Belvedere: Bexley town where residents 'only hear sirens'

With trains taking you to the new Abbey Wood Elizabeth line station in only three minutes, commuters in Belvedere can now reach central stations such as Paddington in just over half an hour.

However, despite the positive addition, residents feel the area has “changed for the worse” over recent years, and say they wouldn’t feel safe coming to the area after dark.

Tony Johnson, 73, said he has lived in Belvedere for 11 years. He said the place has changed due to the vast amount of people who have moved there, and that he rarely speaks to the neighbours in his building any more.

Mr Johnson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The area itself has changed for the worse, it’s not changed for the better. When I first moved in there, you could talk to everybody but they’ve all gone now. I’m the last one there I think from when I first moved in, and they don’t talk to you [now].”

Shops on Picardy Street (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga)

He said the shops on Picardy Street in Belvedere used to be more well known brands and well used but that they have closed down as the area “deteriorates”. He also claims that crime on the shopping stretch appears to be increasing.

Mr Johnson said: “I want to move away from here. To be honest with you, in the last year, all you hear in the night is police sirens and there’s always trouble. Along here in the night-time, all you can smell is cannabis and drugs. It’s just got so bad.”

Georgia Dobbins, 26, lives in Welling and has worked in Belvedere for 10 years. She said she has also noticed the increased crime rate in the area, and claims drug dealing is a problem in the estates surrounding Picardy Street.

Pointing out some recent additions to the estate, Ms Dobbins told the LDRS: “These green fences never used to be here. They’ve put the green fences in place to stop the run-arounds and the links so you can’t jump through the estates anymore if you’re being chased.”

She added: “When it gets dark I wouldn’t [come here], and I certainly, if I had children, wouldn’t let them walk around after dark. Definitely not.”

Georgia Dobbins (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga)

Metropolitan Police data shows that 91.2 crimes were committed on average per 1,000 people in Belvedere between June 2022 and June 2023, while Bexley borough as a whole saw 75.9 crimes on average per 1,000 people.

The most common crime in Belvedere was violence, including assault, homicide and use of weapons, with 525 offences recorded in the past year.

Michael Jones, 67, said he has lived in Belvedere for 30 years. Apart from noticing the place has got a lot “dirtier”, the resident said he has also experienced the local drug problems firsthand.

Mr Jones told the LDRS: “A couple of weeks ago, I pulled up outside my house and this car pulled up behind me and a man jumped in and said, ‘All right, what do you want?’. He was selling drugs. I was just pulling up outside my house. He pulled up behind me, jumped out his car, jumped in my car and asked me what I wanted. It goes on all the time.”

Another resident of Belvedere, who wished to remain anonymous, said he feels safe in the area given how secure his flat is. He said that while crime is an issue, most of it is confined to the nearby train station and rarely affects the main town centre.

He told the LDRS: “We’ve had police down here about a stabbing and gunshots as well down at the station. We’ve had drugs rolling through as well, about five kilograms of drugs seized from the station. It’s all the station, nothing around here though… When I’m in my flat, I lock the door and that’s it. I forget about everything else.”

A Met Police spokesperson told the LDRS: “Local policing is at the heart of everything we do at the Met and we recognise the trust and support of the communities we serve is fundamental to reducing crime and improving public safety.”

They added: “We are strengthening our Neighbourhood Policing response by increasing the number of Police Community Support Officers to provide a more visible presence and build stronger relationships with residents and partners. This will ease pressure on other officers to spend more time solving crimes and supporting victims.”

MORE BEXLEY NEWS

• Residents occupy empty home in protest against plans to demolish their estate
• Bexley commuters 'angry' and 'frightened' at possible ticket office closure

Labour Councillors Esther Amaning, Daniel Francis and Sally Hinkley, who represent the Belvedere ward for Bexley Council, told the LDRS in a joint statement: “As ward councillors we regularly meet with the police.

"We have worked with [the police] and the council over the last couple of years on a multi-agency approach with Orbit Housing Association who own most properties in Picardy Street, local traders and residents to find solutions to any antisocial behaviour in the area.

"We will always raise any specific issues that residents bring to our attention. We would encourage any residents that have concerns to attend the quarterly Belvedere Police ward panel.”