done something very ambitious and quite daring; he's crowd funding the 853 Blog so that, with enough funding, he will be able to make his online journalism a full time career. Unlike myself, an amateur who writes the Maggot Sandwich as an unpaid hobby, albeit one that takes up a large amount of my free time, Darryl is a "proper" trained journalist who has worked for The Guardian and the BBC News website. Darryl has set up a Patreon account that you can see here. He's hoping to be able to earn enough money through donations and sponsorship to pay for him to work on the 853 news and current affairs blog full time. he writes:- "I started looking more closely at issues involving Greenwich Council because they weren't receiving much coverage in the local press. Now the situation's even worse. The Mercury, traditionally the Greenwich borough's campaigning paper, is a pale shadow of its former self while the News Shopper is in tatters thanks to its owners squeezing it for every last penny of profit. And a new entrant, Greenwich Weekender, has stopped covering news after being threatened by Greenwich Council with the loss of an advertising contract for the crime of publishing some dissenting views on what councillors are up to. I'd like to be able to keep producing 853, to keep telling stories that aren't being told and to dig deeper into issues that affect the area. Over 700 people subscribe to the site - if every one of those paid £3 per month, it'd become a full-time wage. I'm not expecting anything near that, but the more people are able to pay, the more I can do. Hopefully I can live up to the generosity of those who have already donated - all contributions are gratefully accepted, and let's help keep public interest journalism alive in south-east London". Darryl plans on covering the stories that the local papers can't, or won't cover in the Charlton, Greenwich and Lewisham areas - the area covered by the old British Telecom 853 dialling code, hence the name of Darryl's Blog. I am proud to say that I am one of Darryl's sponsors, and if you would like to become one as well, you can click here for more information. 

I know that many readers will be pleased by the news that as of last Monday, trains on the Bexleyheath, Greenwich and Sidcup rail lines will have their number of carriages increased. Those that previously have had six cars will be increased to eight, and those that have had eight cars will be increased to ten. Southeastern expects to create 5,000 additional seat for morning-peak commuters to London by adding the carriages. Ten is the maximum length of train that can be used on the Greenwich line; although most stations on the line were extended to accommodate twelve carriage trains, shortly before the 2012 Olympics, two factors prevented trains regularly employing twelve carriages. The first of these is insufficient traction current to run very many long trains, but the most significant factor is the restricted length of the platform at Woolwich Dockyard Station. It is the only station on the Greenwich line which is constrained by a tunnel at each end of the platform. The maximum length of train that can stop there is ten cars; unlike on the Docklands Light Railway, where certain stations can be shorter than the trains that visit them - Island Gardens being an example - the overland trains are not able to lock out the doors of the carriages still in the tunnel - this is known as Selective Door Operation. The only time twelve carriage trains operated on the Greenwich Line was during the 2012 Olympics and 2012 Paralympics; the work - around was that trains in either direction did not stop at Woolwich Dockyard Station  - thus avoiding the problems of the doors of the front and rear coaches potentially opening whilst still being in the tunnel. Some wags also suggested the motivation was that the Olympic organisers did not want visitors to the UK accidentally getting off the train at Woolwich Dockyard, and then finding out what a dump the area then was! There have been substantial improvements since 2012. In any case the issue is moot; the trains on the Greenwich line will be longer, but the limit will still be ten car trains. 

This weekend has marked the successful conclusion of the Pier Commission and the Erith Lighthouse Project, which I have covered in detail over the past weeks. The pioneering art installation, community interactivity events and the pop - up restaurant which took place initially in Erith Riverside Gardens, and subsequently on Erith Pier have attracted much attention, and not only from local residents - people from farther afield have been attracted to Erith, in many cases for the first time. Sarah Batten, one of the Directors of arts commissioning group The Exchange writes:- " Back in March 2017, we approached Orbit and Wates Residential with an outline idea of sponsoring a contemporary arts project based on Erith Pier, with a view to drawing attention to it, and redefining or enhancing its purpose as a public space. With the sponsors the idea for ‘The Pier Commission’ – an annual arts project that would support emerging artists and contribute to community life in Erith – developed. An open call out resulted in over 70 proposals from all over the world, each reimagining the space in different ways – some bonkers, some magical, some impressive. The judging panel – consisting of The Exchange, Orbit, Wates Residential, local artists Gary Drostle and Guy Tarrant, Totally Thames and The Decorators (the group responsible for the Erith Lighthouse project) – had a difficult challenge to whittle this long list down to a shortlist of four, which were then presented to the public for the final vote. Julia Snowdin’s proposal was by far the most popular with local and wider audiences. Snowdin’s artwork, which has hung on Erith Pier for the last few weeks, has had overwhelming support from the public. From the fishermen who shelter under the sails, to the people who live in the flats opposite who watch them lit up in the evening, to the 65 people who contributed to the designing of the work (the youngest was 4 months old, the oldest 92!), to the children from local schools who made paper boats and helped us to imagine a new creative future for the town. In total over 3,000 people visited the pier over the course of the installation. We would like to thank the Port of London Authority, Morrisons and in particular Orbit, Wates Residential and Bexley Council - without their support this project would not have happened. There were of course challenges, and things that we would do differently in the future. The principal thing would be to allow ourselves more time to develop the project, and give the artist more time and resource to develop their work in close collaboration with the Erith community. We want also to explore how the programme could be extended, to other sites in Erith, and by reaching out to different groups developing close and meaningful partnerships. Probably the best thing about The Pier Commission, and the Erith Lighthouse project, has been the conversations we have been able to have with Erith residents of all ages, groups and persuasions. There is some sadness about what has happened in Erith in the past, but this is coupled with incredible positivity about the future of the town. It is this positivity, and the community spirit that we have witnessed, that will make the success of any future projects – we look forward to being a part of it." 

