Councillors were met with protestors at last night’s full council meeting
GREENWICH COUNCIL has said sorry to cyclists and pedestrians for the ongoing problems resulting from the refurbishment of the foot tunnels at Greenwich and Woolwich.
Speaking at last night’s full council meeting, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Councillor Denise Hyland, offered “complete apologies” after being questioned from the public gallery by Antony Austin, chair of Greenwich Cyclists.
Hyland said the refurbishment of the hundred-year-old tunnels was a “heritage project”, adding:
“We have had decisions to make where hidden structures have been uncovered and further work has been necessary.
“We have put pressure on our contractors and worked with them in positive partnership to bring a swift resolution.”
The refurbishment of the foot tunnels, paid for with a grant from central government, was due to be completed by Spring 2011, but is not now expected to be finished until early in 2012.
Protestors make voices heard at meeting
The meeting itself was the first full council meeting for three months and councillors entering the front entrance were met by a group of protestors with a mixed bag of grievances: parents and kids angry about the proposed closure of Blackheath Bluecoat school, volunteers protesting about cuts to the Greenwich Law Centre and trade unionists opposing cuts to services.
A packed public gallery watched on as the meeting was squeezed into an hour long sitting, with councillors due at another meeting in the Greenwich Gallery, on top of the Woolwich Centre, by 7.30pm.
As councillors crossed the road from the Town Hall to the Woolwich centre, they were met by a highly vocal group of children from Blackheath Bluecoat school, chanting “save our school.”
The reception in the Greenwich Gallery saw former Conservative group leader Peter King awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Greenwich. Peter King was a councillor from 1978 until standing down before last year’s elections. He served at various times as both the leader of the group and the deputy leader.
Video, taken by local journalist Darryl Chamberlain, of councillors crossing from the Town Hall to the Woolwich Centre
Kids chanting “save our school” gathered at the steps of the Woolwich Centre as councillors attended a reception in the top floor “Greenwich Gallery”
The whole tunnel project has been a fiasco. Apart from the unacceptable delays, who can forget the fact that the Council made no provision for cyclists when the stairs were being “worked on” and the lifts broke down. Given that the stairs appear to have been untouched so far, are we going to be subjected to more “work” on them (and hence have to rely on the lifts)? If so, please can the Council come to an arrangement with TfL so that pedestrians and cyclists can use the DLR to get back across the river without having to buy a ticket.
Why was the reception for Cllr Peter King (councillors to attend) and a Council meeting (councillors to attend) scheduled to happen on the same evening? To ensure that the Council meeting would have to be very short – shurely not?
Shock horror… council prefers admiring the views from its snazzy offices to listening to the views of its residents.
I agree with Indigo here. Peter King has earned his freedomn of the Borough and I have no objection to a modest event to mark this being paid for out of public funds. What is very wrong though is the deliberate downgrading of the Council meeting – the first for three months.
I don’t expect much of the Labour Group acting collectively, but I am rather surprised at the atitude of the Conservatives. Perhaps they could explain why they were so silent during Wednesday’s meeting.
Seems that Blackheath Bluecoat School is the only Anglican secondary school in the London Borough of Greenwich. The Charlton Deanery Synod (Church of England) says that the School has not been given enough time to build on the very good recent exam results.
The consultation ends on Wednesday. The consultation document is on the School web site. There is also a petition at
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18101