Bexley council have put up ugly concrete barriers across the shoulder of Mutton green. I, and I hope many other residents,would deem this unacceptable for the following reasons.

1. Visual Pollution

The bars are beige and rather ugly, detracting from the otherwise beautiful green. The green was once a pull factor for families to come and live in Welling, it was a nice space to go for a jog or have a picnic and see the sights. These ugly railings spoil an otherwise healthy view of greenery and the wonderful St Mary the Virgin church.

2. They are unnecessary

Bexley Council's official reasoning for these bars going up is to stop travellers from parking their caravans on the green. In all the 16 years I have been alive and lived in Welling, I have only seen travellers on the green ONCE many years ago and even then it was only one caravan. We don't have a travelling problem. Once in 16 years does not constitute a problem and thus deems the railings unnecessary.

3. The cost

At a time where Bexley Council are already having to find £2 million in cuts to stay afloat, it is wildly unfair to charge the taxpayer for this burden when there are more useful things to do with that money. It calls into question the council's priorities and I think everyone would rather it were spent on better public services.

4. Funday

The St. Mary's Church Funday requires vans and lorries to access the green to set things up and run things like ice cream vans and hot dog stands. The funday is a great event held in June- with fun for all the family. It would be a shame for our community if we lost access to the green as it means the event can't go ahead. It's been held for many years now and I'd like to hope we can keep it running!

5. Environmental Factors

The green is very prone to flooding and there are concerns that the concrete pillars going into the ground will only make this worse. This may be because it damages the drainage infrastructure or because it provides a path for water to flow by making the ground uneven.

Finally, and most importantly,

6. Due Process

There has been no public consultation on this neither has there been an environmental impact report or safety report. This is gross misconduct and unfair on the residents around here. The lack of safety reports are worrying because it creates uncertainty around future floods and the magnitude of their impact

Thank you for reading and I hope you'll sign the petition to get rid of these useless, ugly bars!