  

Recently I wrote at some length about the problems with Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) in betting shops on our high streets. Whilst I highlighted the problems these present to people on low incomes, and to those who have problems with gambling, one area that I neglected is that surrounding organised crime, and how crooks use FOBT’s as part of their own business model, astonishing as that might seem. The Gambling Commission - the industry regulator also publicly admitted what has long been privately acknowledged: FOBTs present a "high inherent money-laundering risk". In a letter to the industry trade association, the commission warned about "a retail betting model that includes high volumes of cash transactions, particularly where this includes low individual spend and a high level of anonymity, especially where that model also offers (FOBTs). What the machines provide is the chance for criminals to quickly and easily convert large sums of money from the real world into virtual cash that can later be converted back into the real thing. There is little official research into the scale and extent of such operations. The 2005 Gambling Act, which regulates the terminals, says one of its primary objectives is "preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime". It has long been obvious to the public that criminals can convert their loot into a clean win on an electronic roulette table. Surveys for the commission show that 40 percent of the public regularly identify gambling with criminal activity. The industry regulator found one in 14 respondents associated money laundering with gambling. Dealers feed their drug money through the machines, losing a little and then cashing out with the vast majority of their stake. They can then collect a printed ticket from the bookmaker showing they have gambled that day – meaning that if stopped by police, they can answer questions about why an apparently unemployed young man carries hundreds of pounds in rolled-up cash. The Fixed Odds Betting Terminals arrived in Britain back in 2001, and were lightly regulated from the outset. Gamblers in bookmakers found that they could bet £100 every 20 seconds on roulette. The temptation of high-speed, high-stake casino games in the high street proved irresistible: there are now over 33,345 FOBTs in the UK. The drug dealer who wants to launder his pile if ill – gotten cash has a very straightforward strategy, which is embarrassingly simple – they bet : £20 on black, £20 on red and £2 on zero. A press of a button and the wheel spins before the ball lands on red. That's a loss of £2. The money placed on the zero is the only risk the drug dealer is taking with his cash. If the ball does land on zero, he wins £72. With no horses to run or dealer to shuffle and just the 20 second spin of an electronic roulette wheel to wait for, it takes a little over a minute for the drug dealer to cash out. Many experienced money launderers know that unless they gamble at least 40 percent of the float money they have put in the machine, an alert will pop up on the staff computer warning them of suspicious activity. So they methodically place the same bet to make sure that they have been seen to have wagered enough. The economics of drug dealing make it cost-effective to pay 5 percent to 10 percent to betting shops to launder the illicit profits. I have it on good authority that it not just proceeds of illegal  drug sales that are being laundered through the FOBT machines, but that of robberies as well; Did you know that security dyed bank notes from bank robberies can be submitted to The Bank of England and the book maker company gets reimbursed? This whole process seems to have been overlooked by the Police.

