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Crossrail opening date set for 24 May
Crossrail to open on 24 May, with local bus route changes from 14 May – Abena responds
At long last Crossrail, or the Elizabeth Line as it will now be known, is opening. I know that for people living in Abbey Wood and nearby places this has been a long time coming. The initial planned opening date was nearly four years ago!
Since being elected in 2019, I have pushed TfL and Crossrail Ltd to open this vital new railway as soon as possible. I’m glad this is now happening, and I know it will benefit people and businesses in our area.
I’ve also been clear that TfL must ensure that local people across Erith and Thamesmead can benefit from Crossrail by ensuring that there are good bus links to Abbey Wood from across the constituency. I have written to TfL and recently met with the Deputy Mayor for Transport to discuss this.
TfL have now published changes to local bus routes. You can find the full details of changes here and the main changes affecting the constituency are in the table below.
If anyone has any concerns about these changes, or further suggestions for bus route changes, please do not hesitate to contact me at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk
Finally, I am continuing to campaign for better transport across our area including the extension of the DLR to Thamesmead and beyond. I will keep you updated with this campaign as it progresses.
Abena
| Route and destinations before change take place | Change | Date |
| 180 (Lewisham Shopping Centre to Belvedere Industrial Estate) | Route 180 will be rerouted from Woolwich Road, Charlton via the current route 472 to North Greenwich Bus Station. Route 180 will also be extended from Belvedere Industrial Estate to Erith Quarry via Church Manorway and Erith Town Centre. Buses will no longer run along Mulberry Way and onto Fisher’s Way where the current route terminates. However, new bus stops nearby will come into operation when the changes to the route come into effect on Church Manorway through the newly created link through the Erith Quarry development which will help serve businesses and large distribution centres in the area. There will be no change to the current frequency of the route.
Customers can change at Stone Lake Retail Park for route 177 to Westcombe Park and Greenwich Town Centre or at Ikea on Greenwich Peninsula for route 129 to Greenwich and all stops to Lewisham. |
14/05/2022 |
| 469 (Queen Elizabeth Hospital to Erith Town Centre) | A new link to the Elizabeth line station at Abbey Wood will be created with route 469 rerouted between Abbey Wood station (for the Elizabeth line and National Rail) and Belvedere Station via New Road, Woolwich Road and Picardy Road instead of Abbey Road and Gilbert Road. There will be no change to the frequency of the route.
Customers can continue to use route 229 instead, which will continue to serve Abbey Road and Gilbert Road. |
14/05/2022 |
| 472 (North Greenwich Station to Thamesmead Town Centre) | 24 hour bus route 472 will be rerouted from Central Way to Abbey Wood station (for Elizabeth line and National Rail services) via Crossway, Carlyle Road, Harrow Manorway and Knee Hill. It will not serve Thamesmere Drive or Bentham Road. Customers can use route 301 instead, which will continue to provide a link to Abbey Wood along these roads as well as the previous route 472 link between Plumstead Bus Garage and Thamesmead Central Way via Nathan Way.
Buses will run every eight minutes instead of every six minutes on Monday to Friday daytimes, every 10 minutes instead of every seven to eight minutes on Saturday daytimes and every 12 minutes instead of every 10 minutes on Sundays. The night service routing will change as per the day service with buses continuing to run every 30 minutes on all nights of the week. |
14/05/2022 |
| B11 (Bexleyheath Bus Garage to Thamesmead Town Centre) | Route B11 will no longer run between South Thamesmead, Yarnton Way / Harrow Manorway and Thamesmead Town Centre. Customers can use routes 177, 229, 244, 301, 401 and 472, which will continue to provide a link between Harrow Manorway / Yarnton Way and Thamesmead Town Centre. Buses on route B11 will run every 20 minutes instead of every 15 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday. There will be no change frequencies at any other time. | 14/05/2022 |
Passport Office Delays
Abena Oppong-Asare MP calls on Minister to get a grip of Passport Office delays
Ukraine Questions
Abena Oppong-Asare MP raises urgent case of a Ukrainian refugee struggling to get proof of address
Visit to St. Fidelis Primary School
Abena Oppong-Asare MP visits local school with Shadow Schools Minister
Erith and Thamesmead MP Abena Oppong-Asare today brought Labour’s Shadow Schools Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, to Erith to visit St. Fidelis Primary School in her constituency.
Abena and Stephen met staff and pupils at the school to hear about the challenges they faced during the coronavirus pandemic.
They discussed issues such as ventilation, staffing issues, and action to help pupils catch up from lost learning.
Abena also presented the winner of her annual Christmas card competition with a prize, as well as presenting certificates to the pupils who took part.
Abena Oppong-Asare MP said:
“The teachers and support staff at St. Fidelis Primary School are doing an excellent job to ensure that pupils receive a well-rounded education.
