The council finally backed down and the right of way remains open. They tried to push this through in the dark but our persistence forced their hand back into the light. Stay vigilant because we know they will try to pull these tricks again if we look away.
December 22, 2014
Final supporters
Closing this right of way has no basis in law. There is no crime taking place on that corner. Closing it only causes hardship and inconvenience for the many people who use it, in particular, parents taking their children to school and elderly people needing to go to the doctors surgery on Adelaide Avenue.
Please sign this petition if you oppose the closure of this right of way.
Updates
October 6, 2014
The local council is still ignoring our demands while they try to push this illegal closure through in the dark. I am spending my time digging through their planning records to expose the lack of any legal basis for this move. Do not let them think we are going to walk away quietly.
October 6, 2014
The local council clearly underestimated the anger this blatant disregard for our community would cause. We have hit a level of momentum that makes it impossible for them to keep ignoring us while they try to shut down our access routes in the dark. Keep the pressure on because these bureaucrats need to understand that we are not going to let them steal our public path without a fight.
Reached 100 supporters
October 6, 2014
18 Comments
Hi Anita, I live on the corner and my bedroom window looks out onto the estate, I work at home, my office is my bedroom. I spend many days in that room and I can say with absolute certainty that there is not a 24 hour anti-social behaviour problem. I am not trying to diminish the real concerns of ASB on the estate, if people are being threatened then that has to be taken seriously by everyone. But kids playing football!?? The place is quiet most of the day and since the gate appeared, most of the night too. People walking their kids to school or going to the surgery only make the place safer. Ato Arko-Nelson has got a very strange fixation on the gate, the problems they are trying to address will not be fixed by sealing up the gate.
Please see in other comments: Kay McGregor, United Kingdom 9 hours ago Comments: At this evening's Ladywell Assembly Meeting Councillor Carl Handley informed me that iron gate was erected on the recommendation of the local police to put a stop to anti social behaviour and criminal behaviour on the Greatfield Estate at night. He had only become aware of the issue today but went on to say that there is the intention of restricting access as of the 10th October 2014 and that the care taker will be provided with keys. He stated it was private land so there was no public right of way.
When I first moved into Algiers Road there was a fence erected. This was vandalized many times, so they then built a wall. I cannot see any logical reason for change. If this pathway is blocked off, then it will be vandalized again and the council will have to give in as before. They should just leave well along.
No I cannot, the council have been phoned several times by several people and have given very unclear, misleading even, information. I am by no means an expert but the council built the foot path and put the gate in, that seems to suggest that they own the land and also that it is an accepted right of way. Also, as I understand it, the law is the same whether it is publicly or privately owned. I just want to get the debate out in the open and discussed by the people it affects, there is clearly something going on because the gate keeps getting padlocked.
To the anonymous person who posted a note through my door... there was annoying activity with motorbikes and possibly other criminal activity (I have know way of knowing) going on on the corner of Greatfield Close by the gate. Once the gate went up that stopped... completely. The activities of the house opposite the gate on Algiers Road have nothing to with the gate, how is sealing the gate up going to change what goes on in that house, it isn't. If anything it's going to make the whole area more unsafe as there will be no general public/ordinary folk passing through all day as there is now.
Hi, I replied in the comments.
How would sealing the gate shut solve the crime problem? I have said this already, but since the gate went in it has all gone quiet, there is nothing visibly or audibly anti-social, going on on the estate. I know this because I live on that corner and overlook the estate. That does not mean that there is no criminal activity or organised crime, but it does beg the question: exactly what is going to be achieved by sealing up the gate? No one has answered this question. What is the role of the gate in this criminal activity exactly? I want to see the police and the council tackle the problems effectively, but I feel this focus on the gate is just a red herring. Why have the council and police not installed cctv? why are they relying on the (dubious) filming efforts of the man who lives on the estate? Why, if they know who the criminals are, are they not able to collect the evidence they need, or issue eviction notices?
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The council finally backed down and the right of way remains open. They tried to push this through in the dark but our persistence forced their hand back into the light. Stay vigilant because we know they will try to pull these tricks again if we look away.
December 22, 2014
Final supporters
Closing this right of way has no basis in law. There is no crime taking place on that corner. Closing it only causes hardship and inconvenience for the many people who use it, in particular, parents taking their children to school and elderly people needing to go to the doctors surgery on Adelaide Avenue.
Please sign this petition if you oppose the closure of this right of way.