Following my article last week concerning the MBNA Thames Clipper service running experimental ferry trips from Gravesend Town Pier to London, it would seem that Bexley Council are now putting out a somewhat different line to their original rather dismissive press statement that they had no knowledge of the trial ferry service expansion, or any reference to the ferry company having aspirations to run from Erith Pier; now they are back pedalling somewhat. In a follow up statement to the one I reported last week, a spokesperson for Bexley Council has since been quoted as saying:- "We would welcome a clipper type service if it offers another option for people travelling to and from the City and central London. We don’t own the pier and, while we understand it does not currently have the facilities to allow vessels to dock, we would hope they can be provided if the service is extended along the Thames. We support greater use of the river, particularly for leisure and tourism, and we await the results of this week’s trial with interest.” Sean Collins, CEO and co-founder, MBNA Thames Clippers said in a News Shopper interview that:- “Our Gravesend trial service was a complete success. Bookings completely sold out, and we have had incredibly positive feedback from passengers, many asking us when it will become a permanent extension to our current network. The purpose of the trial sailings was to provide us with the required information to enable us to evaluate the potential of such services for the future. The infrastructure and vessels required to operate such service would need to be built, as well as evaluating other potential stops for the route to support the routes viability.”  It was also announced last week that The company behind the long-promised theme park to be constructed in Swanscombe has reached an agreement to ferry tourists to the resort. London Resort Company Holdings hope the agreement with MBNA Thames Clippers will carry about ten per cent of visitors to the theme park from central London into Kent to visit the proposed resort. It is planned that the clippers will link the resort with Tilbury and Grays in Essex, and potentially Erith Pier, as well as to central London. Sean Collins also said:- “We want to transport as many visitors to the London Resort as possible to realise the huge benefits in terms of speed, comfort and frequency of travelling by river. Having recently agreed to run free test trials from Gravesend to offer journeys direct to central London in cooperation with Gravesham Council and seen overwhelming interest, we are delighted to play a crucial role in one of the biggest Global Entertainment Resort projects in the world, where the commuter and leisure market can be served by a first class ferry service.” It would seem that the momentum to get a ferry service running along an extended River Thames route is increasing; if the theme park does actually go ahead - it has been delayed several times - mainly due to the departure of Paramount and all of their intellectual property from the deal some time ago, then improved communications to the Swanscombe Peninsula site will be imperative. As mentioned last week, there are considerable barriers to setting up a MBNA ferry terminal on Erith Pier; the problems can be divided into two specific types. Firstly there are the engineering and physical challenges to enabling a ferry to dock at the pier. A free floating pontoon extension to the existing pier structure would be needed; this would project out into the deep water channel closer to the middle of the river. This would, however create problems of its own. Whilst the floating pontoon would enable ferries to dock at the the pier whatever the state of the tide was, it would also create a hazard to other shipping that uses the river. Commercial vessels, including cargo ships and bulk freighters, such as vessels like that featured in the photo above - click on it for a larger version - use the deep water channel, and if a jetty was protruding into the channel, this might create a hazard to navigation, especially at night and at times of reduced visibility. There are several ways to manage this, the most obvious one being to make the floating jetty movable - to swing it out into the deep water channel only when a ferry was approaching the pier. Unfortunately this would add complexity, and therefore cost to the design, and for safety reasons would almost certainly require a supervising operator to be located on site. The jetty, whether movable or fixed, would require hazard warning lights, a fog horn, and a radar reflector. The pier itself would also require some shelters for waiting commuters to occupy in inclement weather - the wind coming off the Thames at Erith in winter can be absolutely bitter, not to mention the freezing rain. Who would foot the bill for all of the alterations and upgrades is uncertain - at this point it has not been debated. The second barrier to using Erith Pier as a landing place for MBNA Clipper Ferries is actually by far the more difficult one - the bureaucracy and vested interests of the likes of The Port of London Authority, Morrison's Supermarket (who own the pier) and Bexley Council. I know from personal experience that dealing with these organisations, when any mention of Erith Pier is made, it tends to provoke the response of "The answer is no, now what is the question?" Long term readers may recall that I had a small involvement some years ago with an abortive project to bring the Ross Revenge - the Radio Caroline ship to Erith Pier to open it as a public attraction for the Summer season. The objections and bureaucratic barriers that were put up to block the temporary project were simply staggering, and even the involvement of Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead was not enough to get the project the green light, and it ended up being abandoned. The transformation of Erith Pier into a ferry terminal is of a completely different scale, as it would require permanent changes to the pier structure and thus its functionality, which has since it was refurbished and repurposed in 1999 been exclusively for leisure use. If London Mayor Sadiq Khan does put his weight behind the project, I can see it getting enough momentum to actually come to fruition, but to be honest, I still am of the opinion that it is unlikely to happen. