Time for action to stop area’s neglect

With reference to your article about the demand by Sunni Dhanda for something to be done about Bockhanger Square (Demand For Cash To Be Spent On ‘Mini Beirut’, KE, September 1), I totally agree with him.

We were told that as part of a regeneration scheme this could be done – it has now come to the stage where something must be done.

We have been neglected by the powers-that-be for too long. Kennington would appear to be the forgotten outpost of Ashford.

Neglected verges outside people’s boundary fences are never touched. They are overgrown and in a disgusting state.

The square itself is a danger area for young and old alike and is not somewhere that people want to go.

At one point the council asked estate residents to go on walkabouts of the area to point out their areas of concern. I used to take part in these but some weeks ago I received a letter stating this would only be carried out by the council, with people on the estate not being asked any more.

You have to live in an area to know it and not just drive around in a car.

I suggest that a public meeting is called, with councillors attending, not just sitting around in the civic offices moving bits of paper around.

We are human beings who live and work in this area and they should be aware of this.

I have lived in the area for more than 30 years. When we first lived here Kennington was a great place to live. It was neat and tidy. Now it’s just rundown, due to the council’s neglect.

We were hounded a few weeks back by the council and planning officers because a fence between us and a private resident was too high.

I say to planners and council officials alike – think of more important things, like taking an interest in things that really matter, like Bockhanger Square and how rundown it has become due to council neglect. Mrs Jenny Blunt Copperfield Close, Kennington. loved one in the Korean War 1950-53 and wishes to take part can send the photograph to me.

If further information is required you can phone me on 0161 368 5622 or 07467 037742. Brian Hough 116 Fields Farm Road, Hyde SK14 3NP wasted and damage to suspensions etc. But they are of course loved by councils and “greens” alike for this very purpose of making driving more unpleasant, and with Kent County Council committed to Active Travel Plans (cycling and walking only), such hindrances to free flowing traffic will become more prevalent. Terry Hudson Russell Drive, Whitstable

The United Nations Memorial Cemetery at Busan in South Korea

Picture: Steve Salter How Bockhanger Square looks today. It was built in 1965