Street work is a blight

BROOK Street used to be a very pleasant street. 

Now it bears a strong resemblance to 1945 Berlin.  

Within the space of less than half a mile, there are five pieces of construction connected with Crossrail. In addition there has been an ongoing, large, private demolition of buildings in Bond Street. Finally, in spite of all of this work, Westminster Council has inexplicably approved a further piece of construction for Brook Street, in the form of the laying of a fibre optic cable. 

There appears to be a complete lack of planning in the council’s transportation department. No one at City Hall to my knowledge has inquired about the harmful effect this construction mess has had upon local businesses. What is even more galling is that the people in this department are public servants. We the tax-payers pay their salaries, and they spend our money. I think it is not unreasonable for us to be able hold them to account for their decisions. 

But this is the last thing that these public servants want. I and others have tried and failed. Phone calls and emails go unanswered. However, I won’t give up, and I would like to urge all readers of your paper who are affected in any way by road construction to contact the council to try to make it realise that it is supposed to be working for our benefit. 

The least that we are entitled to is an explanation for what appears to be a series of blights on our lives.

RON WHELAN
Mayfair Residents Group 

Published: 8 July, 2011