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This week’s incident reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly from Belvedere ward:- “This week, we have managed to identify further children / youths that have been involved in anti-social behaviour both in and around the car park in Nuxley Road. We will be making efforts to visit those we are aware of in order to speak with the subjects and their parents, to advise against the type of behaviour that has been taking place. We are hopeful that this action will have the desired effect. PC Holmes has been busy dealing with various CCTV enquiries on the ward, most of which originate from shoplifting offences taking place in both Upper and Lower Belvedere. Images of those believed to be involved are being circulated on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, in the hope that they can be identified. The team have very recently dealt with a female shoplifter from B and Q in Lower Belvedere who is being interviewed in relation to the offence in the very near future.” Brampton ward:- “There have been 6 crimes over the past week. 1 x computer risk to human welfare in Cyril Road 1 x Criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Birchington Close, victim has seen a puncture mark in their tyre that has gone flat , NHW coordinator spoken to regarding the incident which is an ongoing problem in the road. 1 x Attempted theft of a cycle outside The Bakery Pickford Lane, the victim was riding home on the pavement when the suspect attempted to stop the victim who then fell off the bike, members of the public attempted to stop the suspect leaving the scene, it is unknown if the offence was an attempted theft or something else. 1 x Theft shoplifting in Long Lane, suspect stole washing powder 1 x Possession of cannabis in Albury Avenue, suspect stopped whilst walking along smoking 1 x Burglary Shakespeare Avenue , suspect smashed rear kitchen window and gained access.” Colyers ward:- “There are no reported burglaries on Colyers Ward between 13/09/17 to 19/09/17. There was one reported theft of motor vehicle and one criminal damage to motor vehicle during the same period. On 16th September 2017 the victim parked his vehicle outside his house address in Elmstead Road Erith at 7pm. The vehicle was locked and secured. At about 9pm when the victim came out, he discovered that his vehicle was gone. No suspect was seen but there is possible CCTV. On Monday 12th September 2017 in Larner Road the victim had her vehicle damaged by a male on a motor bike, VRM R251XBW(?) in Larner Road, Erith. The victim indicated that the male riding the motor bike came close to her on the driver’s side and punched her wing mirror and damaged it. She had no clue why it happened and she was very shaken by the experience. The victim managed to get a picture of the VRM of the motorbike on her phone.” Crayford ward:- “Two mobile phones were stolen, one from McDonalds and one from Sainsbury's. Each victim recalls having their phones at these locations. Counterfeit notes have also been reported as being used in a Crayford shop. There have been three bicycles stolen and two mopeds stolen in this last week. The mopeds have both been located nearby. With the assistance of officers from Christchurch and Barnehurst SNT, our team completed a successful Section 23 Drugs warrant at an address close to Crayford Way. Several items were seized and enquiries will be ongoing that should lead to prosecution of offenders.” North End ward:- “2 motor vehicle crimes in the last week, 1 vehicle damaged by 3 guys on mopeds kicking the wing mirror as they rode past in Bridge Road. Please let us know any descriptions or number plates if you see any groups of motorbikes and mopeds riding around. All information we get is being used to build an intelligence plan in to trying to identify anyone involved so a red coat, orange bike etc, any of this information could prove useful in future. The other vehicle crime was a theft of number plates in Frobisher Road, no trace of the plates as yet.” Northumberland Heath ward:- “This week we have had no residential burglaries reported on the ward however an attempted burglary took place on Monday September 18th at the Natwest bank which closed earlier this year. Entry to the premises was not gained but a window was smashed and the entry door was damaged. The suspect has been arrested. Theft of a Lefan motorbike in Streamway on Thursday September 14th between 0800 – 1530 hours. The bike was stolen from the front of the property. Criminal damage to a white transit van parked in Eastry Road this week. An attempt was made to access the vehicle and tool marks and scratches were discovered around the lock. Also a theft of a box containing personal effects from a vehicle parked in Bexley Road Between Saturday September 16th 0800 and Monday 18th at 08:00. The box contained receipts, bills and other paperwork. Please be vigilant and make sure all personal belongings are out of sight where possible. An apple iPhone was stolen from a male walking in Brook Street on Wednesday September 13th at 12:45pm. The suspects made off in a Black Vauxhall Corsa. A handbag containing cash, credit cards and other belongings was stolen from an elderly lady in Bexley Road on Thursday September 14th at 10:30am. The suspects made off on a moped. The lady was unharmed but sustained wrist pain following the incident.” Thamesmead East ward:- “Good news, no Burglary / vehicle crime reported on the ward during the past week. The team attended the Southmere Park summer fete over the weekend, good fun was had by all. A spectacular firework display over the lake ended the day’s events on Saturday evening. Four youths were stopped by PCSO Buckley and Hobbs on Saturday evening after reports of Anti-Social Behaviour around the Staplehurst Court car park, Southmere Drive. Good Intelligence gained. It’s Operation Sceptre this week. The team have / will be conducting weapon sweeps on the ward and making residents aware in an attempt to reduce knife crime across the whole of the MPS.”

