Tube: Almost there

Last weekend, after months and months of pressure and general haranguing from all of us, TfL finally managed to remove most of the scaffolding and detritus which has blighted Elgin Parade for the best part of 18 months. Hurrah!

After such a long campaign to get TfL to face up to their responsibilities we are delighted (well almost). TfL being TfL (the massive, bloated, flawed bureaucracy that it became under Livingstone) can't - as ever - simply be straightforward and honest in its dealings with us. They hid, disappeared and generally obfuscated for the best part of a fortnight as we tried to pin them down on a date to remove the scaffolding (beyond a vague promise at the beginning of July) - including trying to blame Council officers and the ubiquitous "health and safety" rules as to why they couldn't take it down immediately. We even managed to get Thames Water to be helpful (I know, we couldn't quite believe it either) to expedite the process. When we put all of TfL's excuses under the microscope the real reason emerged: they couldn't find a crane until last Sunday.

And we are still very disappointed that some scaffolding remains - despite assurances that it wouldn't. We've folllowed up with TfL and await their answer.

Still, we are most of the way there. The Parade is back to normal and local businesses can trade freely for the first time in many months. And local residents can see a tube station which is starting to get back to normal after so many delays and broken promises.

Lee