Updates
October 6, 2014
The local council is still ignoring our demands while they try to push this illegal closure through in the dark. I am spending my time digging through their planning records to expose the lack of any legal basis for this move. Do not let them think we are going to walk away quietly.
October 6, 2014
The local council clearly underestimated the anger this blatant disregard for our community would cause. We have hit a level of momentum that makes it impossible for them to keep ignoring us while they try to shut down our access routes in the dark. Keep the pressure on because these bureaucrats need to understand that we are not going to let them steal our public path without a fight.
Reached 100 supporters
October 6, 2014
18 Comments
I also spoke to Ato of PFI Brockley who confirmed that whilst plans to close the gate had been suspended the situation in the estate would continue to be monitored. He emphasised that the anti-social behaviour was a serious issue that involved criminal activity taking place during the day and night and that local police were involved in the decision making process. He was sympathetic to local residents to whom closure would cause inconvenience but had to balance this against trying to eliminate organised criminal activity taking place on the estate. My sense following this conversation was that the proposition to close the gate was a considered and justified measure designed to make the estate and neighbourhood a safer environment for all.
Hi Anita, I live on the corner and my bedroom window looks out onto the estate, I work at home, my office is my bedroom. I spend many days in that room and I can say with absolute certainty that there is not a 24 hour anti-social behaviour problem. I am not trying to diminish the real concerns of ASB on the estate, if people are being threatened then that has to be taken seriously by everyone. But kids playing football!?? The place is quiet most of the day and since the gate appeared, most of the night too. People walking their kids to school or going to the surgery only make the place safer. Ato Arko-Nelson has got a very strange fixation on the gate, the problems they are trying to address will not be fixed by sealing up the gate.
Please see in other comments: Kay McGregor, United Kingdom 9 hours ago Comments: At this evening's Ladywell Assembly Meeting Councillor Carl Handley informed me that iron gate was erected on the recommendation of the local police to put a stop to anti social behaviour and criminal behaviour on the Greatfield Estate at night. He had only become aware of the issue today but went on to say that there is the intention of restricting access as of the 10th October 2014 and that the care taker will be provided with keys. He stated it was private land so there was no public right of way.
When I first moved into Algiers Road there was a fence erected. This was vandalized many times, so they then built a wall. I cannot see any logical reason for change. If this pathway is blocked off, then it will be vandalized again and the council will have to give in as before. They should just leave well along.
No I cannot, the council have been phoned several times by several people and have given very unclear, misleading even, information. I am by no means an expert but the council built the foot path and put the gate in, that seems to suggest that they own the land and also that it is an accepted right of way. Also, as I understand it, the law is the same whether it is publicly or privately owned. I just want to get the debate out in the open and discussed by the people it affects, there is clearly something going on because the gate keeps getting padlocked.
To the anonymous person who posted a note through my door... there was annoying activity with motorbikes and possibly other criminal activity (I have know way of knowing) going on on the corner of Greatfield Close by the gate. Once the gate went up that stopped... completely. The activities of the house opposite the gate on Algiers Road have nothing to with the gate, how is sealing the gate up going to change what goes on in that house, it isn't. If anything it's going to make the whole area more unsafe as there will be no general public/ordinary folk passing through all day as there is now.
Hi, I replied in the comments.
How would sealing the gate shut solve the crime problem? I have said this already, but since the gate went in it has all gone quiet, there is nothing visibly or audibly anti-social, going on on the estate. I know this because I live on that corner and overlook the estate. That does not mean that there is no criminal activity or organised crime, but it does beg the question: exactly what is going to be achieved by sealing up the gate? No one has answered this question. What is the role of the gate in this criminal activity exactly? I want to see the police and the council tackle the problems effectively, but I feel this focus on the gate is just a red herring. Why have the council and police not installed cctv? why are they relying on the (dubious) filming efforts of the man who lives on the estate? Why, if they know who the criminals are, are they not able to collect the evidence they need, or issue eviction notices?
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I also spoke to Ato of PFI Brockley who confirmed that whilst plans to close the gate had been suspended the situation in the estate would continue to be monitored. He emphasised that the anti-social behaviour was a serious issue that involved criminal activity taking place during the day and night and that local police were involved in the decision making process. He was sympathetic to local residents to whom closure would cause inconvenience but had to balance this against trying to eliminate organised criminal activity taking place on the estate. My sense following this conversation was that the proposition to close the gate was a considered and justified measure designed to make the estate and neighbourhood a safer environment for all.