The ending video this week is courtesy of Reverend Simon Archer of Christ Church Erith. He's appealing for more donations to Erith Food Bank, as you can see from the short video below. Do donate what you can; it is an extremely worthy cause. 

The Royal Alfred refurbished.

Many readers will be familiar with the building in the photo above; it is the former Royal Alfred pub in Manor Road, Erith. The pub has been empty and unused for years due to a number of factors. It has been a landmark on Manor Road since it was built in 1874. Over the last couple of years, the building has been covered in scaffolding whilst a complete new roof was installed, and huge changes made to the internal architecture of the building, which was also extended to the rear by a significant degree. A very large amount of exceedingly expensive work has been undertaken, and I have a bit of a scoop - the first look inside the refurbished former pub, now that work on the refurbishment of the upper floors has just been completed, and before the first tenants move in to the extremely high quality apartments which are shortly to be available for private rent. You may recall that I ran a feature on the Royal Alfred almost a year ago, when the place was little more than a shell - you can read my original article by clicking here. things have progressed amazingly in the intervening time, as you can see in the photos I took last Saturday afternoon, which you can see below. Click on any one for a larger version. All of the photos were taken using natural light, and no electronic flash.

I was given free reign to go wherever I liked in the building, and take whatever photographs I wanted to; I have to say that the workmanship of the refurbishment is of an exceptionally high quality, and the materials and domestic appliances installed are all absolutely top notch. Manjinder and his family have done a stunning job - I expected the fit and finish to be good, but what he has achieved has exceeded my expectations by a substantial margin. Now that the upper floors are now complete, work will shortly begin on the ground floor - turning it from a building site into a new, expanded Londis store to replace the cramped and outgrown shop on the opposite corner of Appold Street that the Bains family have run very successfully since 2002. They plan to keep as much of the former Royal Alfred pub identity as they can. If you are interested in learning more about these lovely apartments, then drop me a line to hugh.neal@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with Manjinder.

The News Shopper are reporting a story that I predicted well over a year ago. The Dartford River Crossing Dart Charge system has not been anything like the success its operators had promised when the number plate recognition system was introduced. Recently released figures show that the Department of Transport has failed to collect a total of £32.5 million in unpaid fines, just from the last financial year. As I originally wrote, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system used at the Dartford Crossing is easily fooled by dirt on the number plates, by certain foreign number plate designs with non – UK fonts, fog, rain and road spray. Basically unless the plate is scanned in near perfect weather and visibility conditions – something of a rarity in the local area, there is a strong chance that the number plate will not be recorded by the Dart Charge system correctly. On top of this, there is the well-known local issue of a large number of stolen and forged number plates in wide use by drivers which enable the criminal fraternity to travel over the crossing with impunity. If this situation was not bad enough, a lot of foreign drivers who ignore the Dart Charge system – the reports says that 437,304 unpaid crossing fines were forwarded to European debt recovery agents in the last year, very little, if any of which will be repaid. What also occurs to me, is if the level of fee avoidance is as high as now becomes apparent, how much does the collection process in itself actually cost? I wonder if it would actually work out cheaper to make the crossing – both the bridge and the tunnels free as had originally been intended? I have no vested interest in the Dartford Crossing myself, as it is not something that I personally use. I feel that the cost of administration versus the actual toll receipts could do with being looked at. Would a free crossing make a difference to the traffic levels in North Kent and South Essex? I am not an expert, but it would be interested to hear the opinion of a professional transport analyst on the subject.

One tends not to think of the local area as being one that fosters much in the way of agriculture; a fairly unglamorous South East London / North Kent suburb is not exactly the kind of place one would expect to find much in the way of food production. In many respects this may be the case, but in one particular area it is most definitely not true. Erith, Slade Green and Dartford are renown for the quality of honey that is produced in the area; indeed Dartford Bee Keeping Club have just won an award for producing some of the best quality honey in the country. I guess that this is due to areas such as the Slade Green Marshes, with the large open areas covered with heather, wild flowers and bulrushes. For what is thought of as a predominantly urban area, we actually have quite a large amount of uncultivated, wild wetlands and other places which bees find attractive. You can read more about Dartford Bee Keepers on their website here. I must warn you that the text on much of the site suffers extensively from rogue apostrophes – “bee’s” occurs on multiple occasions, amongst other misuses of possessive apostrophes. The site is obviously a labour of love, created by someone with rather more knowledge of bee keeping than good web design, or English grammar and punctuation.

