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Erith Town Forum celebrated its 50th meeting last month, at the Erith Leisure Centre.
The Forum grew out of the Erith Consultative Group in 1997, and seeks to promote wider community involvement in decision-making. Forum meetings bring together residents, Councillors, business representatives and Council officers to discuss what is happening or should be happening in Erith.
Doreen Ives, Chair of the Forum, says: “When the Forum realised this was their 50th meeting, we decided that this important milestone should be celebrated.
“Over the last nine years, the Forum has helped to shape numerous regeneration and development projects in Erith Town Centre. We are proud of the way the Forum has developed, and are glad to have led the way in community consultation and town centre partnership working.”
Erith town centre suffered significant and prolonged decline, as a result of economic restructuring in the Bexley Thames-side area. This was reflected in the decline of the old shopping centre, the deterioration of public spaces and the comprehensive redevelopment of the town centre in the late 1960s.
But the last few years have seen significant changes in the town centre. Erith Riverside Shopping Centre has been renovated and extended, and the Mayor of London has named Erith as one of the sites in his ‘100 Public Spaces’ programme. Bexley will be working with the Mayor and other partners, including the Forum, to achieve the programme’s aim of creating exemplary public spaces which establish a lasting legacy for a better quality of life for those who visit, live, work and learn in Erith.
Cllr Margaret O’Neill, Cabinet Member for Town Centres and Regeneration, says: “I remember one of the first Forum meetings, when the question was asked what we could do to improve the town. Someone suggested purchasing a couple of tins of white paint to cover the grey concrete of the old precinct!
“I’m sure everyone will agree, we have moved a long way forward from these early expectations, with the new Erith Riverside Shopping Centre. I now look forward to the next 50 meetings and future developments in the town centre.”
Bexley Council has also secured over £6 million, from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), Sustainable Communities Fund, to help regenerate Erith town centre. The money will support a range of projects including a new library, training and support centre in Erith High Street; funding to assist with the acquisition and improvement of key sites; and a series of public realm improvement projects, which aim to improve the local environment and give the town its own identity.
The next meeting will be held at the Erith Leisure Centre, Avenue Road, Erith on Wednesday 29 March from 7 to 9pm
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