“They have faced challenges over the last two years, but like schools across our area they have responded amazingly.
“They deserve more support from the Government to ensure that children and staff are safe in school and receive all the help they need.”
Stephen Morgan MP, Shadow Schools Minister, said:
“Labour wants children to be in school, learning together and playing together.
“I pay tribute to all the staff working right across our country’s schools, whose commitment, dedication, and hard work makes that possible.
“Every day missed from school is a day they do not get back.
“Last term alone, children in England missed over ten million school days for Covid-related reasons. Over a million children have left secondary school since the pandemic began. Almost two million of our youngest children have never known a normal school year.
“That is why Labour has set out a clear, costed, and ambitious Children’s Recovery Plan that would support our children where they have missed out with after school activities, breakfast clubs, and small group tutoring.
“It was a pleasure to visit a school in Erith and Thamesmead today with local MP Abena Oppong-Asare MP who is a tireless champion for schools in her community and is speaking up for children that are too often an afterthought by this Government”.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day is a day for us all to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.I attended Greenwich’s commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day at Woolwich Town Hall, which included students from Discovery School. I also signed the Holocaust Educational Trust memorial book with a message that we must never forget the past horrors. Racism shouldn’t be tolerated & we all have a responsibility to make sure rising hate is eradicated. I will continue to play my part in tacking racism and anti-Semitism wherever I see it.
Debate On Humanitarian Situation in Ethiopia
I recently took part in a debate on the dire humanitarian situation in parts of Ethiopia as a result of the ongoing conflict, which I know many constituents are concerned about.
The reports of human rights violations and abuses – the killing of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, indiscriminate shelling and the forced displacement of residents of Tigray and Eritrean refugees – are incredibly shocking. Those responsible for such abuses should be held to account. All sides must exercise restraint: there must an end to violence, full humanitarian and media access, and protection of civilians. I am deeply worried by worsening food insecurity and shortages of water and medicine. Up to seven million people are now in dire need of food aid across Tigray and neighbouring Afar and Amhara. Hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing famine-like conditions – more than the rest of the world combined. I called on the UK Government to use all its diplomatic tools to ensure access to aid for those affected.
You can watch my contribution here.
Winner of My Christmas Card Competition 2021
This year, I’ve been holding a constituency competition to design my Christmas Card for 2021. I invited students from schools across Erith and Thamesmead to take part and I was so pleased to see such a positive response.
The theme for this year is: ‘Love Erith and Thamesmead: portraits of local landmarks.’ I asked pupils to draw or paint somewhere special to them and our local community.
I want to thank all the pupils who made submissions. These included drawings of the Thamesmead Clock Tower, Crossness Pumping Station, the walks along the River Thames, and Erith Pier.
After being assessed by a panel of judges, the winning design was used as my Christmas Card and sent to more than 1,000 local people, businesses, and community groups.
We had a great turnout for the competition with so many excellent designs being sent in. I’d also like to say a massive thank you to all the schools, teachers and parents who helped organise the competition.
Congratulations to this year’s winner, Alexandra Okwara, aged 10, from St Fidelis Catholic Primary School.
Writing about why she chose her design, Alexandra wrote:
“I have drawn the fish roundabout (The de Luci Landmark Gateway sculpture) because the roundabout shows me that I am in Erith and that the fish are very important to the local community.”
Inside the card, I wrote a bit about how challenging the last year has been and sent my best to all as we go into 2022.
Thank you also to Greenwich GMB Branch and Greenwich Union Local Government Branch for their kind contributions to the cost of this card.
Next Stop Thamsmead – My campaign to bring the DLR to Thamesmead
For too long people in Thamesmead have suffered from poor transport links – making it harder to access jobs and opportunities across London. It is time for the government to negotiate a fair funding settlement and bring the DLR to Thamesmead.
Last week I went on BBC Politics London to discuss my campaign to bring the DLR to Thamesmead and the Government’s refusal to negotiate a fair funding settlement for TfL.
For too long people in Thamesmead have suffered from poor transport links – making it harder to access jobs and opportunities across London. There is now substantial development happening in Thamesmead – with tens of thousands of homes planned over coming years. It is essential that this development is accompanied by proper infrastructure – to benefit people already living in Thamesmead and surrounding areas, and those who will be moving here in the future.
In the coming months I will be leading a series of meetings and events in my constituency to understand the needs of the local community. I will also be working with the local councils, Peabody and the developers to ensure this project continues to progress.
For projects like this to be successful, we need the Government to stop playing politics with TfL finances. Today is the last day for an agreement to be reached and so I urge you to make it clear to the Government that they must give TfL a fair deal.Watch me on BBC Politics London here.