Last week I ran an article on the proposed closure of Bexleyheath Police Station; Dana Wiffen of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association sent me the following report on a recent public meeting to protest against the proposed closure:- "Thursday night’s meeting at The Council Civic Offices-main chamber, with representatives from The Mayor's Office including the Deputy Mayor-Sophie Linden and Bexley Police Borough Commander-Stuart Bell who took questions from a passionate 90 Bexley residents who attended. The top table included with the above two, plus Joyce Sutherland Chair of Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board and myself. Many of those who attended were NW-Coordinators and most of NW's Committee was there also present, all NW members are volunteers that work in the Borough to try and reduce crime; all are against the planned closures of both front desk and then the police station itself, moving all police and front desk to Marlow House in Sidcup. There are also plans to close the police sub-offices in the Borough as well. We were told that this is part of a London wide programme to try and save £400 Million pounds from the MET's budget. Some of the arguments against were:- 1) Bexleyheath is Central to the Borough-Sidcup is not. 2) Bexleyheath allows a quick response to crime in the North of the Borough such as Thamesmead, Sidcup would not. 3) Bexleyheath is accessible from all parts of the Borough by bus, Sidcup is not. 4) Bexleyheath Town Centre has its own problems around pub closing times on Fridays and Saturdays - how would police responding from Sidcup be able to handle these problems quickly? 5) Pushing for a reality type police contact would exclude the 30% of over 65 year olds that do not have computer access. 6) There are no public parking facilities near to Marlow House and bus services to other parts of the Borough are limited making travel say from Erith to Sidcup difficult. 7) With a growing population in Bexley, the planned building in the North of the Borough as well as around Bexleyheath was pointed out with residents amazed that none of this has been taken into consideration. Although the figures for cost saving of Bexleyheath Police station were offered none were available for the amount of money needed to be spent on Marlowe House to allow it to take all the extra officers and vehicles and also the cost of installing a 24/7 front desk, which Marlowe House does not have at present. Already Bexleyheath Police Station has been devalued with the holding cells closed last year, it is ridiculous that police now have to take those arrested to either Plumstead Police Station or to Bromley meaning they can be off-line for a long period of time while offenders are booked in and they travel to and from Bexley. What seems just as bad is that Marlowe House does not have this facility either and there are no plans to include them if these changes are made. We feel that the plans to close both the 24/7 front office and police station will rip the heart out of community policing in the Borough, and that the already rising crime figures will continue during this process if it goes ahead. In addition to being able to respond the MOPAC on-line questionnaire (which is loaded towards the closure and reality policing), Bexley residents can sign an online (38 degrees) petition and if they prefer or do not have computer access they can sign hard copy petition and use it to gather their neighbours signature etc which are available from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch. (Tele: 0208 284 5537 Email: bexwatch-office@btconnect.com). The fight will go on with the on-line petition approaching 3,000 signatures there is scope to push this to 10,000 in time for both types of petition to be presented to our London Assembly Member-Gareth Bacon in time for him to present to the Assembly in early November. It is important to remember and this seems something both the MET and MOPAC have lost sight of Community Police Officers on the beat are "the eyes and ears" for fighting crime along with NW-Coordinators who continue to work with these teams to reduce crime and improve safety for residents, with the ever present danger of terrorist activity and the continued increase in gun and knife crime as well as the continued rise in lawless and dangerous biker gangs, the closure will give them the green light to carry on with their criminal activities knowing there is even less chance of them getting caught. While we are assured that there is going to be 2 fixed officers in each ward, by the time they have travelled from Sidcup to their ward, set up planned "Hubs" and start working on their newly acquired tablets there will be little time to patrol their wards. Bexley's residents should be aware and act now, as once these plans have been rubber stamped, the plan to build flats on the site will be the next step and Bexleyheath Police Station will be gone forever". You can sign the anti Bexleyheath Police Station closure petition by clicking here.

In a similar story, a reader alerted me to the advertisement above - which shows the former Belvedere Police Station which is now up for sale.  The plot of land, which is located on the corner of Woolwich Road and Nuxley Road in Upper Belvedere (NOT Nuxley Village - there never has been such a place - it is a recent, historically incorrect invention of estate agents that do not live around here, and have no knowledge of local history) is up for sale for redevelopment. Whilst I have no ideas what property development companies have expressed an interest in the site, but you can be pretty much certain that a large block of flats will end up being built on the site. Nuxley Road is already about to see some extensive changes; the very long established Walk Around store and the hardware store Nuxley DIY next door to it are about to close for good. The owner of the buildings is selling up and both buildings are being redeveloped for housing in the form of an apartment block. The whole nature of Nuxley Road is about to change. It seems that the threat of the closure of Bexleyheath Police Station and the selling off of Belvedere Police Station are not isolated cases; indeed it has come to my notice that our neighbours across the River Thames in the London Borough of Havering are experiencing a similar problem. Indeed the borough issued a public announcement last week that read:- “Havering Council Leader Roger Ramsey, is urging residents to speak out against proposals to close a number of police public access points. The Council strongly opposes the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime’s (MOPAC) proposal to close both Hornchurch and Rainham police stations along with seven Safer Neighbourhood bases.  Cllr Ramsey, said: “I understand that there are cuts being made to the service which has put the Mayor in a difficult position, but closing these stations and bases is a short-sighted decision. It will leave our residents feeling unsafe and for some, in particular residents in Rainham, this means having to travel over an hour to their nearest police station, which isn't acceptable. “I urge residents across the borough to attend MOPAC’s public meeting tonight (Wednesday 13 September), at the Salvation Army in Romford from 6pm to 8pm." It would seem from that midweek announcement that the two boroughs share a lot in common in terms of challenges that we both face.

