Bromley: The sky darkens

 

"It is one of the meanest, nastiest, mean-spirited Boroughs... If it promoted a Bill to give away free bacon sandwiches, I would object to it." So said Tony Banks MP when Bromley were shoving the Crystal Palace Act through Parliament. A bit rough? We think not, as recent events have shown.

 

Seven deadly sins

1. A 78 year old lady brought the eco-warriors a bread pudding. She got their thanks and a High Court writ from Bromley, who claimed she was a squatter. When asked why they did it, they said she had brought it on herself.

2. Bromley also sued two officers of the Campaign as squatters, both respectable residents and Bromley ratepayers, and refused to withdraw the writ even after they wrote explaining that they were not occupying the site. Only after lawyers were engaged did Bromley back off. We believe that their action was designed to intimidate. It failed.

3. Police helicopters are flying low and taking pictures over the home of our press officer. He is another local citizen with the courage to speak out on an issue which affects all of us. The prize, apparently, is harassment. He is not easily cowed.

4. Bromley have insinuated that they may hold the Campaign liable for the cost of evicting the eco-warriors, even though the eco-warriors are independent of the Campaign. The threats are empty, but bullying. We are not deflected.

5. In a display of naked greed, and without any consultation, Bromley have planned to put the largest ferris wheel in Western Europe at the head of the park, with parking to go on the green space of the lower terraces.

6. Bromley has convened a working party to decide how to develop the heart of the park. The working party includes the multiplex developer. It deliberately excludes anyone from the local community.

7. Bromley have refused outright to show us the developer's traffic research. We believe that it will prove that our roads cannot cope with the traffic from this scheme. We have had to take Bromley to Court just to get information which should be publicly available.

 

Bromley is now panicking and making mistakes. It is time to drive our advantage home.

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from October 1998 newsletter