Right across the country we are seeing examples of the real every day need for staffed railway stations. The travelling public are rightly concerned about the axe falling on those services we need. It seems that vital services of all kinds are being chopped.
Many residents have contacted me about newly opened Thanet Parkway. Sadly and predictably it’s all too quickly become a magnet for anti-social behaviour. I’m concerned that residents are having to put up with racing cars late at night, as well as strangers loitering at the back of their properties, due to the fact that the station is so lacking in footpaths people are trampling their own! There’s also light pollution to contend with. All of a sudden these residents have lost their once calm homes and gardens.
Southeastern Railway has responded to some concerns by putting private security in place – which seems to be around the clock. Parkway now has a nice new and prominent security ‘hut,’ which has a toilet of course – given that there isn’t one on the station. It’s anticipated this will stop cars using the car park as a racing track. In addition, a security chain will be used to block cars from 8.30 pm until 4am. However the security guard will be on hand if any passenger needs help getting cars in or out of the car park.
Of course, I welcome these measures by Southeastern. Anything that improves the customer experience and improves safety is a bonus.
But that’s not all that’s wrong with Parkway. There’s no footpath or cycle-path to the station and the ticket machine for platform 2 has no canopy – so you’re going to get soaked when it rains. The single pathway to Cliffsend has a combined pedestrian and bikeway. That’s hopeless… and cheap. Despite the phenomenal bill this station looks and feels very ‘budget.’
I can’t help thinking how much better this station could have been if it had been planned and built with, say, someone on hand to assist the public, someone who knows the station, someone who is employed to be there to help passengers when they need it. A staffed ticket office would have been ideal. In fact Parkway, the spanking new station is proof, if any more was needed, that railway stations really do require staff!
I note with interest that other stations up and down the country tackle anti-social behaviour by offering a peppercorn rent for either a cafe concession on the station, or a mobile coffee van. This, transport bosses know, is a worthwhile investment as it helps to curb antisocial behaviour. Nice amenities create a sense of place. I hope someone takes this on board – forgive the pun!
Come on Southeastern you can do better than this – surely? Bite the bullet and put staff permanently on this station. Eventually you’ll have to, so why not do it sooner? And oh, while you’re making improvements let’s have a cafe and canopy over that exposed ticket machine.
Child poverty
Child poverty is continuing to grow as the Buttle Trust’s latest survey reveals, https://buttleuk.org/state-of-child-poverty-2023/ They describes the experience of poor kids as ‘degrading and unsustainable… Hungry children have resorted to stealing food as more than 120,000 young people are now living in extreme poverty in the UK…
The situation has worsened since last year, with levels of destitution among children and young people rising significantly… ‘
Destitution. I never thought I’d ever see so many children impacted by poverty to that extent. At least it answers the question that local MP Craig Mackinlay put to me on BBC’s Sunday politics show when I challenged him over the growing figures for South Thanet,
‘Yes there’s poverty,’ he acknowledged, ‘but is there destitution?’
Well yes Craig, the answer has been published. It’s unequivocal. The question is what will the Government do about it. The Buttle trust is demanding that they:
- Lift the two-child Universal Credit limit
- Introduce an Essentials Guarantee
- Appoint a dedicated Cabinet Minister for Children and Young People
We know that poverty blights lives, our children need all the support we can provide.
Frankly this is the least any decent Government could do. Children are the future and we should invest in them.
Southern Water – time for renationalisation?
Hands up if you went for a dip in the sea recently? I’ve got to be honest, all the reports of sewerage dumping really puts me off. This is also a hot topic amongst residents, many of whom also contact me about road and pathways rendered unusable due to flooding during inclement weather.
The water industry is clearly broken, it’s simply not fit for purpose. The costs of the repairs and new infrastructure, I fear, will inevitably find the way onto our water bills. Fining super rich companies seems to make no difference. The costs are priced into our bills.
I’d like to float an idea. If the consumer is going to be forced to meet the costs of ensuring a safe and sewerage free water supply, shouldn’t that be done with the aim of restoring public ownership? Why should the hard-pressed public stuff anymore money into the already deep pockets of shareholders?
I also agree with my Union, the GMB, it’s time for an urgent public inquiry. The water industry has been completely mismanaged. Decisive action is needed.