In what has become an annual event, Riverdale Road based country and western musician and composer Wayne Jacobs has just won the ukcountryradio.com listeners club award for song of the year. He has won this award every year since 2012. This year he was also a finalist for UK country artist of the year and UK male country singer of the year. Mr. Jacobs is obviously very talented in his chosen field, and has been accordingly recognised. What surprises me is that he has not chosen to emigrate to the USA, where the main market for country and western music exists. It occurs to me that he would be in a far more receptive environment over there, and certainly far more ability to generate a substantial income for himself in the process.

The Bexley Times published a rather poorly researched story last week; it printed an interview with the Chief Executive of MBNA Thames Clippers, Sean Collins, after the recent trials of Thames Clippers ferrying commuters from Gravesend Town Pier into Central London. In the interview he said:- “The trial has been a total success so far, passengers have been asking a lot of questions to find out when a permanent service could be up and running and how much it will cost. These questions are the reason we are running this trial, I set up this company 18 years ago, and two years later people were asking me about a Gravesend service, the only reason we haven’t done anything sooner is because we’ve been working on other projects across London. We need to set out a full business case, it could take up to two years to start up a service, it would be great to see it stop at other places, such as Erith, Greenhithe, Dagenham and Thurrock. Because of demand we’d need to build at least two bigger boats, at around 300 capacity. They would cost around £6 million each and then there’s the cost of running to consider. By having new, bespoke boats, the journey time wouldn’t be longer, but for now the idea of additional stops is something we would have to evaluate in a business plan, as we would have to bring in the cost of setting up dedicated piers for the service.” Sean Collins obviously made his statement before consulting with either the Port of London Authority, Morrison’s Supermarket, or indeed Bexley Council. As regular readers will recall, I have previously researched and written about using Erith Pier as a embarkation / debarkation point for the Thames Clipper ferry service. The pier, albeit the longest on the entire river Thames, is a dogleg shape with the long axis running parallel to the river bank. At low tide, the pier “dries out” meaning river craft cannot access it for several hours each side of low tide. The solution for this would be to install a floating jetty which would extend into the deep water channel further towards the centre of the river. The problem with this solution is that there are a number of factors acting against it – firstly, a jetty extending from the pier might be construed as a hazard to navigation by the PLA – and would require hazard warning lights at night, and in times of poor visibility. Secondly, Morrison’s, who own the pier and have responsibility for maintaining it do not want it used as a ferry terminal, as commuters would use spaces in the supermarket car park which they would rather see in use for their own customers, and thirdly, Bexley Council say in not so many words that they are not interested; a spokesperson from the council was recently quoted as saying:- “We are not aware of any such proposal. There was a query raised with us about whether the service could stop at Erith pier but it does not have the facilities to allow a vessel to dock and fitting them would be very expensive. We are supportive of increased use of the river particularly for leisure and tourism, but the economics of a commuter service may be challenging. In this context we await the outcome of the trial with interest.” Local MP Teresa Pearce has examined the possibility of ferries stopping at Erith Pier, and she too was told that it was not going to happen. Personally I would love to be able to commute to and from Erith Pier to my place of work in Canary Wharf, but unless there are some drastic changes in policy by several involved organisations, I really cannot see it happening. Let's hope things change for the better.

This weeks incident reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "Another Good week for Barnehurst ward with only one crime of note reported, unfortunately this was a nasty robbery which occurred at 12 noon on the 12th September near to Gravel Hill Primary School by two suspects riding a moped. The victim was crossing the road towards the school when a male wearing a crash helmet grabbed her necklace with such force that she was pulled to the ground. He then jumped onto the back of a waiting moped and made off down Gravel Hill towards the roundabout. If you have any information please call us with any details. Please be aware of your surroundings and take care of your property especially mobile phones and jewellery, for crime prevention advice on how to stay safe please visit the Metropolitan Police web site. We are aware of reports over the weekend of some ASB in Martens Avenue regarding youths on their pushbikes, we will be adjusting our duties to patrol at the relevant times and deal with the youths involved. Please join us on Friday 15th September at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course to discuss any local issues or concerns that you may have. As always please follow us on twitter @MPSBarnehurst for regular updates from the team". From a member of the public in Martens Avenue:-  "Once again we are plagued by large groups of boys on cycle doing wheelies up and down the centre of the Martens Avenue, Bexleyheath. adjacent to the kids playground. This evening there are about 15 of them blocking the driveway of our house. When told to move they are abusive, rude and give you the one finger gesture. It is quite clear nothing seems to have been done with these kids who seem to be a law on to themselves. I can foresee that one of them will get hit by a car and seriously injured as they seem to hold no fear of traffic and indeed on occasions I have seen them play chicken down the centre of the road and force cars to slow down or stop. Something drastic needs to be done with these kids. They seem to have no respect for anyone or anything and I can foresee the time when if something is not done, one of the residents here taking the law into their own hands to deal with them. Their parents who should take some of the responsibility for these kids as they seem to do nothing and indeed no doubt if something is said to the kids about their behaviour, they would be soon knocking on doors and being confrontational. Please do something before things get out of hand". From Belvedere ward:- "We are continuing to canvass the ward to set up new Neighbourhood Watches. This is a lengthy process, but we have managed to set up 10 watches across the ward since we began. There has been ongoing Anti - Social Behaviour (ASB) by children/ youths acting in an intimidating manner and gathering in large groups in the public car park in Nuxley Road. We are monitoring this area and have spoken to residents of nearby streets to gain further information. Patrols of the area are set to continue and we have spoken to a number of young persons to advise them that any such behaviour will not be tolerated. There has also been a spate of thefts recently on the Belvedere Park estate in Lower Belvedere. Of note, uniforms belonging to the management company Pinnacle have been stolen. If there are any suspicions around people seen wearing these uniforms, we would urge residents of Belvedere Park not to allow these people access to any of the blocks on the estate and to contact Police immediately".

From North End Ward:- "A vehicle has been spotted parked in Appold Street with no registration plates. It looked like they had been forcibly removed . It's a blue Chevrolet and a photo has been sent to the local police team with relevant information". Copy of the photo above - click for a larger view. "There has been a burglary is Masefield Close (off of Bridge Road). Access was gained by a side window and air rifles, a tv and custom made remote control cars were among the main items stolen. The victim has been visited by SNT and is looking into getting CCTV at his home. There has also been an attempted bag snatch near the underpass on North End Road this week. Fortunately they didn’t get the bag but the victim is naturally very shook up. Patrols of the underpass area will be taking place and our advice is that if you are alone, please use the traffic lights at the bottom of Colyers Lane to cross the road. We have a surgery at 1800 hours on Tuesday 19th September in the Community Centre on the Rainbow Road estate. Please come along and say hello if you are around". Northumberland Heath ward:- "A burglary took place in Matfield Road where the suspect has been arrested and is currently on bail. Other than the burglary it has been a fairly quiet week on the ward apart from criminal damage to a motor vehicle parked outside the BNM Store in Brook Street where the victims window was smashed. This took place on Thursday 7th September between 0100 – 0500am. We have received a report from a member of the public of youths on pushbikes outside the post office in Mill Road throwing stones at passers-by. The incident was caught on film. Some rubbish was set fire to in Stream way, the Fire Brigade attended and put the fire out. No damage to property or life. On Thursday September 7th a member of staff from Erith School had her handbag stolen whist working in the school office." From Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries to report. Delivery drivers beware – On Monday 4th September, food items were stolen from an ASDA’S delivery van, while the driver was with a customer, Kale Road. On Wednesday 6th September, a moped was stolen from Yarnton Way, however good news to report is that later in the day a male was seen with the bike, subsequently arrested and charged to court. Between Sunday 10th September and Tuesday 12th September a car was stolen from Pointer Close, officers managed to locate the vehicle in the Belvedere area, and has now been reunited with the owner. Just a reminder that between the 15th and 17th September a summer fete will be held at Southmere Park. Lots planned. We are always interested in recruiting new Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators for the ward. Please ask your family and friends if they would like to set up a Neighbourhood watch in their road. Contact us on 020 8721 2049 or Thamesmead.SNT@met.police.uk for more information, (or reply to this email to contact the NW office direct) For latest news from Bexley Police visit our twitter pages @MPSBexley and @MPSThamesmeadE".

The ending video this week shows the work to complete the new Abbey Wood railway station, which combines both the North Kent Line tracks and the new Crossrail (soon to be renamed Elizabeth Line) into one facility. Do give the short video a watch, and leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.